Iskandar developers seen taking a big hit

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Malaysia gorvernment announced measures to cool its property markets.

Against the wall: RHB said Medini, one of Iskandar's flagship developments, is likely to experience a slowdown in home sales in the near term. - FILE PHOTO

[DEVELOPERS with substantial exposure to the Iskandar Malaysia region are expected to be the "worst hit" by recent property measures, as heftier taxes would deter short-term foreign purchasers who also account for a significant portion of residential sales in some areas, a research house has said.

At the same time, overseas developers are expected to be more cautious about land transactions as more punitive taxes could lead to higher landholding costs, said RHB Research.

CBRE data indicates that foreign buyers account for 54 per cent of total high-rise residential sales (by developers) in Nusajaya, and 39 per cent in Johor Baru and major suburbs.

But the new 30 per cent RPGT (real property gains tax) on foreigners who gain on disposals within the first five years of acquisition is likely to "wipe out short-term foreign speculators to a certain extent", RHB observed in a real estate report dated yesterday.]

Broker seeks to recover US$68m from 10 clients

Broker seeks to recover US$68m from 10 clients

[SINGAPORE] Global broking giant Interactive Brokers has launched the largest legal action so far in the wake of October's penny stock collapse, taking aim at at least 10 clients as it seeks to recover about US$68 million of losses.

BT understands that Interactive Brokers launched arbitration proceedings earlier this month against 10 individuals and entities through the American Arbitration Association.

Pending the start of arbitration proceedings, the global broker has also obtained court orders in Singapore and Malaysia to freeze the assets of eight of those clients, including certain directors and shareholders of Asiasons Capital, Blumont Group, LionGold Corp and Innopac Holdings - four of the stocks at the centre of last month's selldowns.

According to court documents inspected by The Business Times and confirmed by sources, Interactive Brokers on Nov 8 sought court orders to freeze the assets of Malaysian nationals Neo Kim Hock, Peter Chen Hing Woon, Tan Boon Kiat, Quah Su-Ling, Lee Chai Huat and Kuan Ah Ming; and two British Virgin Islands-registered companies, Sun Spirit Group Ltd and Neptune Capital Group Ltd.

How Singaporeans can get 10 long weekends in 2014

How Singaporeans can get 10 long weekends in 2014

Mark your calendars now.

Singapore – With proper planning, you can enjoy 10 long weekends next year without busting your leave bank.

Based on the 11 gazetted public holidays for 2014 released by the Ministry of Manpower, you can enjoy 10 long weekends by taking only six days of leave and two days off-in-lieu.

There will be three long weekends next year for Chinese New Year, Good Friday, Hari Raya Puasa and Hari Raya Haji, and because National Day falls on a Saturday next year, employees are entitled to claim a day off-in-lieu. 
Most employees should be able to claim and extra lieu day for Chinese New Year.

Mark the following dates in your 2014 calendar to make the most out of your vacation days:

To kick-start the year with a long weekend, take leave on January 2 and 3 so you get January 1 to 5 off.
Over the CNY period, claim January 30 as off-in-lieu, so you’re off until February 2.

In April, Good Friday falls on April 18, so the long weekend will span from April 18-20.

As Labour Day falls on a Thursday, take May 2 off so you’re off work from May 1-4.

For two long weekends in a row, apply for leave on 12 May so you get May 10-13 off for Vesak Day.

In July, you’ll have a long weekend from July 26-28 for Hari Raya Puasa.

In August, because National Day fall on a Saturday, you can choose to claim an off-in-lieu on August 8 for a long weekend.

October is another month with two long weekends; October 4-6 are public holidays for Hari Raya Haji, while you can take October 24 off for Deepavali and enjoy the long weekend from October 23-26.

Take December 26 off to enjoy a long Christmas weekend from December 25-28.