1. MALAYSIAN PROPERTY MARKET OUTLOOK 2013

2. Did 2012 turn out the way you expected for the property market ? As anticipated, the property market remained stable in 2012 despite the eurozone financial crisis and double-dip fears. There was a slow down in property transactions during the 1st half of the year, as expected, due mainly to BNMs Responsible Lending Guidelines. whereby banks are required to base their loan approvals on nett income instead of gross income. Statistics: Bank Negara stated that number of loan approval for residential properties declined by 3.3% and the volume of the residential property loan also declined to RM45.26 bil from RM47 bil in the first half of this year compared to the same period in 2011. However, the number and volume of approved loan for non-residential properties remained stable during the 1st half of 2012. The property market remained robust with increased demands for high-end properties especially from the expat market and although the property prices (in general)seem to stabilized, prices in certain areas remained high due to lack of supply of property. Overall, the property market continued to remain neutral throughout 2012 with an improved performance towards the end of the year whereby property market slowly picked up due to the strong buying interest among local as well as foreign investors.

3. What were some of the events/measures that affected the property market (both positive and negative) this year? 1) Tighter lending measures – Resulted in reduced property transactions especially in residential sector. 2)Eurozone financial crisis – Affected purchasing sentiment to some extent 3)Kick-start of Klang Valley Mrt – Perked up activities and speculation in property market 4)ETP – Initiated Projects/developments that will hugely impact the growth of property market especially in Kuala Lumpur City Centre; i.e KVMRT, Warisan Merdeka Tower, TRX, GKL – EPP to attract 100 Multinational Corporations (MNC) to Greater Kuala Lumpur(GKL) and Klang Valley spurred the office space / commercial sector. 5)Incentives for Tourism / Hospitality Sector in Budget 2012 – The sentiment of Hospitality Market players improved and the sector enjoyed better performance due to the implementation of “pioneer status” income tax exemption of 70% or an investment tax allowance of 60% for five years for new 4-star and 5-star hotels in Peninsular Malaysia

4. What are you watching out for next year? 1)Launches of Branded Developments like RuMa by Ireka, W Residences and Four Seasons Residences 2) KLIFD 3) Upcoming Completions - Nu Sentral, KL Sentral - Completion of KLIA 2 - Progress of Iskandar Malaysia - Opening of 3 new hotels Pullman Hotel, Bangsar Aloft Hotel, KL Sentral Holiday Villa Kuala Lumpur City Centre

5. What is your outlook on the property market next year (2013) ?  A small mini boom is anticipated in 2013.  The property market will continue to stabilize in the early 2013 before picking up in the middle of the next year albeit stricter lending guidelines and the revised RPGT rates from 10 to 15 per cent for properties sold within two years and from 5 to 10 per cent for properties sold between two and five years. This is due to the fact that the property market will be adjusted after a certain time period to the new lending guidelines while the hike in RPGT rates which will be implemented on 1 st January 2013 is too small to cause any significant determent among speculators.  Increase in residential property transactions are likely as many first-time house buyers are expected to utilise the 50% stamp duty exemption for first-time house buyers for residential properties below RM400,000 which will be effective from Jan 1, 2013 to Dec 31, 2014 under Budget 2013.  Property prices will continue to rise in certain areas due to location and scarcity as well as lack of supply. Examples of such locations are Bangsar, Medan Damansara, Seputeh, Taman Desa, Taman Tun Dr Ismail and Cheras.  The property market is expected to be robust due to growing domestic demand and influx of foreign investors.  Exciting developments through ETP such as Greater Kuala Lumpur, KVMRT, Tun Razak Exchange (TRX), Warisan Merdeka Tower and Iskandar Malaysia will be a great boost to the performance of Malaysian Property Market.

6. Hotspots for 2013 1) Landed property and well-priced condominiums in;  Bangsar  Taman Tun Dr Ismail  Damansara Heights  Medan Damansara  Taman Seputeh 2) Well-price condos in well-managed developments in;  KLCC  Mont’ Kiara 3) For long term investments  Melaka  Penang  Kota Kinabalu  Johor – Iskandar Malaysia 4) Others  Old Klang Road  Jalan Ipoh  Puchong  Seri Kembangan  Kajang  Bandar Sri Damansara  Kota Damansara  Petaling Jaya  Cheras outside the capital of Selangor