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Despite Malaysia’s property slump, things are looking up in Penang


Despite Malaysia’s property slump, things are looking up in Penang

The Malaysian state’s skyline is shifting

View from Penang Hill. Image credit: Jan (Flickr)

While the rest of Malaysia languishes in a lethargic property market, business is looking comparatively brisk in Penang, and its skyline is about to get more crowded.

High-rises and skyscrapers are in various stages of development around the Malaysian state. Some are set to sprout around the proposed Bayan Lepas Light Rail Transit, which will ultimately connect George Town, the capital, to a 1,800-hectare reclamation area covering three islands.

Already, real estate players in the Malaysian Chamber of Commerce – Hong Kong and Macau are exploring their prospects in light of the upcoming LRT project, Penang’s first.

Others have made a headstart into a lucrative residential market. According to The Star, Mah Sing Group Bhd’s Penang properties accounted for 1 percent or MYR26 million (USD6.4 million) of the company’s total 2015 sales.

Ivory Properties Group is overseeing MYR1.8 billion (USD443 million) in Penang developments this year.

More: 4 things to know about the current state of Malaysian real estate

One of their projects, The City Residence, will give rise to two 39-storey buildings upon its 2017 completion within the vicinity of a proposed undersea tunnel. Another project, The Wave, will tower 32 storeys high above a planned LRT route.

Both projects are expected to net the company MYR40 million (USD9.8 million) and MYR90 million (USD22.1 million) by the end of the fiscal year, respectively, The Star reported.

Last year, Ivory Properties’ 43-storey development The Latitude won its second consecutive South East Asia Property Award for Highly Commended Mid-Range Condo Development in North Malaysia.

Here are all the winners from South East Asia Property Awards (Malaysia) 2015

SEAPA Malaysia

Yet another project, Tropicana Bay Residences, also bagged the Highly Commended award for North Malaysia’s Best Luxury Condo Development.

Other ambitious high-rises due to dot the Penang horizon include IJM Land Bhd’s The Waterside Residence (33 storeys) and Mah Sing Group’s Southbay Plaza (30 storeys).

The South East Asia Property Awards will be back on its third year in Malaysia at the InterContinental Hotel in Kuala Lumpur in August.

Read next: Inside Malaysia’s efforts to weather a lethargic property market

Source: Property Report