By Sin Chew Daily
A Chinese real estate tycoon has deduced that there are seven advantages and seven disadvantages when it comes to investing in Malaysia. While we agree to some of the specified advantages and disadvantages, some we beg to differ.
Malaysians take pride in the fact that our country is blessed with a moderate climate as well as enviable geographical environment and natural resources, without any major natural disasters. This, invariably, is the most precious asset we must do everything to preserve.
Coupled with sound government policies, this should make us a favourite destination among foreign investors.
Complemented by a relatively well-developed healthcare and other facilities, the Malaysia My Second Home (MM2H) programme, for instance, should give foreigners peace of mind to purchase properties, which are among the cheapest in the region and enjoy their retirement here.
In recent years, many Chinese companies have made significant inroads into the lucrative Malaysian market, participating in local infrastructure projects or investing in the real estate market.
While the Chinese government’s “One Belt One Road” initiative and excellent Sino-Malaysian relations are catalysts to the investment, we cannot overlook the fact that among countries along the Maritime Silk Road, Malaysia is one of few with a large ethnic Chinese population, a well-developed Chinese language education system and impeccably preserved Chinese culture.
This should serve as a pull factor to lure Chinese nationals here to do business, invest, live, study, or work.
We take pride in our seven advantages, but we cannot deny the existence of the seven disadvantages as well, although some have been exaggerated.
Take public security for instance. While street crimes do occur, the country in general is still comparatively safe. The tragic disappearance of MH370 and the assassination of Kim Jong Nam that led to the country’s unfortunate categorisation as unsafe are at best isolated cases.
The exceptional competency and efficiency on the part of the Malaysian police in investigating Kim Jong Nam’s killing shows that our police absolutely have the ability to protect the safety of our people. The same thing can happen anywhere else, and by no means should anyone conclude that this country is unsafe.
Traffic congestion indeed is a major headache for people living in the city, but where this is concerned, KL is less congested when compared with other regional cities like Jakarta, Manila and Bangkok. Notably, our public transportation network is also better developed compared with the public transport available in these cities.
In addition, several major infrastructure projects, such as the Kuala Lumpur-Singapore high speed rail and major port developments are in the pipeline and will greatly improve connectivity within the country and beyond. This is poised to multiply the investors’ returns.
The government has in recent years focused on such projects rather than conventional mega projects in the hope of creating a more business-friendly and livable environment.
The sluggish progress of some projects to a certain extent could be attributed to the current bad weather, more expensive imported raw materials as well as material shortage.
Similarly, currency fluctuation could be due to internal factors as well as external ones beyond the control of our government. It is undeniable that international analysts have been quite upbeat about this country’s economic outlook.
While developers emphasise profitability, purchasers’ concerns are more broad-based. Rental returns are not the primary consideration, but pricing and location are.
Developers should study the country’s housing market from different angles to realise that some really minor issues will not actually have much effect on investment returns.
Sin Chew Daily is a local vernacular publication
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