Azlina Md. Yassin

Internet business strategies by property companies in Asia

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to present the results of a study of the top listed property companies in Asia based on capital market value on internet business strategy, and to examine the relationship between top companies and the internet business strategy index.Design/methodology/approach – Data for the research were collected from the top 30 property companies in Asia through their web sites. The services and information offered in these web sites are discussed and used to describe the growth of internet usage in the real estate business.Findings – From the findings, most companies in Asia realised the importance of the internet as a marketing tool. This has been proved from the good average score of the internet business strategy attributes. The results indicated that top property companies in Asia implemented good internet business strategy.Research limitations – The research is based on a study from the top 30 companies in Asia based on market capital values as at 30 June 2009. Only three ...

Waterfront Development in Malaysia: Do We Have Sustainable Governance?

Abstract The waterfront is recognised as the zone of interaction between a city and a river. In Malaysia, waterfront developments were established when the country was first settled, mainly as a transport route and for trading. Waterfronts became more urbanised and commercialised from the early 1990’s onwards. However, due to constraints such as ineffective governance as well as inadequate federal, state and municipal planning guidelines, the waterfronts have problems such as environmental degradation, crime and flooding. Although some waterfront development projects continue to remain profitable, with good public access, many do not. This paper examines the effectiveness of governance for waterfront developments in Malaysia. The data presented in this paper was obtained from in-depth interviews with stakeholders involved in waterfront development projects in Malaysia; in particular, from three selected case study areas: Kuching Riverfront, Malacca Waterfront and Glenmarie Cove Riverfront. The interview results show that Malaysia does not have effective governance for waterfront developments for several reasons. A low level of cooperation between stakeholders involved in waterfront development projects was identified as a main contributor to the governance problems. These results will be used to provide information for developing guidelines for best practice for waterfront developments in Malaysia.

Developing guidelines for riverfront developments for Malaysia

Abstract Rivers and water are important resources for human life, the environment and national development. In Malaysia, the importance of rivers as the focal point of cities was established from the early times of civilisation and will remain so. Population growth, economic growth, urbanisation and increased technology have transformed many Malaysian river systems from water industries into non water industries. Due to these changes, the functions of riverfront areas have also changed and the current pattern of riverfront development in Malaysia now focuses more on mixed-use development and recreation. To date, numbers of riverfront development projects are being developed in Malaysia for recreation, residential and mixed-use. Unfortunately, in most cases, the developments identified are not successful, having cost effects more than their economic value. Example are increases in water pollution indexes and rates of juvenile problems. The focus of this study was to identify the attributes of riverfront development, in order to develop guidelines for riverfront development for Malaysia. The findings of this study were based on interviews conducted with Government officers, Property developers, and the Waterfront community from three case study areas (qualitative phase), and from questionnaires mailed and e-mailed to property development companies listed under Bursa Malaysia (quantitative phase). The findings identified 18 attributes to be used in assisting developers when undertaking riverfront projects in the future. The attributes identified were then recommended to be used as guidelines of best practices of riverfront development in Malaysia.

DETERMINING BARRIERS IN SUSTAINABLE REFURBISHMENT PROJECTS: COMMERCIAL BUILDING OWNER PERSPECTIVES

Existing commercial buildings in Malaysia account for one third of the total electricity consumption. They present a great opportunity for refurbishment to reduce carbon dioxide. However, sustainably refurbished commercial buildings that is Green Building Index (GBI) certified is still low. This study aims to investigate barriers that impede commercial building owners to implement sustainable refurbishment and explore ways to increase numbers of sustainable refurbishment implementation. Qualitative data were collected through semistructured interviews. The respondents were commercial building owners’ representative, who were mainly building managers. The findings indicated that higher cost of sustainable refurbishment than conventional method and lacking of sustainability awareness among Malaysian were the main barriers of sustainable refurbishment. This study will be useful in helping building owners and developers to enhance economic, social and environmental benefits of sustainable refurbishment.

Homestay enterpreneurs - drivers and barriers

Malaysia is one of the fastest growing countries in Asia. Nowadays, Malaysia is well known as eco-tourism as it is endowed with rich natural heritage, and state of Johor has been ranked as third in tourism destinations after Kuala Lmur and Penang. The growth of Johors tourism industry has caused the high demand for homestay tourism product. Currently, there are 140 homestay with 227 villages throughout Malaysia with total of 3,264 houses offering 4,463 rooms until June 2009. This numbers is forecasted to be increased in the future. The focus of this paper was to identifv the drivers factors that encourage the growing numbers of homestay entrepreneur particularly in the state of Johor, as well as the barriers that constraint them in managing homestav business. The findings of this paper were based on the questionnaires and series of interviews conducted along the research process. Ihe respondents participated in this study were homestay entrepreneurs including homcstay coordinators and homestay operators. The findings identified that thc homestay entrepreneurs in the State of Johore were highly motivated by internal factors to involve in the homestay business, even though they have facing many challenges and problems in managing the homestay business. This results will be benefitted to the homestay entrepreneurs to improve and enhancing the homestay business in future.

Waterfront Development in Malaysia: Best Practices in the Future

In Malaysia, rivers were homes to vital communities and initiated the emergence of cities around them. Population growth, economic growth, urbanisation and increased technology have transformed many Malaysian river systems from water industries to non-water industries. At the same time, due to these changes, the function of the waterfront areas has also changed and the current pattern of waterfront development in Malaysia now focuses more on mixed-use development and recreation, while incorporating Malaysian cultural and historical values. However, in many cases, the implementation of these waterfront projects is driven more by investment needs rather than by community and environmental needs, with developers neither taking part in nor contributing to the government goals of sustainable water use. The focus of this study was to identify the attributes for best practices waterfront development in Malaysia in future. The findings of this research were based on the questionnaires mailed and e-mailed to property development companies listed under Bursa Malaysia in 2009. By using Exploratory Factor Analysis, the research identified six factors to be used in assisting developers when undertaking waterfront projects in the future. The attributes identified were then recommended to be used as guidelines of best practices of waterfront development in Malaysia.

Green property development by Asian property companies

The concept of sustainability has become increasingly essential in property development, especially in recent years. The purpose of this paper is to assess transparency levels in term of sustainability practices amongst listed property companies in Asian countries. The website and annual report of each company are assessed to determine the level of transparency in sustainable practices among property companies in Asia. Their sustainability strategies are then rigorously assessed by using a matrix scorecard, which takes into account several attributes concerning sustainability issues. Given the increasing significance of sustainability issues – especially in property development – amongst international property players, this paper enables more informed investment and decisionmaking regarding the implementation of sustainability in property portfolios. The results show that green or sustainable property development in Asian countries remains at a moderate level. There is still much room for improvement to increase the level of green elements in property development. Given the future significance of the Asian region, it is crucial to ensure green property development levels are sustained or increased in order to reduce environmental damage.

Sustainability In Waterfront Development In Malaysia: Barriers To Achieving Best Practices Of Waterfront Development

In Malaysia, rivers were homes to vital communities and they initiated the emergence of cities around them. Population growth, economic growth, urbanisation and increased technology have transformed many Malaysian river systems from water industries into non-water industries. The focus of this study was to examine the level of success for sustainable waterfront development in Malaysia as well as to identify the barriers in achieving best practices in waterfront development in Malaysia. The findings of this research were based on the questionnaires mailed and e-mailed to property development companies listed by Bursa Malaysia in 2009. The findings indicated that the level of successful implementation of waterfront development in Malaysia was considered low. This was attributed by several reasons such as; difficulty in balancing the various social, economic and financial needs of the various stakeholders, no collaboration between stakeholders, and external interference and lack of human expertise. The attributes identified were then recommended to be improved in order to achieve best practices of waterfront development in Malaysia in future.