Lui (second right) presenting a memento to Goh.
KOTA KINABALU: People are cautious with their investments in the face of escalating house prices, said Kota Kinabalu Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry president Michael Lui Yen Sang.
Lui said that in view of the unresolved Euro debt crisis, the continuing high unemployment rate in USA and the just concluded 13th general election, the direction of housing development in Sabah is yet to be clear, thus investors are still cautious in their commitments.
However, he stressed that the real estate development is a major engine of growth leading other spheres of economic development.
He pointed out that over the past ten years, Sabah’s vigorous growth had in fact been spurred by the continuous smooth sailing of property development.
Lui was speaking during the seminar on housing development in Kota Kinabalu conducted by CH Williams & Talhar Sdn Bhd managing director Datuk Chong Choon Kim, Sabah Housing and Real Estates Developers Association (SHAREDA) president Francis Goh and Chartered Bank Bhd SMEs Financing regional manager Jackson Phan.
He expressed his gratitude that the three key speakers were willing to share their knowledge with authority in their respective fields with KKCCI seminar participants.
Meanwhile, Goh urged the government to remove the restrictive policies of overtaxing housing developers so that it could see a 15 per cent reduction in housing prices.
The imposition of multiple statutory fees such as the 30 per cent quota for bumiputra and restriction on transfer for the bumiputra quota within five years make the assets non-liquid and hence affecting financing for the developers, he said.
Government-linked companies should not compete in the market and should play a complementary role, Goh opined.
The numerous fees and contributions imposed by Sabah Electricity Sdn Bhd (SESB) on power supply, the telecom services, the additional premiums for division of land titles and the unreasonable reduction of 999-year leases to 99-year leases are all factors increasing the cost of houses, he said.