PINEWOOD In Iskandar Malaysia to Boost TV Industry

Pinewood Iskandar Malaysia Studios is set to contribute RM2.2 billion to Malaysia's film and television industry, said Information Communications and Culture Minister Datuk Seri Dr Rais Yatim.

Expected to be completed in May 2013, the studio will significantly boost the growth of Malaysia's film industry players.

"Pinewood Iskandar Malaysia Studios is our venture into the world of film and television equipment and post-production," said Rais, adding that the country's film and television industry will become more sophisticated thanks to the studio.

The facilities at Pinewood Iskandar Malaysia Studio will be utilised by local industry players and those from other countries in Asia.

Meanwhile, Tushar Jain, Director of New Delhi-based BTC Tours & Travel, claimed that the new theme parks in Iskandar Malaysia may not be that appealing to Indians, who are more familiar with Universal Studios Singapore.

"There's hardly been any promotions in India for Legoland, Sanrio Hello Kitty Town and The Little Big Club," he said.

"Secondly, the parks in Iskandar are aimed at young children, whereas Universal Studios Singapore caters to all ages. From a business perspective, it makes more sense for us to bring clients just to Universal Studios when they visit Singapore."

Leo Chan, Marketing Manager at Charlotte Travel, also opined that tourists from Hong Kong may see little sense in visiting Johor unless "they were die-hard Hello Kitty or Lego fans".

"When Hong Kong tourists visit Singapore, they stay for only four days. They do not want to visit more than one theme park (besides Universal Studios) during that time, especially if they have to travel out of Singapore. However, they might hop over to Johor on subsequent trips," he noted.

Dennis Law, Managing Director at Star Holiday Mart (Singapore), is also doubtful whether Iskandar theme parks can attract visitors from outside Malaysia and Singapore, claiming that there are not enough tourism infrastructures in the region.

He added that cost is another factor to consider, but if the theme parks "band together to develop value-for-money packages, they might just be able to draw visitors from Singapore and other parts of Malaysia."

Johor Bahru A Draw on Singapore Expat

Expatriates from Singapore are attracted by bigger and cheaper homes in Johor while Malaysians struggle to find affordable housing, reported The Straits Times.

Singapore expats lured to buy homes in the state are spurred by the new lifestyle offerings and the number of infrastructure projects in Johor as well as the strong strength of the Singapore dollar against the Malaysian ringgit.

Since the Iskandar Malaysia economic zone was set up in 1996, the number of foreign buyers of housing projects in the region has steadily moved upwards. Some of these projects include Ledang heights, Leisure Farm Resort and Horizon Hills.

UEM Land said that about half of the units of their housing projects in Nusajaya are sold to foreigners. Prices of units range between RM2 million and RM7 million while monthly rents inched up between RM8,000 and RM20,000.

Such prices are significantly lower compared with those in Singapore, plus the completion of several infrastructure improvements attracts people as well.

"With projects such as Marlborough College, Legoland, Pinewood Studios, and hospitals and universities completed or nearing completion, there is not the same level of risk associated with investing," said David Bochsler, Director of Sales and Marketing at Exhale, who also lives in Johor but works in Singapore.

Mall of Medini Phase 1 Opens to Public

The first phase of the Mall of Medini was recently soft-launched by its developer, Nusajaya Lifestyle Sdn Bhd, a joint-venture (JV) company between UEM Land Holdings Bhd and Iskandar Harta Holdings Sdn Bhd (IHHSB) - a unit of Iskandar Investment Bhd, reported The Star.

The Mall of Medini draws inspiration from successful shopping complexes and theme parks in the US such as The Grove, Americana and Universal Citywalk. The retail centre is also near Legoland and is set to become the lifestyle, entertainment and recreational hub of Nusajaya, one of the key regions in Iskandar Malaysia.

Phase 1 of Mall of Medini features a high-street and colonnade-style retail lay-out, which is a departure from conventional box-shaped shopping malls. The Mall also has retail mix consisting of F&B outlets, fashion stores, as well as gifts and souvenir shops. Aside from that, it also has a cool, naturally-ventilated shopping environment.

At present, 90 percent of the retail space have already been taken up by well-known brands such as Blackball,1901, Tutti Frutti, Polo Haus, Penang Village, Royal Selangor, Manhattan Fish Market and KFC.

"We are excited to see the soft opening of Phase 1 of the Mall of Medini which is approximately 10 percent of the mixed development's overall two million sq ft of gross floor area," said Datuk Wan Abdullah Wan Ibrahim, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of UEM Land.

"This is just the beginning of what will be developed in four phases over a period of eight years, with an estimated gross development value of RM1 billion," he added.

Tun Razak Exchange -TRX, Iskandar to Boost Malaysia's Competitiveness

The Tun Razak Exchange (TRX) and booming Iskandar Malaysia will increase the country's competitiveness in the ASEAN region, said Kumar Tharmalingam, Chief Executive Officer of Malaysia Property Incorporated.
Ideally located near the gateway to Singapore, the bustling Iskandar region has amassed significant interest from other countries in Asia as well multinational players.
"Even the Singapore government is providing incentives for companies to relocate their plants to Iskandar and to save landbanks on the island," noted Kumar, adding that the new strategy will happen over the next three years.
Notably, foreign investments in the corridor soared to 24 percent from just eight percent, a testament to the economic corridor's growing allure, said Kumar. He added that "investments are mainly coming from Singapore".
Meanwhile, the TRX is poised to transform Kuala Lumpur as South East Asia's new financial hub, just like Hong Kong and Singapore.
At the same time, Malaysia is also becoming a logistics hub for many international companies due to its strategic location in Asia.
"For instance, European companies are now looking at the ASEAN region as they no longer want to deal with Europe, China or India," added Kumar, highlighting the strong potentials of Malaysia and Indonesia.
Aside from Johor and Greater KL, other state states that are attracting solid investments are Penang, Sarawak, Perak, Melaka and Sabah, he added.

1 Tebrau To Drive Investments Into Jalan Tebrau Johor Bahru

The end of 2015 will mark a new era for Jalan Tebrau following the completion of the RM330 million 1Tebrau, an integrated development featuring designer suites and shop offices that replicate those in the Klang Valley.

Comprising 588 designer suites and 36 four-storey offices, the development is expected to attract not only local but foreign investors.

"We are excited to introduce some of our unique concepts to the Southern region, which will be the group's current focus," said Datuk David Koh, Executive Chairman at Dis-tinctive Group.

Since its soft launch in June, the project has received strong sales take-up, particularly for Type A designer suites which reached 100 percent and dual-frontage shop offices in Block A now 80 percent taken up, noted Koh.

"The project is the group's first venture into Johor and we will be focusing on two upcoming residential and commercial projects in Medini, Nusajaya," he added.

V. Sivadas, Property Consultant and Executive Director of PA International Property Consult-ants Sdn Bhd, described 1Tebrau as "among the first modern mixed development along Jalan Tebrau and is definitely in line with the government's initiative to transform and rejuvenate Johor Baru city."

The project features 588 designer suites in three-bedroom or studio lay-outs and are priced from RM343,000 to RM648,000.

Meanwhile, the shop offices ranging between 735 sq ft and 10,618 sq ft are priced from RM1.9 million to RM5 million.