More expats return with easing of Covid-19 protocols, says report

 

According to reports, there were 140,598 expatriates and their dependents in Malaysia as at October last year. (Bernama pic)

KUALA LUMPUR: French national Caroline Pujo, 46, said it was “the perfect time” for her family when they arrived in Malaysia in January after living in Shanghai for 15 years.

“We moved just when Covid-19 restrictions (in Malaysia) became lighter, schools are open, theatres and cultural institutions are starting to be active again, and people are eager to go out and to socialise again,” Pujo, who is a consultant in the creative industry, told The Straits Times.

“At the same time, the situation in China is becoming a bit complicated. While China perfectly handled the Covid-19 situation at the start of the pandemic, the zero-case policy is now becoming really restrictive and (it is) hard to live for the people remaining there,” added Pujo, who is now on holiday in France.

The report said she is one of many expatriates who are steadily returning to Malaysia as it eases Covid-19 protocols.

Statistics from the Malaysia Expatriate Talent Service Centre, which processes employment passes for expatriates, have shown an increase in applications and approvals in 2021 compared with 2020.

The number of applications approved for the Residence Pass-Talent, a 10-year renewable visa for highly skilled expatriates, totalled 719 in 2019, before the pandemic.

In 2020, the centre received 1,007 applications and approved 525, while in 2021, it saw 1,290 applications – an increase of 28.1% – and approved 587.

An estimated 20% of the 5,000-strong French expatriate community left Malaysia in 2020 and 2021 during the pandemic, said Michel Lozac’h, managing director of the Malaysian-French Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

Most of the 20% who left have returned to Malaysia since the end of last year, amid the progressive easing of Covid-19 protocols in Malaysia and the region.

“From our own observation as well as professionals in the mobility services companies, we can estimate that the current population is between 3,500 and 4,500 residents,” Mr Lozac’h told the Singapore daily.

“While sometimes complaining at the SOPs and mobility restrictions in Malaysia and other Asean countries compared with France, the expatriate community is now rather happy with the management of the pandemic situation in the Asia-Pacific region, and investors are confident, grateful and very happy to live in Malaysia,” he added.

According to the Straits Times, there were 140,598 expatriates and their dependents in Malaysia as at October last year.

But even though expats are returning, it appears as if the numbers are not enough to provide a boost to the residential rental market which has yet to recover.

Property agent Citta Cheng, who manages houses in popular expat neighbourhoods such as Damansara Heights, Bangsar and Mont Kiara, said: “Many super-link, semi-detached and bungalow houses are vacant compared with the year before Covid-19, due to fewer expats.”

Not only have rental prices dropped by about 20 to 30% over the last decade, but they also fell by another 10 to 20% in the last two to three years, largely due to cuts in company housing allowances for expatriates, fewer expatriate arrivals, and an oversupply of properties.

But with Malaysia’s border slated to reopen on April 1, there is optimism that demand could begin to rise again.

“In 2022 and 2023, we will see more expats coming in, hopefully,” said Siva Shanker, chief executive of Rahim and Co International, a real estate agency. - FMT