Puteri Harbour Community

[menghuii]

Good News for PH in Nusajaya.

2 high-speed train services to Singapore, says operator

The Malaysian Insider
4 January, 2016
Both the Malaysian and Singaporean governments have come to a consensus on the alignment of the 330km high-speed rail (HSR) linking Kuala Lumpur to Singapore, and have decided on two services, one being a direct service linking Kuala Lumpur to the island republic, and another with transit stops in between.
“We are envisioning to start with two services – one that will go directly to Singapore, and another that will stop with transit services in Bandar Malaysia, Seremban, Melaka, Muar, Batu Pahat and Nusajaya, and then [across the causeway to] Singapore... even with the stops in between, we will have express services that do not stop,” MyHSR Corp Sdn Bhd chief executive officer Mohd Nur Ismal Mohamed Kamal told The Edge Financial Daily in an exclusive interview.
MyHSR Corp, which is wholly owned by the Finance Ministry, was given the mandate to develop and promote the HSR project, and is the project delivery vehicle accountable for the definition of the technical and commercial aspects of the project.
While the dedicated direct train is slated to take 90 minutes linking the two cities, the other with six transit stops in Malaysia should take about two hours, depending on the customs and immigration processes.
“As of now, the transit services will have to stop in Nusajaya, but for the direct service, you clear both customs and immigration checks [only once] in either Kuala Lumpur or Singapore... like the Eurostar between London and Paris,” Nur Ismal said.
On other key areas which have yet to be decided, such as the cost of the infrastructure project, which is said to be testing the RM70 billion mark now, Muhd Nur Ismal was non-committal and dispelled all the figures being bandied about as mere “speculation”.
“We are still in the midst of discussion with Singapore. We are trying to decide on the common grounds, the approach to tendering... this will determine if it is a government design-and-build contract or if certain parts are being done in other manners. So, it’s still not decided,” he said.
On whether there is a time frame or time limit as to when to finalise the key issues of the HSR, he said: “We have to come up with the best decisions for both countries... that are of high priority. However long it takes to get to the right decision, we will do it.”
Talks between officials of the two governments have been ongoing for some time now, but little information has been divulged. About three months ago, the Land Public Transport Commission (SPAD) and Singapore’s Land Transport Authority jointly launched a request for information (RFI) exercise to test industry opinion and gauge market interest in aspects of the HSR project.
This RFI exercise was mainly to gauge the perception of the general populace, in the event certain specifics are opted for.
Due to the high contract values, there has also been much lobbying by the Japanese and Chinese HSR players, both angling for the potentially large lucrative job. In the background, the South Koreans are also jostling for the large-scale job, while a clutch of European companies are understood to be setting up a consortium, also eyeing the job.
In a presentation by China Railway in December last year, the price tag of the Kuala Lumpur to Singapore HSR was pegged at RM70 billion, up from RM65 billion a few months ago, and up from a price tag of RM40 billion in May.
Questions over the supposedly high price tag have been raised lately, as about nine years ago, in 2007, conglomerate YTL and its technical partner, Germany’s Siemens AG, put in a proposal to build the HSR or bullet train linking Kuala Lumpur to Singapore at a cost of only RM8 billion. How the price of the HSR has escalated to the current level of RM70 billion is not clear. – The Edge Markets, January 4, 2016.

fyi today's st says everything is still in discussion, nothing's confirmed. as usual they always put the cart b4 the horse

 

[MEOWCAT]

Great that it's been confirmed that the cruise ships are alighting passengers to PH.

Anybody have news of the ferry from Singapore to PH? Last time said 2013, then 2014. then 2015. Anybody heard anything about it? In 2015, they started giving out pamphlets at the PH ferry terminal for this impending service. But then it was delayed. We thought "Never mind. Wait for Somerset TOP first then have permanent residents. Then we thought never mind wait for Imperia TOP first then we have truly critical mass".

So now is there any news of the ferry service or has it been swept under the carpet. Cos to me, if the two sides can't even settle this small thing when all the CIQs are built, how are they going to agree on the HSR?

I haven't been there for some time so keen to hear news on this.

 

[cow138]

When there's money to be made by the Malaysian govt involved, the project will proceed.. Never fear..

 

[freekazoid]

When there's money to be made by the Malaysian govt involved, the project will proceed.. Never fear..

Well said...

 

[Investor888]

Sure it will proceed. I am not worrying. They don't built a CIQ across Singapore and never had any ferries to Singapore right? But there is no critical mass yet I still think.

Great that it's been confirmed that the cruise ships are alighting passengers to PH.

Anybody have news of the ferry from Singapore to PH? Last time said 2013, then 2014. then 2015. Anybody heard anything about it? In 2015, they started giving out pamphlets at the PH ferry terminal for this impending service. But then it was delayed. We thought "Never mind. Wait for Somerset TOP first then have permanent residents. Then we thought never mind wait for Imperia TOP first then we have truly critical mass".

So now is there any news of the ferry service or has it been swept under the carpet. Cos to me, if the two sides can't even settle this small thing when all the CIQs are built, how are they going to agree on the HSR?

I haven't been there for some time so keen to hear news on this.

 

[menghuii]

Sure it will proceed. I am not worrying. They don't built a CIQ across Singapore and never had any ferries to Singapore right? But there is no critical mass yet I still think.

u know how spore does things right?
once agreed they dont suka2 chg right?
so for such important cross border policies they surely want it done right with all legal aspect settled for now and for future. I totally understand.

 

[Stimpy]

To be fair, i think 2017 will be a more feasible time to run the Ph ferry to SG as by then the demand would be more. 2018 onwards should see healthy ridership. Of course if they run it this year lagi Best!

No way it starts to run before 2018 (i.e. when SMR and PC are complete). I can't see the demand for anything more than weekend shuttles at the moment.

So...maybe a Saturday service to test the market in 2017, but 2018 for a regularised service.

 

[cybermad]

No way it starts to run before 2018 (i.e. when SMR and PC are complete). I can't see the demand for anything more than weekend shuttles at the moment.

So...maybe a Saturday service to test the market in 2017, but 2018 for a regularised service.

better to start later when demand is there then to start now and falter.

 

[Investor888]

better to start later when demand is there then to start now and falter.

That's very good view. Its like the Tebrau Shuttle. They started off with a bang and now the ridership is superb

 

[Dfiris]

To be or not to be.. A GST registrant
Posted on January 1, 2016
BY AGNES WONG

WHEN Malaysia moves into GST era, businesses, whether incorporated or personal, are required to assess their eligibility to register from time to time. While assessing GST registration status is rather straightforward for normal businesses, for individual property investors, it can be interesting as there are many variables to the equation.

Generally, there are two categories of property investors: those who invest using incorporated companies and those who use their individual names to do investments. For the purpose of this article, I will focus on property investors who invest using their individual names.

On 28 October 2015, the Director General of Royal Customs of Malaysia (DG of Customs) has made the following announcement:

Any individual who is not a GST registered person is treated as carrying out a business if he at any one time owns – (wef 28/10/2015)
(a) more than 2 commercial properties;

(b) more than one acre of commercial land; OR

(c) commercial property or commercial land worth more than 2 million ringgit at market price;

Any individual mentioned above is liable to be registered as a GST registered person if – (wef 28/10/2015)
(a) he has the intention to supply any of his commercial properties or commercial land; AND

(b) the total value of such supply exceeds the prescribed threshold in 12 months periods.

‘At any one time’ means at any point of time in his lifetime commencing after the effective date. (wef 28/10/2015)
Any individual is treated as carrying out a business and making a supply of taxable service if: (wef 28/10/2015)
(a) he is supplying any lease, tenancy, easement, licence to occupy or rent ; AND

(b) his annual turnover for such supply has exceeded the prescribed threshold in the period of 12 months.

This announcement has superseded the previous decision which said:

Any individual owning commercial property at any one time –
(a) make a supply of two commercial properties or commercial land not exceeding 1 acre would be treated as not carrying out business even if the sale is more than RM500,000 in a 12 months period;

(b) would also be treated as not carrying out business if there is no intention of making a supply;

(c) make a supply of rental services on such property is liable to be registered when the turnover for such supply exceeded the threshold amount of RM500,000

The new announcement has potentially made many individual property investors to come within the ambit of GST registration threshold.

Interpretation of the New DG Decision

Two (2) tests to assess whether an individual property investor require to register for GST:

Test 1:- the Business test – Are you carrying out an activity that qualifies as business under GST Regime?

An individual property investor is considered carrying out a business when:

At any point of time in his lifetime commencing after 01.04.2015 OWNS :-
(a) more than 2 commercial properties;

(b) more than 1 acre of commercial land; OR

(c) commercial property or commercial land worth more than 2 million ringgit at market price;

“Commercial Properties” under GST Regime carries the meaning of – A land or a building that is:-

(a) not occupied as a residence; or

(b) not intended to be occupied, and is capable of being occupied, as a residence of land; or

(c) designed for retail or wholesale trade, hotel, restaurant, offices, clinics, warehouses, light manufacturing, and other such uses but not for residential purposes

For properties that built for dual purposes, for example Small Office Home Office (SOHO), it will be considered as a commercial property if it does not come under the approval of the Housing Development (Control and Licensing) Act 1966 and Housing Development (Control and Licensing) Rules 1989. Under GST regime, it is important for the investors to review their S&P Agreement to find out the property type of their SOHOs.



Test 2:- The “Intention to Supply”

You are making a GST supply if that “supply” fulfill the following conditions:-

a) it is made in Malaysia;

b) it is a taxable supply of goods or services;

c) it is made by a taxable person; and

d) it is made in the course or furtherance of any business carried on by that taxable person

To decode the above, I would analyse it as follows:

It is a GST Supply when: Supply under Property Context
a) it is made in Malaysia Property situated in Malaysia
b) it is a taxable supply of goods or services Commercial properties – sales or rent
c) it is made by a taxable person Investor who owns commercial properties which the value of sales and the rental sum hit the threshold of RM500,000.
d) made in the course of furtherance of business Refer to the 28.10.2015 announcement above, on how “business test” is made.
A complete life cycle of a property investment involves: invest / acquire, rent out, dispose, then invest/acquire again.


Some investors invest in properties solely for the subsequent disposal upon collection of keys from the developers or upon refurbishments. Many investors restructure their investment portfolio actively throughout the year by constantly buying and selling properties. The number of properties transacted in the whole year of 2014 and first half of 2015 stood at 384,060* units valued at RM162 billion* and 186,661** units valued at RM76.6 billion** respectively.

For individual property investor, you are considered as making a supply when you rent, lease and sell your properties.Your value of supply when rent out a property is the rental amount and your value of supply when selling out a property is the selling price of the property. Once the total value of supply hitting the threshold of RM500,000, GST registration become compulsory.

When are you supposed to register?

The GST registration threshold is assessed by summing up the total value of supply for the historical 11 months plus current month supply (historical method) or current month plus anticipated future 11 months supply (future method). Hence, assessing GST registration status is a continuously affair until the day you become GST registrant. If you are an active property investor, self-assessing your GST status should be a monthly task or something you must do whenever you transact a commercial property transaction. Self-assessment is extremely important as you can become GST registrant on your second commercial property transaction while the first transaction still underway.

The challenges / the bad

From my observation, Malaysia property vendors have the tendency to go unrepresented and rely on the purchasers’ lawyers to carry out the legal documentation of a sales transaction. Purchaser’s lawyer will always provide clauses in the S&P Agreement to indemnify his client from any taxes (GST included) that may arise half way through the transaction. Under such circumstances, if the vendor fails to renegotiate on the payment of the GST, the GST would most likely be accounted for and paid by the vendor to the Customs. Situation like this will resulted in vendor’s costs of disposal to increase.

The advantages / the good

Becoming a GST registrant can be a cost saving tool for you as well. For instance, if you are a GST registrant, you can claim input tax on your GST incurred on your under-construction commercial property and GST is not your cost.

In the recent Budget 2016, it announced that an applicant is eligible for voluntary registration, if one can make the first taxable supply within 12 months from the date of application. Previously, you only can go for voluntary registration if your total taxable supply is expected to exceed the threshold within 12 months from the date of application.

While going for voluntary GST registrants allow you to eliminate your GST cost, it is important to note that you need to remain as a registrant for a minimum period of 2 years. And becoming a GST registrant, GST compliance is crucial and compulsory. The periodical submission of GST Return must be observed to avoid penalties under the regime.

The sticks

If you qualify for GST registration but fail to do so, you can face FINE not exceeding RM 50,000 or IMPRISONMENT for not more than 3 years or BOTH. After being a GST registrant, if you fail to account for the GST and remit the payment to the Customs, another sets of FINE is in the pipeline:



Days that the tax is not paid after the expiry of the period Penalty
* Subject to a maximum penalty of 25% of the amount of tax due and payable
First 30 days 5% of total amount of tax due and payable
Second 30 days Additional 10% of total amount of tax due and payable
Third 30 days Additional 10% of total amount of tax due and payable *
In conclusion

Regardless of whether you are a pakcik or a makcik, if property investment is your play, in addition to Income Tax, Real Property Gain Tax (RPGT) and Stamp Duty, GST is another tax you need to understand and learn up on. Understanding the different taxes that evolve around properties allow you to better plan your property investment positioning and strategy. Here I wish everyone happy Property Hunting in 2016!

Reference:

* – http://www.bankislam.com.my/home/assets/uploads/Malaysias-Residential-Propert-Market_-April-2015.pdf

** – (Reference: http://napic.jpph.gov.my/)



>> Agnes Wong is the managing partner of Syarikat Ong. The views expressed here are entirely her own.

 

[Aviator]

Good info on the GST. Thanks

Getting increasingly tougher and more complex for investors and owners all the time...

 

[menghuii]

no vaping? no problem
I got the pipes at ph
https://m.facebook.com/profile.php?...&_ft_=og_action_id.10201818716769936&__tn__=H

 

[Dfiris]

Great!! Bring in the atmosphere!

The Monsoon Cup is an annual event on the Alpari World Match Racing Tour calendar. It is also widely considered as the most formidable leg of the Tour. As the final event of the season, it sees the conclusion of an adrenaline fueled tournament with the crowning of the tour winner with the premier 'match racing' prize being the 'ISAF World Match Racing Champion. The match racing sport differs from other sailing disciplines in that the boats race one-on-one in supplied racing yachts. The yachts supplied for the Monsoon Cup are Foundation 36 type racing yachts.

The Finals is now in Puteri harbour from 25/1/2016 to 30/1/2016.

View attachment 25233

 

[xebay11]

Great!! Bring in the atmosphere!

Did F1 bring in any atmosphere or make property prices increase in Singapore?

 

[Investor888]

Did F1 bring in any atmosphere or make property prices increase in Singapore?

If F1 is useless do you think your PAP #1 world-ranked Ministers will even think of holding it?

PAP is the most capable money-churning and sucking machine in the world. People from all other nations told me when I visit them

 

[Dfiris]

Whats wrong with us looking forward to such events?

Did F1 bring in any atmosphere or make property prices increase in Singapore?

 

[xebay11]

Whats wrong with us looking forward to such events?

Nothing, just don't be blindly optimistic.

 

[xebay11]

If F1 is useless do you think your PAP #1 world-ranked Ministers will even think of holding it?

PAP is the most capable money-churning and sucking machine in the world. People from all other nations told me when I visit them

They do it because it caters for rich and cheapskate Ang Mos, who usually go because they get in free. PAP has done many money wasting useless events, the F1 is only one of the many.

 

[xebay11]

Thank you for your advice and great visons. We are adults here.

Then behave like one and stop jumping about like kids in a candy store.

 

[xebay11]

Singapore F1 has nothing to do with Malaysia. But Malaysia F1 definitely brought property increase and tourism to Sepang, Cyberjaya and Putrajaya.
Otherwise why would Singaporeans drive in annually to see the F1 race in all their Lamo and Ferarris?

Did Melbourne Hobart Yacht race bring property increase to Melbourne? No?

No, property prices were not affected at all by these events. Any benefits are only for F&B and hospitality sectors, not property