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Whenever I speak to my fellow Singaporeans about investing in Kuala Lumpur, the first thing they ask me is, is it safe? It does not help that news on fly-by-night developers who abandoned their projects after taking away investors’ money, has further reinforced their negative perception of Malaysia.
Like any other investments, you need to do due diligence before you commit to them. In the case of investing in Malaysia, you need to look at the track record of the developer, the developer’s financial statement, the marketing agents, location, demand, expected rental yield and also capital appreciation.
Whenever I am in Kuala Lumpur, I always make it a point to meet up with my contacts, be it analysts, consultants, developers, agents and public relations companies to get a feel of the property market there. Aside from glitzy marketing brochures and advertisements, market talk can be quite a reliable source of information.
Recently, I came across an inside story while I was there. Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) is developing Ampang into a medical hub as part of its 5-year masterplan. Ampang, also known as Embassy Row (think Singapore’s Tanglin area), is a prime area lined with foreign embassies and a huge expatriate community. It is also within 5-minutes drive to KLCC.
The medical hub that is coming up there is a mixed-use development project called Olive 108 developed by the Al-Hidayah Group. It comprises three condominium towers, a service apartment and an office tower with a proposed bridge that links directly to Gleneagles Intan Medical Hospital, just opposite the development.
I did my due diligence by doing some background checks on the developer and found out that they are a huge conglomerate with businesses spanning from property development to Islamic finance. As I dug deeper, it turned out, they have appointed a Singaporean real estate agency to market their development. Now that my doubts are cleared, I can make a better assessment.
For those of you seeking treatment in Kuala Lumpur and investment opportunities, Olive 108 is, in my opinion, a good investment. There are four reasons why:
1. Gleneagles is one of the approved Malaysian hospitals by the Ministry of Health for usage of your CPF Medisave.
2. Ampang is a highly sought after location but the property prices there are not as expensive as those in the KLCC area.
3. Rental yields are attractive. I asked a few agents there and they said, rental yield can be as much as RM10,000 a month.
4. In the event of an economic downturn, you still have a ready pool of quality tenants as embassy staff are still needed to run their respective government’s day-to-day operations.
Malaysia has made no secret of its ambitious plans to promote itself as a medical tourism destination, just like Singapore. The only distinct advantage it has, is the lower cost of treatment. The question is, will you be riding the wave and enjoying the fruits of your investment or kicking yourself in the foot when the medical hub is ready?
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Reader Comments (4 comments)
HI, can send me more details? I am interested.
Hi Mustaffa, For sure. You can contact me at khaliladis@gmail.com. I do travel to Kuala Lumpur quite a bit to write about the property market there. Incidentally, there will be a launch for Olive 108 this Sunday at the Pan Pacific Hotel. Drop me an email for more details.
Hi Khalil, interetsing article. I have the same thoughts abt KL, it the place to invest now. Olive 108, read abt it a lot. Let me know, when you will be in KL, maybe we cld catch up on some projects together. Cheers
Can I noe e contact ?