Highlight Malaysia’s MCT speeds up projects on demand for cheaper homes

by **Cals** Sat 18 Apr 2015, 01:11

Highlight
Malaysia’s MCT speeds up projects on demand for cheaper homes

(Apr 17): MCT Bhd., a Malaysian property developer, will accelerate projects that will focus on affordable housing after a new tax boosted demand for cheaper homes.
The company, which has 9 billion ringgit ($2.5 billion) of projects over the next five years, will start with developments worth 3.9 billion ringgit in the “near term” with 56 percent of units priced below 500,000 ringgit, Tong Seech Wi, chief executive officer of MCT, said in an interview.
Malaysian property companies are grappling with a 6 percent consumption tax that was imposed on April 1. The tax has threatened to hurt demand in an industry already reeling from central bank lending curbs last year and the first interest-rate increase in more than three years in July. The MIER Malaysia Consumer Sentiments Index dropped to the lowest in a year in December.
“We have received very good responses for our recent property sale and pricing is very important,” he said in Subang Jaya, outside Kuala Lumpur. “We will be focusing more on affordable housing.”
MCT took over the listing status of a plastics manufacturer in a reverse takeover and started trading on April 6. The exercise drew investors such as Ayala Land Inc., the biggest Philippine developer, which bought a 9.2 percent stake. The Malaysian stock rose 2.3 percent at the close in Kuala Lumpur.
MCT is 13th biggest co. on the Bursa Malaysia Property Index by market value. The company is seeking to be among the top five by 2020, said Tong. The stock enjoys “above average” margins of 44.3 percent according toKenanga Investment Bank Bhd. in a report dated April 9, compared with other developers with 25 percent to 40 percent margins.