Nazri: Property tourism can attract foreign investments

Upmarket: (From left) Managing Director of Studio F.A. Porsche Roland Heiler, Yap and Nazri unveiling the M101 Skywheel Design Suites in Kuala Lumpur.

KUALA LUMPUR: New developments with iconic architectural designs will be the way forward to attract foreign investments to Malaysia via “property tourism”, says Tourism and Culture Minister Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz.

Speaking at the launch of M101 Skywheel Design Suites here, he said projects that could become new iconic landmarks would bring back excitement to the local real estate scene and help boost the country’s economic growth in the property and tourism sectors.

“M101 Skywheel is not simply another tall building.

“While other developers are looking at bread and butter products, M101 has taken a very bold innovative step to champion property tourism,” he said yesterday.

The project by Meridian 101 Degree, or M101 Holdings Sdn Bhd, would boast a number of firsts, including the world’s first “Sky Ferris Wheel” built on top of the tower with a vantage point of 220m above ground.

The other aspects are Asia’s first Planet Hollywood Hotel, the world’s highest shopping mall located on the 50th to 52nd floor and would be the first integrated development designed by Studio F.A. Porsche.

The M101 Skywheel project in Kampung Baru, Kuala Lumpur, had a total gross development value of RM1.8bil and is scheduled for completion by 2020.

Nazri said property in Malaysia continued to be an attractive investment opportunity for foreign investors, on par with locations in Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore and China.

He added that property tourism accounted for a major portion of income for the “Malaysia My Second Home” programme which had contributed RM4.9bil to Malaysia’s real estate sector since 2012.

M101 chief executive officer Datuk Seth Yap said in line with the property tourism initiatives, his company has done marketing campaigns in Indonesia, China, Taiwan, Singapore, Hong Kong, Vietnam, Sri Lanka and Bangla­desh.

He said the efforts had paid off, with over 200 potential investors from 13 countries attending the M101 Skywheel Design Suites launch.

Members of the Porsche Club Malaysia also attended the event, arriving in 70 Porsche cars to celebrate the fact that the suites were designed by Studio F.A. Porsche, which also designed the famous German sports cars.

The 94 suites come in three layouts – 2-bedrooms (1,018sq ft), 1+1 bedroom (908sq ft) and 1+1 bedroom (879sq ft).