The government approved 1,523 projects nationwide between January and the end of June, compared with 1,183 projects for the first half of last year, the Ministry of Land Management, Urban Planning and Construction announced on its website. The total value of the projects was billed at US$4.94 billion compared with US$3.87 billion during the same period a year earlier.

Kim Heang, president of the Cambodian Valuers and Estate Agents Association, said that while these figures at face value represented a positive movement for the sector, he doubted the report’s accuracy in calculating real capital inflows into the construction sector.

“The figures look good, but I still question if that is real money flowing into the sector or if it is just a number to keep on record,” he said on Sunday, adding that some developers inflate the value of their projects far above actual construction costs and land prices.

He noted, for instance, that there are projects that claim to be worth US$60 million when in fact the developer only has a US$10 million plot of land that needs US$20 million to develop.

“If this is the case, the money is not being injected into the sector yet,” he said. “They just own the land and have yet to develop.”

Heang added, however, that he believed that real construction activity is steadily increasing, |bringing with it more demand for construction materials and supplies.

Koam Bunna, managing director of K Supply, a distributor of door locks and accessories, said that the increase of condominium and office space projects has pushed up sales by 40 per cent for the first half of this year. He added that the government figure was a positive sign for sales for the rest of 2017.

“I have a positive view of the construction sector and I believe the demand for construction materials will remain strong,” he said.

Land Management Ministry officials declined to comment on the ministry’s figures.

That could mean around S$100 million (Bt 2.46 billion) going to what are known as deep technology firms exploring opportunities in these areas, Spring Singapore’s investment arm announced Sunday.

Spring Seeds Capital is on the hunt for co-investment partners and will match their capital injections into business models built around proprietary technology or research.

Foo Tiang Lim, an operating partner at venture capital firm Seed Plus, said: “The reality for start-ups working on solving problems in the areas identified is that the gestation period is too long. That means having more support in terms of patient capital will be crucial.”

It was announced in March that about $200 million would be set aside for Startup SG Equity. The programme replaced Spring Singapore’s Business Angel Scheme, where the government matched investments dollar for dollar up to $2 million.

Under the new scheme, Spring Seeds Capital will sink up to $4 million in each deep tech start-up. It will chip in 70 per cent – or $350,000 – of the first $500,000 invested, with its partners accounting for 30 per cent, or $150,000. Spring will then co-invest 50 per cent of any further funds injected, up to its limit of $4 million. This is twice as much as what general tech start-ups can get. Co-investment partners will be expected to help early-stage start-ups through commercialisation.

The three sectors were chosen for their high potential for growth, as well as their economic and social impact, Spring said.

Matthew Waterhouse, chief executive of additive manufacturers 3D Matters and 3D Metalforge, welcomed the initiative: “Funding (needs) for deep tech companies tend to be higher … so targeting these home-grown sectors for extra support makes a lot of sense.”

Theodore Tan, co-founder and managing director of biomedical incubator The Biofactory, added that co-investment is just the first step for deep tech and called for start-up bourses as a fund-raising alternative to venture capital.

“People should be able to take that risk,” he said.

Spring’s call for partners opens today and runs until August 25, with briefings for interested parties on Wednesday and Friday.

Energy and Mineral Resources Ministerial Regulation No. 11/2017 sets the maximum gas price of 8 per cent of the Indonesian Crude Price (ICP) per million British thermal units (mmbtu) for all gas wellhead power plants. Meanwhile, the price for non-wellhead plants is set at a maximum of 11.5 percent of the ICP per mmbtu.

If the gas price for non-wellhead facilities surpasses its maximum limit, electricity firms, including state-owned PLN, may use liquefied natural gas (LNG) at the same limit with free on board (FOB) shipping.

Then, if the LNG price is still higher than 11.5 percent of the ICP per mmbtu, such firms may import LNG, providing the price does not exceed the limit.

“Even if they [electricity firms] can get LNG for a price of 11.4 percent of the ICP, it would still be unfeasible because they would also need to bear the transportation and regasification costs,” Deputy Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Arcandra Tahar said recently.

It is possible that the maximum limit will be revised to provide a more affordable gas price for power generation, he said.

The ICP, used as a benchmark to calculate non-tax income in the state budget, averaged US$48.90 per barrel in the first half of this year.

Savills Malaysia Sdn Bhd chairman Datuk Christopher Boyd said the office market may only start experiencing a “pick-up” beyond 2020, on the back of rising demand for new, “improved” office space.

He emphasised that the incoming supply of offices comprised buildings that were far superior than its predecessors – making them appealing to investors.

“The new buildings that are coming in are a lot better than the ones that came in back in the 70s… the working environment that the new buildings provide today in terms of infrastructure and technology is fantastic,” he said when contacted by StarBiz.

Boyd said the absorption rate for new office space in 2016 was 580,000 sq ft, compared with 330,000 sq ft in 2015. “In a good year, it ranges between two million and three million sq ft per year. The reason for the drop is because major tenants within the oil and gas sector and those that serve them have dropped.There have been fewer investments in this sector since the drop in oil prices.”

On a brighter note, Boyd said the incoming supply of office space did not tantamount to “ridiculous numbers.”

“It’s not reached crazy numbers. It’s a cycle…an evolution process, albeit a painful one…but give it time and the market will self-correct.”

Boyd said more than 15 million sq ft of space was expected to enter the Greater Kuala Lumpur market within the next three years.

“In the next three years, we expect supply to grow further at a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 3.80 per cent.

Significant completions

“Significant completions in 2020 and 2021 will include Lot 91 & Lot 185 in KLCC, LendLease Lifestyle Quarters & Plot 10.17 in TRX. This will add on 3.88 million sq ft of office space in these two locations alone.”

Boyd said the existing supply of office space in Greater Kuala Lumpur stood at 118.4 million sq ft of net lettable area as of the first quarter of 2017.

“In terms of space, we are bigger than Bangkok, Jakarta and Manila,” he said, adding that the CAGR of supply in the past 11 years recorded was at 5.28%, with an average annual addition of 4.65 mil sq ft.

Boyd said the average vacancy rate in GKL had been steadily |growing from 8.1 per cent in 2008 |to 20.6 per cent in 2016.

“This is largely attributable to the gradual increase in vacancy at the back of growing new supply over the years.”

Boyd said the average vacancy rate in GKL increased to 20.9 per cent as of the first quarter of 2017.

“This is due to the higher average vacancy rate in Selangor (26.5 per cent ) and KL suburbs (22.6 per cent ) with the large amount of new completions in the region.

“With upcoming supply in the next two years (estimated more than 10 mil sq ft), we expect the overall vacancy rate to rise further.”

GKL refers to an area covered by 10 municipalities surrounding Kuala Lumpur, each governed by local authorities, namely Kuala Lumpur City Hall, Perbadanan Putrajaya, Shah Alam City Council, Petaling Jaya City Council, Klang Municipal Council, Kajang Municipal Council, Subang Jaya Municipal Council, Selayang Municipal Council, Ampang Jaya Municipal Council and Sepang Municipal Council.

According to the Valuation & Property Services Department’s Commercial Property Stock Table for the first quarter of 2017, there was an existing stock of 435 purpose-built offices measuring 94 million sq ft in Kuala Lumpur, compared with 431 offices measuring 89 million sq ft in the previous corresponding period.

In a statement Sunday, SSS president and chief executive Emmanuel F Dooc said over 850,000 members accessed the loan restructuring programme implemented for one year starting April 2016.

“We are very much overwhelmed by the huge volume of applicants, especially during the last few days before the deadline. We hope that members will be faithful in paying their restructured loan amortisation’s to avoid further penalties. We are expecting 8.6 billion pesos in collection until the end of the five-year instalment term,” Dooc said.

Total collections from the loan restructuring programme were expected to reach 13.8 billion pesos by 2022, Dooc said.

The program allowed delinquent borrowers to settle their unpaid loans in full within 30 days without added interest.