#1MalaysiaTutupKedai2018 - Kuantan Is Also Dying, Palm Oil Harvest Is Dropping

Things are getting very, very bad all over the country.

Lets talk about the rich first. I have done some development and property deals in Country Heights Kajang. It was the site of my first  project more than 15 years ago.  

Property transactions in Country Heights are now almost dead. Every year there used to be about 50 transactions a year.  The feedback is there were only about 10 transactions  in Country Heights last year.

At last count, the price of land in Country Heights was about RM200 psf. That was last year.  Prices have now deteriorated to about RM160 - 170 psf, depending on lot size and location.

Property folks say Tan Sri Lee Kim Yew (the developer of Country Heights) has put up the last of his 40 bungalow lots for sale at RM150 psf. He is willing to close  at RM130 psf.   These are large lots, 20,000 sf and above.  N'theless RM130 psf is a disaster for land values. 

This will depress the market even further.

Folks say the Tabung Haji building has recently rented out office space for RM3 psf. This is also a huge dip. Elsewhere around the Tropicana area, Class A office buildings are being offered for rent at RM1 psf !! There are few takers.

There is now a 25% overhang of office space in Kuala Lumpur and the situation is expected to worsen by end of this year.

The newly completed Eco City is looking empty. Few occupants have moved in.  Some 'signature buildings' have already been empty for over a year.  With rentals in KL breaching the RM1psf - RM3psf levels, it is going to take some creative packaging and marketing to fill those buildings.

If Tun Dr Mahathir does not win the General elections,  things are going to get worse, worse and more worse.

Kuantan is also becoming a very sick town. Many businesses have closed down.  Chinese business people in Kuantan say that even during the 1997 - 2000 Financial Crisis things were not this bad. They say during the Financial Crisis, Anwar Ibrahim's IMF policies only pushed up the interest rates and made life difficult for borrowers. But business was still ok, dropping just about 10%.

This time around they say business has dropped by about 50%. People just do not have money to buy anything.

The oil palm harvests have dropped in many kampong areas around Pahang because the roads have been washed away by the rains and they have not been repaired. Some oil palm lands have not been harvested for FOUR  MONTHS.

Felda settlers are now being paid TWO MONTHS AFTER they have harvested their oil palms. Felda has no cash flow to pay the settlers on time. 

Making things worse is that the oil palm yields have dropped significantly.  Because there is poor plantation maintenance, the undergrowth has taken over the plantations.  Undergrowth sucks up nutrients from the soil and reduces fruit yields on the oil palms.  The yields are about 5 tonnes or less per acre. 

It is really #1MalaysiaTutupKedai2018  folks. 

There is another scandal brewing. 

The MINDEF lands scandal. 

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