Cahya Mata unit in apartments, hotel deal

CAHYA Mata Sarawak Bhd's 51 per cent unit has formed a joint venture with four parties to help it build, own and manage serviced apartments and a four-star hotel in Kuching Isthmus in Sarawak.

CMS Land Sdn Bhd will have a 10.3 per cent stake in the joint venture company.

The other parties are Premier Cottage Sdn Bhd, Boulevard Jaya Corp Sdn Bhd, Hikmat Majusama Sdn Bhd and Isthmus Development Sdn Bhd.

By Business Times

GuocoLand China wins property award

LONDON: Malaysia’s Hong Leong Group property arm, GuocoLand (China) Ltd (GLC), was voted the Best International Mixed-Use Development at the International Property Awards here over the weekend for its US$2 billion flagship project Guoson Centre.

The achievement sets an important milestone for China as it is the first time that one of its mixed-use projects has been honoured for "Best International" in 16 years since the awards’ inception, GLC said.

GLC group managing director Violet Lee said that winning the award showed that “China can actually construct quality projects that can top the world.”

“Winning the world’s best means we have reached a certain point namely world recognition of the efforts that we have put in,” she told reporters from Malaysia and Hong Kong here Sunday.

Lee said that one of the factors why GLC won the award against other nominees, which included those from the Midle East like Bahrain Bay with projects worth more than US$6 billion, was its “community angle.”

By Business Times

RM700m boost for Iskandar Malaysia

The government has agreed to allocate an additional RM700 million for rolling plans for Iskandar Malaysia over the next two years.

Johor Menteri Besar Datuk Abdul Ghani Othman said the amount is an addition to the RM339 million set aside to the southern Johor growth region during the recent tabling of Budget 2011.



"Yesterday, Prime Minister Datuk Najib Razak agreed to add funds for rolling plans with another RM700 million for Iskandar Malaysia programmes," Ghani said in his speech at the launch of the Kota Iskandar Tourism Programme and Sinar Jauhar gallery in Nusajaya yesterday.

He did not elaborate on the rolling plans. Sources said the funds may be for various infrastruture projects and new investments which have not been announced by the government.

Najib is co-chairman of the Iskandar Regional Development Authority.

On a related matter, Ghani said , Nusajaya is set attract more tourists with the new guided tours for the Sultan Ismail Building which houses the state assembly in Kota Iskandar.

"In 2009, the building attracted 8,000 tourists, and between January 2010 and now, the tourist arrivals have risen by 30 per cent.

By Business Times