Is Homeownership for Lower-Income Malaysians Just a Dream?

Here’s what we got for you today:

• 🇲🇾 In Malaysia: The Works Ministry of Malaysia has identified 3,000 high-risk slopes along federal roads

• 🏗️ Project of the Day: Pan Pacific Orchard Hotel

•  🌊 In the SEA: Google to invest $1b to build data centre, cloud infrastructure in Thailand

• 🧠 Knowledge Corner: Imposed Load Reduction in Multi-storey Structures

In Malaysia 🇲🇾

1. Sunway REIT Management has recently acquired and rebranded a mall in Kuala Lumpur, renaming it Sunway 163 Mall. The mall is located in Mont’ Kiara and is easily accessible via major highways. It is currently 99% occupied with over 100 tenants and brands offering various retail, lifestyle, and entertainment services, including a cinema and an ice-skating rink. The acquisition is expected to be profitable, with an estimated initial net property income yield of 6.5%. The CEO of Sunway REIT Management, Clement Chen, has expressed plans to enhance the mall's maintenance, traffic circulation, and tenant mix to improve the overall shopping experience and make Additionally, the proposed Sri Hartamas MRT3 station nearby is expected to increase accessibility to the mall.

2. UEM Sunrise has signed an agreement with ITRAMAS and CMEC to set up renewable energy facilities in an industrial park in Gerbang Nusajaya, Johor. More China-based companies have expressed interest in also becoming off-takers in the park and investing in local manufacturing operations. This project is expected to contribute to Malaysia's renewable energy infrastructure and position it as a renewable energy hub in ASEAN.

3. The Finance Ministry is planning to discuss proposals under the National Housing Policy with Bank Negara Malaysia and the Housing and Local Government Ministry. The goal is to provide long-term housing loans to lower-income individuals and households to help them own homes without being burdened by rising house prices. The meeting also addressed the household debt-to-GDP ratio, the status of Cost of Living Indicators for 2023, and the implementation of co-payment features for Medical and Health Insurance and Takaful. Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim is scheduled to launch the cost of living indicator on November 2, and the meeting also discussed how the co-payment feature for healthcare insurance could provide consumers with more options and encourage healthy competition among insurers and takaful operators.

4. KJTS Group Bhd has recently secured a subcontract worth RM12.3 million from Sunway Engie DC Sdn Bhd for a data centre project in Selangor. This subcontract involves supplying and installing air-conditioning and mechanical ventilation pipework, along with equipment. The work began on September 11 and is expected to be completed by November 27, 2026. This is the second subcontract KJTS has received from Sunway Engie within a month, with the first subcontract worth RM23.75 million relating to a data centre project in Sedenak Tech Park, Johor. KJTS believes that this new subcontract will have a positive impact on its earnings and net assets until its completion. Overall, this new subcontract is one of four contracts that KJTS has secured since the beginning of the year. Following this news, shares in KJTS closed 2.3% higher, giving the company a market capitalization of RM450.6 million.

5. The federal government will implement 80 physical development programs worth RM7.7 billion in Sarawak this year, with projects in pre-contract and construction phases totalling RM3.2 billion and RM4.5 billion. Maintenance totalling RM152 million for federal roads in Sarawak will also be carried out. Two projects, using advanced construction technology, were handed over to schools in Kuching and Sarikei.

6. The Works Ministry (KKR) is monitoring 3,000 high-risk slopes along federal roads using technology and district engineers and equipping them with early warning systems. A project to repair a landslide-affected slope is currently 33.31% complete and is expected to finish by December 2025, costing RM122 million.

Project of the Day 🏗️

Get ready to be amazed by the award-winning design of the Pan Pacific Orchard Hotel in Singapore! This stunning 140-metre tall building has been named the best new tall building in the world for 2024 by The Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat. And it's no surprise, with its unique features such as large voids and lushly planted sky terraces.

Thanks to its innovative design by WOHA architects and construction by Shimizu Corporation, the 350-room hotel is able to offer outdoor amenities on its constrained footprint. The tower's "living columns" covered in creeping plants not only add a touch of resort-like feel to the urban hotel, but also visually connect the entire building across its 23 storeys.

In the SEA 🌊

1. Google will invest $1 billion in Thailand to build a data centre and cloud region to meet demand for cloud services and support AI adoption. The project is expected to create 14,000 jobs annually until 2029. This follows Microsoft's announcement to launch a data centre in Thailand. The data centre will be located in Chonburi and the cloud region in Bangkok, supporting services such as Search, Maps, and Google Workspace. The Thai government has shown support for the investment.

2. Two men accused of bribing a former director of the Land Transport Authority (LTA) in Singapore were acquitted due to unreliable and inaccurate statements taken by the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB). The judge listed three key issues for the acquittal. First, he found that the conduct of CPIB officers during the statement recording process was questionable, as it involved inaccurate, unreliable, and misleading statements. Second, the judge considered the testimony of Henry Foo, the recipient of the alleged bribes, who stated that there was no corrupt intent behind the loans given by the two men. Finally, the judge determined that the prosecution failed to prove its case beyond a reasonable doubt, leading to the acquittal of both men. This decision was influenced by discrepancies in the statements and testimonies, as well as the lack of evidence to support the prosecution's case. The judge also rejected the prosecution's attempts to use WhatsApp messages as evidence. As a result, the two men were acquitted of their charges.

Knowledge Corner 🧠

Imposed Load Reduction in Multi-storey Structures

Imposed loads in multi-storey structures can be reduced, based on the likelihood of all of the floors in the structure being fully occupied. The factor that can be applied to the imposed loads as they are considered from a lower in the structure are as follows:

where n is the number of storeys of structure above the level that is being considered, excluding the roof. This factor is applied to imposed loading only, before any partial factors are applied to them.

Note: Reduction factors can only be applied to imposed load categories A-D, as defined in Eurocode 1-1 and the UK National Annex.

That’s a wrap for today. See you call tomorrow! 👋

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