Overseas property investment news
Malaysia Scraps Property Capital Gains Tax (Reuters)
● Malaysia to scrap the real property gains tax (RPGT) on April 1 follows Government’s December decision to remove the cap on the number of houses foreigners can buy and allow borrowing from local banks.
● Move to mimic Singapore’s abolishion of tax on profits from the sale of property and whose economy has outpaced Malaysia’s for 21 of the past 30 years.
● Relaxation in property-related policies is expected to encourage more foreigners to buy properties in Malaysia and stimulate local and foreign investment to help boost growth in Malaysia’s economy.
● Capital Kuala Lumpur property values a third of values in cities like Hong Kong and Singapore
● Current capital gains tax on property for foreigners - 30 percent for the first 5 years, drops to 5 percent in the 6th and subsequent years. Foreign investors still face heavy legal restrictions on land ownership in Malaysia.
● Presenting a very investor-friendly face, additional tax breaks for investors in Iskandar, a new development zone in the southern state of Johor, which neighbours Singapore. Malaysia’s ambition is to transform the drab area into a new Asian boom town with $105 billion in mostly private funding investment enticed by a 10 year exemption from corporate income tax incentive for companies investing in tourism, financial services and certain other industries.
● New growth areas - Penang and the Klang Valley, include Mont Kiara, Sri Hartamas, Setia Alam and Puchong.
● The Kuala Lumpur Property Index gained 2.4 percent as of 2:54 p.m. local time.
● Better transaction volumes will help reduce the oversupply of houses in the market and at the same time provide revenue to the Government through the stamp duty.
● Southeast Asia’s third-largest economy is forecast to grow 6% on 2006’s 5.9% growth accelerating Malaysia’s US$147 billion economy to a three-year high in 2007, according to Bank Negara Malaysia.
Croatia national tourist board targets 2% increases in tourism turnover (Travel Daily News)
● 2006 saw record 10.3 million people visit Croatia, four per cent more than in 2005. Foreign holiday-makers accounted for 8.6 million boosting exposure of property in Croatia to overseas investors.
● Announcement of £1.24 billion of tourism investment in 2007, HRK 4.8 billion in Croatian capital, Zagreb, followed by HRK 2.47 billion in the region of Istria.
● Large scale investments in road construction and seaports also planned for 2007 which could lead to benefits for the Croatian property market.
15 million tourists projected to visit Dubai by 2010 (AME Info)
● In 2006, 28.7m passengers passed through Dubai International Airport while 6.44m guests stayed in Dubai’s hotels.
● Hospitality consultant Ahmed Ramadan, expects the number of hotel rooms will grow to 110,000 by 2016.
● Iconic landmark The Mall of the Emirates welcomed over 4 million visits in the past year, making it the city’s leading tourist attraction. It houses over 450 international retail brands, a theatre spa and snowdome.
● Strong tourist representation from the GCC, UK, Germany, Russia and emerging Asian markets such as China.
European Cities Tourism Awards 2007 (ECM)
● European city tourism is growing faster than any other area of the European economy, according to European Cities Marketing (‘ECM’), which represents more than one hundred European cities, tourist boards and convention bureaus.
● Awards scheme celebrates world-class performance and best practice among Europe’s tourism cities and tourism organisations
● European Tourism City of the Year 2007 Nominees: Gothenburg, York and Valencia.
● European Tourism Organisation of the Year award 2007, the short-listed cities are Copenhagen, Gothenburg, Liverpool, Reykjavik and Valencia.
● Chosen cities reflect the rapid growth of the tourism industry, particularly in less traditional European destinations, which have benefited from the expansion of low-cost/no-frills airline services across the continent and from the boom of city break tourism since 2000.
● The European Cities Tourism Report 2006/7 studying 105 European cities over the last 5 years found Northern Europe’s largest metropolises true city tourism boom winners. Berlin (largely to its hosting of the FIFA World Cup), Barcelona and Prague have collectively seen an annualised increase of 550,000 room nights per annum, followed by Milan, Dublin, Rome, Budapest and Hamburg, who reported above 300.000 additional bednights each year.
● Fasted expanding Eastern European cities destinations in terms of overnight stays during the years 2000-2005 were Dubrovnik (130%), Tallinn (92 Ljubljana (71%), Zagreb (64%),Valencia (60%), Turin (50%), Bratislava (46%) and Barcelona (37%).
Tourism to be re-launched on the Costa del Sol (Typically Spanish)
● Plan includes creation of a new official called the ‘Defender of the Tourist’
● Junta de Andalucía approves ‘Plan Qualifica’ to benefit Torremolinos, Benalmádena, Fuengirola, Mijas, Marbella, Estepona, Casares y Manilva
● Town centres and tourist spaces revitalisation, improved environmental conditions and use of new technologies where possible
Brits flock to El Gouna during 2006
● El Gouna, the Red Sea’s premier leisure destination, announces the UK as its third largest source market for 2006
● Back in 2000 the UK only the 9th largest source of tourists for the destination
● Trend demonstrates increasing significance of UK tourists compared to other European countries in emerging markets
● Highest ranking source country Germany, for the last eight years, accounting for nearly a quarter of all arrivals in 2006
● El Gouna popularity with British holidaymakers (couples prime customer) demonstrated by new tour operators featuring it as a Winter Sun destination for 2007
● The El Gouna passenger total was up 3% year on year and the average duration of stay increased from nine to ten days
