Published: Thursday July 19, 2012 MYT 4:54:00 PM

NAPIC sees office rentals in KL suburbs rising

KUALA LUMPUR: Rentals for purpose-built offices in suburban areas outside Kuala Lumpur are expected to rise with vibrant business activities, good information and communications technology (ICT) and government projects there.

"Domestic and foreign investors in the region will also make it attractive," said Dr Zailan Mohd Isa, director of the National Property Information Centre (NAPIC).

NAPIC is a unit under the Valuation and Property Services Department of the Finance Ministry.

She was speaking to reporters after the launch of the Purpose-Built Office Rent Index (PBO-RI) for Kuala Lumpur for 2011 by Deputy Finance Minister Datuk Dr Awang Adek Hussin.

The first rent index of its kind in Southeast Asia was developed by NAPIC to provide a guide on current office rentals in Kuala Lumpur besides being a benchmark of the country's financial stability.

It comprises sub-indexes for four main regions the KLCC-Golden Triangle (KLCC-GT), Central Business District (CBD), within city centre (WCC), and selected suburban areas.

According to the index, the KLCC-GT region was the most sought after location in the city in 2010, with the highest average rentals among the four regions.

In the fourth quarter of 2011, average office building rental per sq ft was RM4.66 in KLCC-GT, RM3.27 in CBD, RM3.36 in WCC and RM3.51 in the suburbs.

Valuation and Property Services director-general Datuk Abdullah Thalith Md Thani said the department intended to produce the index every half-year for the country's main cities including George Town and Johor Baharu. - Bernama

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