This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily on October 16, 2018

KUALA LUMPUR: Mah Sing Group Bhd said 74% of the residential properties it targets to sell this year are priced below RM500,000.

Goup chief executive officer (CEO) Datuk Ho Hon Sang said this in a statement yesterday in response to the government’s newly announced affordable housing policy.

Last Friday, Housing and Local Government Minister Zuraida Kamaruddin said Putrajaya would incorporate three categories of affordable housing that will be constructed under the National Housing Policy, with houses fetching RM150,000 and below, RM150,000-RM300,000, and RM300,000-RM500,000 making up the new categories.

“Mah Sing welcomes this announcement as we have been developing affordably priced homes since 2015, in an effort to enable everyone to own a home,” said Ho.

He noted that the group embarked on a “Reinvent Affordability” campaign late last year, covering four projects namely M Centura in Sentul, M Vertica in Cheras, M Vista in Penang and Fern phase 2 in Meridin East, Johor.

“Our customers are our priority. Hence, our focus is to deliver products that are in demand and strategically located with added accessibility and connectivity,” he added.

Mah Sing also launched a dedicated interchange for its Southville City project in Bangi in April, significantly easing travelling in and out of the township.

Over in Johor, the group is also constructing a direct access from its Meridian Bayvue to the Johor Baru East Coast Highway as well as a connecting road to the Tanjung Langsat-Cahaya Baru Toll Connecting Highway for its Meridin East Township.

“Moving forward, we will continue to enhance the lives of our customers by developing accessible and well-planned products. We want to position Mah Sing as a big contributor for the development of affordable homes for the nation,” said Ho.

Mah Sing said it currently has 47 projects in Malaysia’s property hotspots, and has sold about 39,000 units over the last 24 years.