Cement Price Increase to Have Minimal Impact on
Property Developers
Naim Unit Sells 51% Stake
and Naim Holdings Shares Up
design, location, surrounding
amenities, facilities, demand
of houses, interest rates
and ease of getting bank
loans,” Sim said. He noted
that developers should be
able to absorb the increase
in cement price if the
properties they develop are
attractive or are in demand
by consumers or property
investors.
The increase in cement
prices in Sarawak is expected
to have minimal impact on
developers as the cost of
cement is a small aggregate
in the overall construction
cost.
This piece of good news
comes from the the Sarawak
Housing and Real Estate
Developers’ Association’s
(Sheda) secretary-general
Sim Kiang Chiok.
He said that while the
increase in cement prices
will definitely affect the
construction cost of houses,
raw materials such as
steel must also be taken
into account in the overall
construction cost, and hence,
the overall cost of a property.
“The increase in the cost of
a property is determined
not only by the construction
cost itself, but also on the
Sarawak’s sole producer and
manufacturer of cement,
CMS Cement Sdn Bhd (CMS
Cement), announced a 5% to
9% increase in cement prices
across the state, effective
on February 17. The price
increase is expected to differ
based on location, cement
type, and distributors’ retail
prices.
From 2009 to 2013, CMS
Cement has increased
cement price by only 5.2%
although production cost
had increased by 14.5%. Sim
also pointed out that CMS
Cement has not raised its
price since the last petrol
price revision last year.
Outcry Over Sandakan Shoplot Rent Hike
the commissioning of the
building in 1992.
“We will look into it and
discuss how we can work on
a win-win situation, Wong
said after the discussion with
Tsen at Wisma Perbandaran.
Mile 4, Sandakan
Shoplot tenants at Menara
MPS in the heart of town
can breathe a sigh of relief
as Batu Sapi Member of
Parliment Datuk Linda Tsen
Thau Lin met with Sandakan
Municipal Council President
Datuk James Wong on the
Menara MPS rent issue.
A decision by Sandakan
Municipal Council to raise the
rent by 150% for premises
on the ground floor of the
commercial cum multi-storey
carpark effective 1 April 2014
drew strong criticism from
the public and the tenants
particularly coming at a time
when business was slow.
Many claimed the exorbitant
rent hike would force them
either to close down or
move their businesses to
premises elsewhere. Some
of the tenants have been
occupying the shoplots since
A tenant, Charles Lee said
the current rent rate was
RM2.80 per sq ft and it will
shoot up to RM6.50 per sq
ft when the new rate comes
into effect on 1 April 2014.
“The present tenancy
contract runs until 31 March
2014 and if you are now
paying a monthly rent of
RM1,000, you will have to
pay RM2,500 under the
new contract following the
rent hike,” Lee said adding
that there are 32 units of
shoplots on the ground floor
of Menara MPS.
Investors attending a preview of Naim Holdings’ Bintulu
Paragon development
Naim Holdings Bhd’s
unit Naim Land Sdn
Bhd has inked an
agreement to sell its
entire 51% equity stake
in Total Reliability Sdn
Bhd (TRSB) to HWS
Properties Sdn Bhd for
a cash consideration of
RM6.5 million.
HWS currently owns
450,000 shares
representing 9% equity
in TRSB.
“The original cost of
investment in TRSB (for
Naim) is RM2.55 million,”
Naim said in a statement
to Bursa Malaysia on 23
January 2014.
Shares of Naim
Holdings Bhd rose at
mid-afternoon on 23
January after it sold its
unit to a property based
company on 22 January,
its shares rose 11 sen
to RM3.79 with 620,900
shares done between
RM3.63 and RM3.81.
The FBM KLCI fell 4.79
points to 1,809.31.
Turnover was 1.36
billion valued at
RM1.682 billion. There
were 192 gainers, 556
decliners and 316
counters unchanged.
Naim Holdings had sold
its entire 51% stake in
property-based Total
Reliability Sdn Bhd to
HWS Properties Sdn Bhd
for RM6.50 million cash
consideration.
After the purchase, HWS
Properties’ stake will
increase from currently
9% to 60%, according to
a filing to Bursa Malaysia
on 22 January 2014.
The increase in the cost of a
property is determined not only by
the construction cost itself, but also
on the design, location, surrounding
amenities, facilities, demand of
houses, interest rates and ease of
getting bank loans
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