KUALA LUMPUR (Sept 8): Hong Bee Land Sdn has come a long way from its humble beginnings in 1933, when it was known as Hong Bee Textiles. Today, the once low-profile property developer has established itself as one of the leading players in Selangor and Johor.

Over the past two decades, the developer has infused the fringe of the Rawang town centre with energy and a new lifestyle by developing the first AEON Rawang mall, drive-through restaurant chain and standalone stores to set the stage for its own first large-scale residential development — Templer Residence.

Situated a kilometre away from Anggun City, its flagship street mall, Templer Residence is a 73-acre landed residential development. The individual titled, gated development will feature 1,000 terraced houses that will be built over five phases. It has an estimated GDV of RM800 million.

At the same time, the developer is also working on another landed residential project, a bigger one of 300 acres, located just across the road from Templer Residence, as well as its first high-rise development near Anggun City.

In the same issue, we have a report on property consultants clarifying rumours about buyers being required to sign sales and purchase agreements at the land office. According to them, only properties — including land — valued at RM5 million and above, require both the buyer and seller to go through a biometric verification process at the land office, and this only applies to properties in Selangor at the moment.

Also featured is Mitsui Fudosan opening Mitsui Suites BBCC this month. The serviced residence block stands at 45 storeys and has a total of 269 units with built-ups ranging from 514 to 1,170 sq ft. They are available for at least one-month lease with a rental rate, inclusive of the utility fee, starting from RM3,500 per month.

We discuss with architects and building experts on the risk of sinkholes in town, and what are the SOPs in place to ensure structural integrity and safety. They believe having the services of a professional engineer or land surveyor is necessary to ensure that a development site is secure and safe for construction.

Over in Singapore, we have a story about the impact of interest rate cuts on home loans, and whether now is the best time to refinance one’s property. The bankers, however, reminded homebuyers to calculate if the total additional costs outweigh the potential savings from a refinancing.

Read all this in the Sept 9 issue of The Edge Malaysia weekly.

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