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17-08-2014, 09:24 AM
I bet my $ that he is up the wrong tree... he missed out on Aussie property market and obviously he is hoping that his bet will be ok...
I will never put my $ in M'sia given the politics that has been stagnant since the stepping down of Dr M and the constant outflow from rich locals from M'sia. The ever depreciating RM is a good reflection of the long term economic decline of M'sia...
Billionaire Lang Walker says Sydney, Melbourne house markets 'too hot'
Date
August 15, 2014
Billionaire developer Lang Walker is now betting on investments in Asia. Photo: Arsineh Housplan
'Phenomenal' Chinese demand for property set to continue
Billionaire Lang Walker, one of the country's largest property developers, says home prices in Sydney and Melbourne have climbed too much, and he is turning his focus to investments in Malaysia instead.
"Sydney is a little too hot at the moment," Mr Walker said in an interview in Singapore this week. "Melbourne has gone through a period of intense growth and that's plateaued off." However, the residential market in Brisbane still has some potential, he reckons.
Home prices in Sydney jumped 14.8 per cent in July from a year earlier, the fastest growth among all state and territory capitals, according to RP Data-Rismark. Melbourne prices rose 11 per cent, the second-fastest increase, and prices in Brisbane increased 6.9 per cent.
Mr Walker, whose company is behind developments such as Sydney's King Street Wharf and Main Drive Kew in Melbourne and has $12 billion of property projects in the pipeline, is looking to increase investments in southern Malaysia, where he has already put in about $2 billion into a project in the Johor region. Mr Walker said he is in talks for further investments in the city of Johor Bahru as he bets that demand from neighbouring Singapore will increase.
Residents of Singapore, which is southeast Asia's richest city, are increasingly crossing over into Malaysia, as they seek property, labor and amenities, often at half the cost or less. Economic growth and soaring immigration have strained Singapore's resources, making it one of the most expensive places to live in the world.
With cheaper land plentiful in southern Malaysia, money is pouring across the border. Singapore has invested at least 11 billion ringgit ($3.72 billion) in Iskandar Malaysia, a special economic zone in southern Johor established in 2006 that's three times the size of the city.
Turning prawn farms into apartments
Mr Walker is converting land, previously used for prawn-breeding farms, into swanky apartments. His Senibong Cove project is expected to be valued at about $7.5 billion along with an adjoining plot it will develop with a Singaporean company, the property tycoon said.
"It's the leverage off Singapore," Mr Walker said. "Singapore is very expensive. We can create and produce a product which is similar to what you get here in Singapore or Australia."
Walker Corp. made its foray into Asia in 2008 with a 5.5 billion ringgit investment to develop the Senibong Cove waterfront residential project.
Back at home, the company is developing Collins Square in Melbourne's CBD, Australia's largest commercial project with a value of about $1.6 billion.
In Sydney, Walker has also developed The Wharf at Woolloomooloo, a $300 million project that involved the refurbishment of a 400-meter heritage wharf on the fringe of the CBD with apartments, hotel, restaurants and a marina.
Bloomberg News
I will never put my $ in M'sia given the politics that has been stagnant since the stepping down of Dr M and the constant outflow from rich locals from M'sia. The ever depreciating RM is a good reflection of the long term economic decline of M'sia...
Billionaire Lang Walker says Sydney, Melbourne house markets 'too hot'
Date
August 15, 2014
Billionaire developer Lang Walker is now betting on investments in Asia. Photo: Arsineh Housplan
'Phenomenal' Chinese demand for property set to continue
Billionaire Lang Walker, one of the country's largest property developers, says home prices in Sydney and Melbourne have climbed too much, and he is turning his focus to investments in Malaysia instead.
"Sydney is a little too hot at the moment," Mr Walker said in an interview in Singapore this week. "Melbourne has gone through a period of intense growth and that's plateaued off." However, the residential market in Brisbane still has some potential, he reckons.
Home prices in Sydney jumped 14.8 per cent in July from a year earlier, the fastest growth among all state and territory capitals, according to RP Data-Rismark. Melbourne prices rose 11 per cent, the second-fastest increase, and prices in Brisbane increased 6.9 per cent.
Mr Walker, whose company is behind developments such as Sydney's King Street Wharf and Main Drive Kew in Melbourne and has $12 billion of property projects in the pipeline, is looking to increase investments in southern Malaysia, where he has already put in about $2 billion into a project in the Johor region. Mr Walker said he is in talks for further investments in the city of Johor Bahru as he bets that demand from neighbouring Singapore will increase.
Residents of Singapore, which is southeast Asia's richest city, are increasingly crossing over into Malaysia, as they seek property, labor and amenities, often at half the cost or less. Economic growth and soaring immigration have strained Singapore's resources, making it one of the most expensive places to live in the world.
With cheaper land plentiful in southern Malaysia, money is pouring across the border. Singapore has invested at least 11 billion ringgit ($3.72 billion) in Iskandar Malaysia, a special economic zone in southern Johor established in 2006 that's three times the size of the city.
Turning prawn farms into apartments
Mr Walker is converting land, previously used for prawn-breeding farms, into swanky apartments. His Senibong Cove project is expected to be valued at about $7.5 billion along with an adjoining plot it will develop with a Singaporean company, the property tycoon said.
"It's the leverage off Singapore," Mr Walker said. "Singapore is very expensive. We can create and produce a product which is similar to what you get here in Singapore or Australia."
Walker Corp. made its foray into Asia in 2008 with a 5.5 billion ringgit investment to develop the Senibong Cove waterfront residential project.
Back at home, the company is developing Collins Square in Melbourne's CBD, Australia's largest commercial project with a value of about $1.6 billion.
In Sydney, Walker has also developed The Wharf at Woolloomooloo, a $300 million project that involved the refurbishment of a 400-meter heritage wharf on the fringe of the CBD with apartments, hotel, restaurants and a marina.
Bloomberg News