Mah Sing Group believes that Malaysia’s property sector will recover soon.
Home sales in Malaysia are expected to recover in the second half of 2016, said Mah Sing Group, the country’s third largest property developer by sales.
“We have reached the bottom of the downturn, and it will recover in the medium term,” as Mah Sing is witnessing signs of renewed confidence from home buyers, despite the negative reports on the weak ringgit, and allegations of corruption, said Group Managing Director Leong Hoy Kum.
“The bad news like 1MDB and the ringgit have already been digested; I don’t see anymore bad news coming out. It is back to work for everyone, to focus on economic growth.”
The ringgit has also strengthened 3.8 percent, making it Asia’s third best-performing currency.
Meanwhile, Mah Sing is set to hit its RM2.3 billion sales target for this year. The developer is confident it can sell more “medium range to high-end properties” in 2017, especially in Kuala Lumpur.
Meanwhile, its competitors are also posting strong sales. Earlier this month, Eco World Development Group found buyers for 85 percent of the units at its apartment outside the capital. Moreover, nearly all of the 341 units at a project by Sime Darby were snapped up in one day.
Given the turnaround, Mah Sing is now looking to acquire more land parcels with its record net worth of RM1.4 billion (S$467 million). It wants to replenish its land bank after holding back on such acquisitions in 2015.
“Every weekend is shopping time for me and sometimes, I charter a helicopter to look at land of 500 acres to 1,000 acres,” added Leong.
Mangalesri Chandrasekaran, Editor at PropertyGuru Malaysia, edited this story. To contact her about this or other stories email mangales@propertyguru.com.my
