Malaysia's banking sector remains strong and well capitalised despite the turmoil in the global financial markets and commercial banks operating in Malaysia are healthy and resilient. Banks in Malaysia are mainly domestic focused with more than 90 percent of total assets in ringgit-denominated assets and most investments/assets concentrated in the Asean region. Unlike the liquidity crunch that is seizing some of the key developed markets such as the United States, United Kingdom and the Eurozone, Malaysia, has been relatively unaffected.

MPP has pieced together some interesting land package deals and now uses the land to plant the Aquilaria tree which can produce the world's most valuable wood - agarwood - in as little as six years.

Teak is one of the most popular and valuable timber. Its timber fetches the highest price among the quality hardwood.

While there is an increasing demand for teak, there is a scarce availability of timber. More than 40% of the world’s tropical rainforests have been lost since 1940. Many species of tropical hardwood trees have become increasingly rare. At the present rate of destruction, 70% of the earth’s tropical rainforests will be lost forever by the end of this decade. As an act to protect the environment, governments have passed strict regulations against harvesting trees from the natural rainforests. This phenomenon presents another great opportunity for investors.

We have direct access to some of the most prolific teak plantations in the region.

Time to invest in Malaysian REITs?       

Real estate investment trusts or REITs are nothing more than real property investments to investors like you and me who leave the administration of the assets, the maintenance of the buildings, the collection of rent and the enhancement of real estate to increase its value to the professionals. We also allow a trustee to own the real estate on our behalf. Investing in a transparent trust industry is the same as investing on your own in real estate and paying property taxes in your own tax bracket.

World consumption of tropical hardwood has multiplied nearly 25 times in just the last four decades, to more than 100 billion board feet of tropical hardwood now being consumed each year. The United Nations FAO estimates a 50% increase in demand for timber within the next 15 years. We are increasingly seeing professional investors actively looking to acquire tropical hardwoods and other plantation assets in Malaysia.

Malaysia is an ideal country for the cultivation of Agarwood, one of the most valuable trees in the world. Many investors are looking seriously at portfolio diversification into tropical hardwoods and plantation investment. Agarwood is a highly valuable wood which produces a valuable oleoresin, seen as irregular dark patches formed inside old Aquilaria trees. Other common names for Agarwood include eaglewood, aloeswood and gaharu.