By KEITH HIEW
PETALING JAYA: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, who announced the scrapping of the real property gains tax (RPGT) from April 1, hopes the move would “inject more excitement and dynamism to both the property and financial sectors.”
Speaking at Invest Malaysia 2007 yesterday, Abdullah said the abolishment of RPGT would improve the property sector.
He said it was among the immediate measures intended to further increase and facilitate investments in the country.
Property companies and analysts welcomed the news. They said it would benefit the sector, especially the high-end segment.
OSK Securities analyst Mervin Chow told StarBiz: “We will definitely see an increase in the earnings prospects of property companies, either through an increase in demand or sales values. But it is very hard to quantify the extent at this juncture.
“We will also see increased foreign buying interest in Malaysian properties.”
Chow thinks the chief beneficiary would be higher-end developers with excellent locations. He said RPGT had in the past been one of the prime hurdles for foreign buyers, given the higher holding risk.
“As for the mass residential market (low- to mid-end), the oversupply situation still persists, hence we will not be seeing much improvement there,” he said, noting that the removal of RPGT would encourage a more vibrant secondary market in this segment.
“We will be seeing more interest in property companies with niches in the mid- to high-end market segment in the coming months. Although most of the counters have soared in anticipation of the abolishment, there are still many that are undervalued,” Chow said.
PETALING JAYA: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, who announced the scrapping of the real property gains tax (RPGT) from April 1, hopes the move would “inject more excitement and dynamism to both the property and financial sectors.”
Speaking at Invest Malaysia 2007 yesterday, Abdullah said the abolishment of RPGT would improve the property sector.
He said it was among the immediate measures intended to further increase and facilitate investments in the country.
Property companies and analysts welcomed the news. They said it would benefit the sector, especially the high-end segment.
OSK Securities analyst Mervin Chow told StarBiz: “We will definitely see an increase in the earnings prospects of property companies, either through an increase in demand or sales values. But it is very hard to quantify the extent at this juncture.
“We will also see increased foreign buying interest in Malaysian properties.”
Chow thinks the chief beneficiary would be higher-end developers with excellent locations. He said RPGT had in the past been one of the prime hurdles for foreign buyers, given the higher holding risk.
“As for the mass residential market (low- to mid-end), the oversupply situation still persists, hence we will not be seeing much improvement there,” he said, noting that the removal of RPGT would encourage a more vibrant secondary market in this segment.
“We will be seeing more interest in property companies with niches in the mid- to high-end market segment in the coming months. Although most of the counters have soared in anticipation of the abolishment, there are still many that are undervalued,” Chow said.
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