Oleh/By		:	DATO' SERI DR. MAHATHIR BIN MOHAMAD 
Tempat/Venue 	: 	THE DEWAN TUN ISMAIL PUTRA WORLD 
			TRADE CENTRE, KUALA LUMPUR 
Tarikh/Date 	: 	02/09/87 
Tajuk/Title  	: 	THE 1987 ASIA-PACIFIC REAL 
			ESTATE CONGRESS 




 Dato Abdul Rahim Rahman,
     Chairman of the Organising Committee and
     President of the Asia Pacific Real
     Estate Federation;
Mr. Albert Fish,
     World President of the International
     Real Estate Federation (FIABCI);
Distinguished delegates;
Ladies and Gentlemen,
    I  would  like to thank the organising committee of the
Congress for inviting me to officiate the  opening  of  this
Congress.    I  would also like to thank the Council of Asia
Pacific Real Estate Federation for choosing Kuala Lumpur  as
the  venue  for this year's Congress and to congratulate the
Malaysian Chapter and the Institution of Surveyors, Malaysia
for organising it and the  Housing  Developers'  Association
for  co-sponsoring  the event.   To the foreign delegates, I
wish you all a very warm welcome.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
2.   It is appropriate and beneficial that you all  have   a
chance        to          meet         and          exchange
information  and  new  ideas for the advancement of the real
estate  industry.  This  sector  in  Malaysia  is  currently
facing  difficulties  after the many real estate booms which
we   had enjoyed.  I believe that others in the Asia-Pacific
region too have  faced similar problems.  The Congress would
also provide the participants an opportunity  to  learn  and
discover  innovative  and  efficient  approaches  to   solve
contemporary  problems  related  to the industry.   In  this
context,  the  theme  of  your  Conference  "Economic growth
through real estate" is indeed appropriate.
3.   This Congress provides  an  opportunity  for  delegates
from  the  Asia-Pacific region to forge  greater rapport and
understanding.     It    will    also    encourage   greater
internationalties and promote more real estate    investment
among  the   Asia-Pacific   nations.  Furthermore, it serves
to provide the professionals and  the public  in  general  a
greater  understanding  of the industry through presentation
by professional  speakers  on various aspects of their areas
of expertise.  I  have  been  told  that the  papers  to  be
presented  touch  on  a  variety of subjects relevant to the
developing countries of the Asia-Pacific region.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
4.   Touching on the economic situation in Malaysia, in  the
past we depended largely on primary commodities such as tin,
palm oil, rubber,  and  cocoa.  Like other primary commodity
producers, our economy has also been affected by the  global
recession. Fortunately,  we recognised the need to diversify
of our economic  activities  early.   The main thrust of the
diversification strategy has been in industrialisation.   In
line with this  strategy,  we  embarked  on  a  programme of
industrialisation with emphasis  on manufacturing for export
form ore than a  decade.    This  strategy  has proven to be
right  and  our achievements  in the manufacturing sector in
the last few years have  helped  to cushion the  effects  of
declining   commodity  prices  and demands.  With the recent
introduction of various measures and generous incentives for
investments,  and  with  the  improvement  in prices of some
primary  commodities,  we  are  optimistic  of  the   future
outlook.
5.   In the past, our economy has achieved an average of  6%
growth  per annum.  However, foreign investors need not fear
and need not be  pessimistic  because  of  the  current  low
growth.   Although we are not yet an industrialised country,
we  have  achieved  a  high  degree  of   success   in   our
industrialisation.  As a matter of fact, we have entered the
high-tech  and  heavy  industry  areas.  The formulation and
implementation  of  the  Industrial  Master  Plan,  with  an
emphasis on export-oriented    manufacturing   sector,  will
accelerate  further  industrial  growth.  We  also  have the
resources,  ingredients  and  resilience  to  steer  us  out
of  the  present  setbacks  to higher economic growth in the
years to come.
6.   Given that economic background,  the  construction  and
real  estate  industry  used  to  be  one  of the pillars of
Malaysia's economy and has experienced  rapid  and  vigorous
growth  until  1984.   It has advanced from developing small
estates   to   well-planned  townships.   Where  development
companies  were  once  mere family businesses, Malaysia  now
boasts  of  large  conglomerates  to equal  any  that  other
nations  have to offer. Since then, the industry has   faced
problems   arising   from   the  backlash  of  the  economic
recession. But  I   must    emphasize   that   we   have   a
property-owning  policy  which has generated many booms, and
we are confident that the policy can help to rejuvenate  the
real estate industry.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
7.   Malaysia  is  making  every  possible  move to help and
boost  the  real   estate   industry.  Such measures include
lowering alienation premiums, reduced  land  use  conversion
charges,   trimming   of    infrastructural    requirements,
minimising red tape to quicken the approval process, cheaper
financing    charges,    enabling   partial   wthdrawal   of
contributions of the Employees Provident Fund for purchasing
of  houses,  just  to  mention a  few  from the long list of
measures that we have introduced and implemented.
8.   One  of the significant changes that we have made is to
enable foreigners to purchase various types of real  estate,
namely agricultural, residential, commercial and industrial.
Perhaps, investors should take this opportunity to invest in
real   estate   in   Malaysia  as long-term investment.   In
relation to that, our present population  is  about  sixteen
million  and  our  country  has a growth rate of about 2.6%.
With a rapid demographic growth, there will be a  continuous
strong demand for shelter.
9.  There   is still a shortage of housing for the lower and
medium-income   groups.    In   order  to  cater  for    the
lower-income  group,  we  have introduced and  implemented a
special housing programme which  has  set a target of 80,000
homes per annum for  three   years  from  1986.  Although we
have  technocrats  and   professionals  looking   into  more
expeditious  methods of constructing buildings  with some of
them already in use, there is still room for further foreign
expertise  and capital investment in this sector.
10.  There  is  also  a strong demand for medium cost houses
throughout the country.  With lower prices for some building
materials and reduction  in   construction costs, developers
and   entrepreneurs  with  right   strategies  can  enjoy  a
reasonable margin of profit.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
11.  I  hope  that  your deliberations at this Congress will
generate mutual benefits to our respective nations.  I  also
hope  you will have a pleasant stay in Kuala Lumpur and that
you will also have the opportunity to visit other places  in
Malaysia.    I  now have much pleasure in declaring the 1987
Asia-Pacific Real Estate Congress open.