An article by South China Morning Post on the morning of 9th May 2018 starts with this sentence, “Malaysia’s general election on Wednesday, which has highlighted political uncertainty in the country, may crimp the confidence of Chinese investors, sparking an investor flight towards Singapore property, at least in the short term, analysts said.” (Well, hopefully the analyst is also following our election. As for my personal assessment, I think Malaysia is the only country I know that changed government peacefully despite the fact that the same government has been in power for 60 years. Police was maintaining order and peace and nothing else. This morning, the losing coalition admitted defeat and said that the people have chosen. Today, one day after the election, I was at the supermarket and I noticed that everyone was carrying out their grocery shopping as usual. Let’s understand that this is just one day after a 60-year government lost in the election? Yes, Malaysia has a new Prime Minister in Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamed after the swearing in ceremony at 1010pm on 10th May 2018. I think this is simply amazing. If I am a Chinese investor, perhaps this is something I would really place a premium on; my investments are safe!
Anyway, if you would like to know, this is a brief of what the article was about. “Malaysia’s election could be a tipping point for Chinese investors.” Christine Li, senior director and head of research at Cushman & Wakefield Singapore said that due to the election as well as stricter capital controls, the Chinese would turn to Singapore property instead. Li said, “Singapore is still a safe haven for property investment as it remains an attractive location for multinational companies to locate their headquarters.” (Frankly, if I am a multinational company, I would consider both Kuala Lumpur and Singapore and not just Singapore. As a base for ASEAN, Kuala Lumpur is good enough, commercial office choices are aplenty and prices are cheaper not only because of the currency. Besides, the expats based here would be getting a very high quality of living including even mesmerising infinity pools overlooking the TALLEST Twin-Towers in the world; Petronas Twin Towers.)
Li also shared that the price outlook for Singapore seems to be better because prices in Singapore rose just 15 per cent between 2009 and 2017 while homes in Kuala Lumpur jumped 121 per cent over the same period. (Frankly, I think the median property price versus household income would provide a much clearer picture. No point in trying to use some periods of time which could skew the actual numbers. By the way, the foreigners could not buy (due to restriction in price) but there are still landed properties in a gated and guarded community for below RM500,000 (S$124,700) in some areas in Greater Kuala Lumpur. My personal advise to all foreign buyers is to come visit Malaysia as a tourist first and not just looking at the price or some reports. Yes, you may also write in to me for any advice too. Here’s an earlier article)
There are many more other points in the article. Feel free to read yeah. Happy investing and yes, Malaysia a friendly nation to China. Cheers.
written on 10 May 2018
Next suggested article: The countries where Chinese loves to buy the most. Property.
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