With Malaysia’s booming economy and globalization, there is an influx of expatriates from various countries to our country. Georgetown is rapidly becoming an expatriate hub for its highly industrialized economy. To date, Penang has drawn numerous MNC companies into investing in the state comprising Dell, Intel, Motorola, Altera, Seagate (to name a few) centered in Bayan Lepas Industrial Zone area.
Due to the large number of MNC companies, it creates a huge demand in the market for serviced apartment among expatriates on work-affiliated assignments seeking for short stay. This causes undersupply issue with the inventory shortage on that aspect. Therefore, service apartment or short term rental is generating higher rental income when compared to rent from residential property.
Countries such as America, Australia, Europe and Japan have long developed green building ratings, about 20 years ago and well exposed to it. However, Malaysia had only launched the Green Building Index (GBI) in 2008. It is known as a green rating tool for buildings and towns in Malaysia, with aims of promoting sustainability in the built-environment and raise awareness of environmental issues among everyone for a brighter and greener future.
The capital of Penang, Georgetown is a widely known Unesco world heritage site. Not only does it popular with its rich British colonial history, but also its street food and interesting architecture. Home to a myriad of main races comprising Chinese, Malay and India, it has been recently voted as one of the world’s eight great places for foreigners to retire abroad through Kiplinger, a well-known US based publication.