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Agence France-Presse/Getty Images Malaysian opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim’s accuser, Mohamad Saiful Bukhari Azlan, waves from a car on Feb. 4 2010. KUALA LUMPUR — Now that Malaysian opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim has been acquitted of sodomy , what’s next for the aide who accused him, 26-year-old Saiful Bukhari Azlan? So far it’s not clear. Mr.

Saiful couldn’t be reached for comment. But he suggested on his blog Monday that Judge Zabadin Diah’s verdict might not be the end of the two-year drama that has riveted this country of 28 million people. “My family and I hope the prosecution will bring this case to the Appeals Court,” Mr.

Saiful wrote. Prosecutors have roughly two weeks to decide whether to appeal Mr. Anwar’s acquittal.

So far they are not saying what they intend to do. Mr.

Saiful’s family, though, are adamant that Mr. Anwar really did sodomize the young man and that it wasn’t a political conspiracy to destroy a strengthening opposition movement, as Mr. Anwar says (and which the government denies).

There is enough uncertainty around the case to suggest that those Malaysians who already believe the opposition leader is guilty may not change their minds. Justice Zabidin ruled Monday that Mr.

Saiful’s testimony was uncorroborated. He said the court was reluctant to convict Mr. Anwar based on Mr.

Saiful’s word alone, and that the CSI-style DNA evidence presented by the prosecution was flawed and insufficient to support a conviction. Mr. Anwar’s previous sodomy conviction in 1999, which was overturned in 2004, was based on witness testimony. In addition, three of Mr. Anwar’s political foes last year released a video tape of a man whom they say is Mr. Anwar having sex with a prostitute. Mr. Anwar and his family deny he is the man in the tape, but the lingering controversy suggests that Malaysia’s political dramas might continue for months yet. Mr.

Saiful might not disappear from the public eye as easily as he might hope. Mr.

Saiful worked briefly for the Malaysian opposition’s election campaign in 2008. Volunteers such as Mr.

Saiful helped make a crucial difference.

The opposition won over a third of the seats in Malaysia’s Parliament, casting a chill over the ruling National Front coalition that has governed Malaysia since independence from Britain in 1957 and inspiring talk of a “political tsunami” in this closely controlled nation.

Then Mr.

Saiful’s life took a radically different direction. He visited Najib Razak, then deputy prime minister, and told him that Mr. Anwar had sodomized him at a Kuala Lumpur condominium complex. Mr. Najib said he told Mr.

Saiful to do what he felt was right – and Mr.

Saiful soon filed a police complaint against Mr. Anwar, setting in motion a dramatic chain of events in which he testified in court that, among other things, the 64-year-old opposition leader roughly sodomized him before treating him to coffee and curry pastries. Mr.

Saiful stayed away from commenting on the verdict. Instead, he logged onto Twitter to say that he would “remain calm, continue praying and be patient.” – Celine Fernandez in Kuala Lumpur contributed to this article.

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What’s Next For Anwar’s Accuser?

Thailand Business News –

This year’s floods have had a vast impact on the property market, with sectors affected across the board. But the impact varies from sector to sector,from residential to industrial.

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Floods Won’t Affect Thai Property Market in the Long Term
Thailand’s property sector is showing signs of an early recovery, as selective investors return to purchasing real estate stocks and actual property.

Some of the credit goes to a one-year government stimulus package that reduces the Special Business Tax from 3.3% to 0.11%, extends the reduction on transfer taxes from 2% to 0.01% and mortgage registration fees and provides a tax deduction on mortgage principal and interest.
Thailand’s property indicators show:

1.The Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) index began rebounding in April 2009, and property stocks – while the first to fall in H2/08 – were amongst the first to recover
2. The Bank of Thailand (BoT) has lowered its policy interest rate four times since December 2008, prompting banks to reduce the minimum lending rate (MLR) from 7.25% to 6.25%
3. A continued drop in sales of durable goods due to uncertainty surrounding the economy is highlighted consumer confidence index (CCI) to a historic low of 72.8 in Q1/09 and New housing registrations in Bangkok and surrounding areas fell 43.8% in Q1/09

Recognising that sales would slow, forward-thinking companies took the opportunity to focus on their fundamentals and improve their balance sheets. This was the strategy of Hubert Viriot, CEO of the luxury developer Raimon Land, who was appointed in the midst of the crisis.

Second, Thailand’s banking system is much healthier than its Western counterparts. There are no toxic assets on local banks’ balance sheets. This benefits both the supply and demand side.

But a stable political environment in Thailand would likely see interest rates rise by half a percentage point. And oil prices will float at about US$85 to $95 a barrel. Construction costs will rise when oil prices and interest rates are in an upward trend. Overall housing supply has dropped over the past two years with a decrease in the number of construction permits. Many small-sized developers went bust after failing to access loans from local financial institutions.

By Sam Holmes and Shibani Mahtani Propertyguru.com.sg (screenshot) A rental advertisement for a condominium in Singapore specifies that no Indians, Malays or citizens from the People’s Republic of China be allowed to rent the property. SINGAPORE – A three-bedroom condominium for rent in Singapore’s cosmopolitan Claymore Hill area in the central part of the island boasts a pool, a gymnasium, and proximity to the Orchard Road shopping district. It would be a great catch for any high income family – unless you happen to be Indian. The listing, which appeared November 3 on the Property Guru classified listings website, beckons prospective tenants to “search no more” but adds the following caveat: “Accept all race, except indian sorry no offence (sic).” While multiracial Singapore has established an enviable reputation worldwide for its social harmony in recent decades—especially compared with its more conflict-prone regional neighbors – racial discrimination remains an unabashed fact of life in the city-state’s residential rental market. A significant number of property advertisements on rental websites such as Singapore-based Property Guru or Craigslist specify that no Indians, ‘PRCs’ (from the People’s Republic of China) or Malays be allowed to rent various properties. Some ads also specify that Japanese, Caucasian or Chinese tenants are preferred. Although the number of listings with such requests varies over time, a recent search for rental ads on one property site that stated preferences against tenants from mainland China alone yielded an estimated 200 such listings from over the past month. Such specifications are not illegal under Singaporean law, though they are officially discouraged for rental properties and are, at times, questioned by residents. “Certainly, the ads’ specification against people of certain races or nationalities is discriminatory. It flows from certain stereotypes of specific categories of people,” said Eugene Tan, a professor of law at the Singapore Management University. But “it is not illegal in the Singapore context as landlords are free to specify their requirements.” Singapore’s Council of Estate Agents, a statutory board under the purview of the government’s Ministry of National Development, says it doesn’t condone racial discrimination. It also said in a response to queries from The Wall Street Journal that it has advertising guidelines in place to prevent discrimination, but “some landlords have explained that they face practical considerations renting out their properties, leading to certain requirements in rental transactions.” It did not specify what those considerations were. The statement went on to say that the government plans to continue educational efforts stressing the importance of mutual respect to preserve ethnic harmony. The prevalence of race-specific property listings in Singapore comes at a time when Singaporeans have grown increasingly conscious of – and dissatisfied with – the large number of immigrants working and living in their midst , particularly from mainland China and India. An estimated 1.9 million foreign nationals now live in Singapore, which has a total population of about 5.2 million. Residents often complain that those immigrants add to traffic, take local jobs and help push property prices out of reach for some younger families, among other problems. The government has responded with a number steps in recent years to limit the number of foreign workers coming in, such as an increase in levies employers pay to bring in foreign workers. The government has also long used strict rules governing who can buy properties – though not over who can rent them – to help ensure social order and encourage racial and cultural integration. Most of the city-state’s residences – about 80% — are government Housing Development Board (HDB) flats, which are Singapore’s version of public housing. Such flats can only be sold to Singaporeans or permanent residents, and are regulated by an Ethnic Integration Policy, which sets limits on the number of Chinese, Malays and Indians – Singapore’s three main ethnic groups – in each public housing block and neighborhood so as to maintain a roughly even ethnic distribution across the island. In 2010, HDB added newer rules that limit the number of units in a building that can be sold to some permanent residents, which includes foreigners who have met many, but not all, of the requirements to become full citizens. While discriminatory in practice, the government’s policies on ethnic integration in the public housing market have generally been accepted both locally and internationally as their broader aims are seen as working toward a greater degree of social harmony and cultural acceptance. However, these quotas and limits do not apply to either the public or private rental markets, nor for purchases of private residential units outside the HDB scheme. The local Council of Estate Agents’ guidelines include admonitions against marketing tactics that “indicate preference for any race or religion in all advertisements, unless it is to comply with the Ethnic Integration Policy which aims to achieve a balanced ethnic mix among the various ethnic communities living in public housing estates.” However, there are no hard laws on the matter and no punishments. Despite those guidelines, advertising considered discriminatory by some residents in both the public and private rental markets is still very visible on many property-listings websites. Property Guru says it employs a team to moderate the more than 100,000 listings on its site to check against “racist or anti-social content” that contravenes Singapore’s anti-sedition and racial harmony laws. But it still makes allowances for clients to request their preferences even when it comes to race and ethnicity. “We understand that agents have to take care of their clients’ preferences,” said a spokesperson from Property Guru, adding that if any listing is found to be racist or anti-social, agents are contacted and told to amend the information. Craigslist did not respond to a request for comment. In some cases, the discrimination revolves around worries about residents’ cooking styles, which sometimes rely heavily on odor-intensive oils and spices. In those instances, Property Guru suggests agents and landlords use less-divisive language to address such concerns but its policies stop short of prohibiting such ads outright. Instead of saying ‘No Indian or No Malay Allowed,’ (the ad) can be put as ‘light cooking allowed’ or ‘owner prefers (tenants) who do not do Asian cooking,” the spokesperson explained. Even if those changes are made, though, discrimination can still occur in other ways. For example, a Canadian professional of Indian origin who works in Singapore said even landlords and agents that don’t explicitly discriminate in advertisements still do so later on in the application process. “It’s understandable if they have an issue with Indians who cook, for example, but to generalize based on just your ethnicity is unfair,” the Canadian, who chose to remain anonymous, said. The man recalled one incident in which an agent said, “but you look Indian, let me check with the landlord if Indian is okay.” Agents will also often ask prospective tenants to provide details of their race in their rental applications. “Many times they are still willing to meet if you respond ‘Indian’ but sometimes they say ‘profile not suitable’,” he continued. Experts say that while the “market decides” on rental properties in Singapore, the government can exert moral suasion on landlords not to discriminate, though it is hard to legislate in such an area. “The issue is more an ethical one than a legal one,” said SMU’s Mr. Tan. “To be sure, such ads do work against existing efforts at racial and religious integration here in Singapore (and) also work against Singapore’s efforts to attract immigrants to live and work here.”

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Discrimination Pervasive in Singapore Rental Market

Thailand Business News – Thailand Business News

New launches for Q3 2011 were dramatically down compared with the previous quarter by around 74%. Approximately 3,000 units were launched in Q3 compared to around 11,600 in Q2 2011 and was the lowest number recorded in the past three years. Share this Article

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Short term uncertainties cause 74% drop in condominium launches

Prinsiri took a similar approach.

Second, Thailand’s banking system is much healthier than its Western counterparts. There are no toxic assets on local banks’ balance sheets. This benefits both the supply and demand side.

The mid to high-end segment boomed this year in Thailand as demand was wide and remained strong. The high-end will recover in the third or fourth quarter. But supply in this segment is very limited due to scarcity of land for new developments. Around 80% of the new launch in this segment was taken up. New supply in the high-end segment, now quoted at 150,000 to 200,000 baht a square metre, will be provided by developers with a strong financial status, experienced teams and products that match demand.
Currently, the MahaNakhon project is the only new high-end project in the pipeline. The Sukhothai Residence project on Sathorn Road, which is 70% sold, has frozen sales until demand can sustain the desired prices.

Thailand Business News – Thailand Business News

In the past two years Bangkok has seen several leasehold condominium projects launched, including the Residences at the St Regis Bangkok, the Ritz-Carlton Residences, Bangkok, and the Oriental Residence. While buyers’ preferences have traditionally been for freehold property, these top-end leasehold projects are seeing a significant increase in demand. Share this Article

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Demand for Bangkok Leasehold Condominiums on the Rise

The SET index bottomed at 432 in December 2008 after tumbling from a high of 833 earlier that year. The index then levelled off in Q1/09, before working its way back to 560 in May. Triggered by positive pre-sale signs from developers, a reduction in construction costs and the government’s stimulus package, property stocks were among the first to bounce back. The SET’s revival reached a mark just 32% below its peak, in line with other world stock markets including the Dow Jones (-33%), Singapore Straits Times (-27%), the Hang Seng (-25%) and the FTSE (-27%).

The Bank of Thailand Monetary Policy Committee stopped cutting its key rate in May 2009 after seeing signals of a recovering economy. Many expect banks to adjust their rates down once rising confidence supports housing purchases, and promotion campaign launches to grasp home buyers.

As a result of declining consumer confidence during four consecutive quarters there has been a dramatic drop in sales of big ticket items such as vehicles (-33%). Bangkok housing registrations for single houses and townhouse units have also been hit hard, while investments and new mass transit lines have boosted market share for condominiums in the residential property sector, although the market demand as a whole has been lower. Transactions will most likely remain slow until confidence returns to both buyers and bankers, who finance property developers and their customers.

Prinsiri took a similar approach.

Like Raimon Land, Prinsiri did not lower its prices : it was not all bad news, however, as the recovery soon took hold in the second half and by the fourth quarter GDP posted 5.8% growth and many developers reached their annual sales targets.

Developers are confident in the property market’s long-term potential, which will improve in line with Thailand’s economic growth, despite political turmoil on the streets of Bangkok.
Property firms in Thailand saw their performances improve in the first quarter compared to the same period last year, largely thanks to tax breaks for home-buyer. The property market has improved since the third quarter last year with sales picking up. Based on a wide range of forecasts, the Thai economy is expected to grow by 4% this year, but political uncertainty will reduce purchasing power and local and foreign investment in Thailand.

Thailand Business News – Thailand Business News

Whilst office demand has been slow, the market as of Q2 2011 was more active with clearer signs of expansion from existing tenants and a marginal increase in occupancy rates from the previous quarter to 86.5%. CBRE’s office enquiries were up 34.2% q-o-q, an upswing indicating the market is heading towards the right direction. Share this Article

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Bangkok Office Demand and Rent Heading upward

The SET index bottomed at 432 in December 2008 after tumbling from a high of 833 earlier that year. The index then levelled off in Q1/09, before working its way back to 560 in May. Triggered by positive pre-sale signs from developers, a reduction in construction costs and the government’s stimulus package, property stocks were among the first to bounce back. The SET’s revival reached a mark just 32% below its peak, in line with other world stock markets including the Dow Jones (-33%), Singapore Straits Times (-27%), the Hang Seng (-25%) and the FTSE (-27%).

The Bank of Thailand Monetary Policy Committee stopped cutting its key rate in May 2009 after seeing signals of a recovering economy. Many expect banks to adjust their rates down once rising confidence supports housing purchases, and promotion campaign launches to grasp home buyers.

As a result of declining consumer confidence during four consecutive quarters there has been a dramatic drop in sales of big ticket items such as vehicles (-33%). Bangkok housing registrations for single houses and townhouse units have also been hit hard, while investments and new mass transit lines have boosted market share for condominiums in the residential property sector, although the market demand as a whole has been lower. Transactions will most likely remain slow until confidence returns to both buyers and bankers, who finance property developers and their customers.

When the crisis ignited on Wall Street hit Thailand, our economic engine stalled early in 2009 and so did developers’ sales and revenues.

Several factors have contributed to the strong and rapid rebound.

The mid to high-end segment boomed this year in Thailand as demand was wide and remained strong. The high-end will recover in the third or fourth quarter. But supply in this segment is very limited due to scarcity of land for new developments. Around 80% of the new launch in this segment was taken up. New supply in the high-end segment, now quoted at 150,000 to 200,000 baht a square metre, will be provided by developers with a strong financial status, experienced teams and products that match demand.
Currently, the MahaNakhon project is the only new high-end project in the pipeline. The Sukhothai Residence project on Sathorn Road, which is 70% sold, has frozen sales until demand can sustain the desired prices.

Thailand Business News – Thailand Business News

For the third consecutive year CB Richard Ellis (CBRE) Thailand has made outstanding achievements at the Asia Pacific Property Awards in association with Bloomberg Television.  The winners were announced at the gala dinner on 31st May at The Longemont Hotel in Shanghai which was well attended by hundreds of property professionals from across Asia Pacific. The annual event is part of the International Property Awards, the world’s most prestigious competition dedicated to identifying the best real estate professionals across the globe. Share this Article

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CBRE Thailand wins 4 Property Awards

When the crisis ignited on Wall Street hit Thailand, our economic engine stalled early in 2009 and so did developers’ sales and revenues.

Third, and perhaps most importantly, the property sector is benefiting from a deep and fundamental change in Thai society. Traditionally, children have stayed in their parents’ home well into adulthood. Even though they may work in urban areas, they often live in suburban neighborhoods and commute to work.

Only large developers on the stock market remain on the Thai market, as they can access a source of funding. Prices of single detached houses and townhouses only rose moderately over the past year, with condominium prices increasing the most to more than 100,000 baht a square metre in Bangkok from 80,000 to 90,000 baht.

A fresh wave of Chinese buyers, coupled with Canada’s already frothy home prices, has vaulted Vancouver into the ranks of the world’s most unaffordable real-estate markets.

Bungalows—small, detached, single-story homes, some in need of significant repair—can command prices well above a million Canadian dollars (US$1.02 million.) One local website, crackhouseormansion.com, invites visitors to guess whether homes pictured on the site are property sold for more than C$1 million or are alleged crack houses.

The Canadian Real Estate Association says the average house price in Canada in April was C$372,544, up 8% from last year. In Vancouver, it was more than twice that, at C$815,252, up 21% from a year ago.

Demographia, a property-affordability survey published by Illinois-based consultant Wendell Cox, estimates that median real-estate prices in Vancouver are 9.5 times median household income. Only Hong Kong and Sydney are less affordable by that measure. (New York comes in at 5.1.)

The price rises are especially sharp in the high end of the market, with real-estate agents pointing to a flood of foreign buyers, particularly Chinese. Condominiums are popular, but so are single-family homes, including fixer-uppers that buyers eventually tear down. While there is some speculative buying, Canadian and Chinese agents say Chinese buyers are looking for longer-term investments to diversify their holdings outside of the mainland.

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After keeping its currency tightly linked to the US dollar for years, China in July 2005 revalued its currency by 2 % against the US dollar and moved to an exchange rate system that references a basket of currencies.

The Chinese government seeks to add energy production capacity from sources other than coal and oil, and is focusing on nuclear and other alternative energy development.

China has emphasized raising personal income and consumption and introducing new management systems to help increase productivity.

Some economists believe that Chinese economic growth has been in fact understated during much of the 1990s and early 2000s, failing to fully factor in the growth driven by the private sector and that the extent at which China is dependent on exports is exaggerated.

The country is one of the world’s largest producers of a number of industrial and mineral products, including cotton cloth, tungsten, and antimony, and is an important producer of cotton yarn, coal, crude oil, and a number of other products.

A report by UBS in 2009 concluded that China has experienced total factor productivity growth of 4 per cent per year since 1990, one of the fastest improvements in world economic history.

By the early 1990s these subsidies began to be eliminated, in large part due to China’s admission into the World Trade Organization (WTO) in 2001, which carried with it requirements for further economic liberalization and deregulation.

On top of this, foreign direct investment (FDI) this year was set to “surpass $100 billion”, compared to $90 billion last year, ministry officials predicted.

“The growth rate (for ODI) in the next few years will be much higher than previous years,” Shen said, without elaborating.

China is aiming to be the world’s largest new energy vehicle market by 2020 with 5 million cars.

In large part as a result of economic liberalization policies, the GDP quadrupled between 1978 and 1998, and foreign investment soared during the 1990s.

Even with these improvements, agriculture accounts for only 20% of the nation’s gross national product.

Except for the oasis farming in Xinjiang and Qinghai, some irrigated areas in Inner Mongolia and Gansu, and sheltered valleys in Tibet, agricultural production is restricted to the east.

Sheep, cattle, and goats are the most common types of livestock.

There are also extensive iron-ore deposits; the largest mines are at Anshan and Benxi, in Liaoning province.

China’s leading export minerals are tungsten, antimony, tin, magnesium, molybdenum, mercury, manganese, barite, and salt.

China also has extensive hydroelectric energy potential, notably in Yunnan, W Sichuan, and E Tibet, although hydroelectric power accounts for only 5% of the country’s total energy production.

Before 1945, heavy industry was concentrated in the northeast (Manchuria), but important centers were subsequently established in other parts of the country, notably in Shanghai and Wuhan.

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Chinese Fuel Vancouver Home Boom