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MAKING MALAYSIA YOUR SECOND HOME
HOME FINDER Property Guide
Nov - Dec 2008
http://homefinder.com.my |
John Ching,
Director
CK-TEN(MM2H) Sdn Bhd |
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Have you found the enchanting beauty of
Malaysia tugging at the corner of your heart? Don’t stop at just visiting;
stay, and make Malaysia your second home!
Promoted by the government of Malaysia, the
Malaysia My Second Home Program (MM2H) caters to foreigners who want to
live or retire here.
Living in Malaysia has its advantage.
According to a survey done by Mercer in 2007 across 143 cities from six
continents, comparing each basket’s worth of about 200 items and services
consisting of housing, transport, food, clothing, household goods and
entertainment, results showed that Kuala Lumpur was placed at the 114th.
This indicated that Malaysia was still the least expensive place to live
in, shared John Ching, Director of CK-TEN (MM2H) Sdn Bhd, at a seminar in
the 29th Malaysia International Property Showcase held in the Putra World
Trade Centre (PTWC) recently.
From the inception of this program right up to
June 2008, Malaysia has seen about 11,800 approved applications. Each
successful applicant can then bring along their spouse, children (below 18
years old) and a maid. Some of the top participants in 2007 were from UK,
Japan and Bangladesh, he added.
To attract more foreigners to opt for this
program, the government has thrown in some perks. As such, participants
are given tax incentives on the purchase of cars. Participants are also
allowed to bring in their used cars exempted from import duty, excise duty
and sales tax as a personal belonging from their country of origin or they
can purchase a locally assembled car without having to pay excise duty and
sales tax. Imagine buying a C200 Kompressor which is about RM238,000 and
only having to pay about RM178,000 for it. That’s RM60,000 worth of
savings!
Participants are also permitted to buy
properties above RM250,000 in all the states of Malaysia, except for
Sarawak where the minimal price must be RM350,000.
Of course, apart from the benefits there are
also conditions for the approval of the applications, not as a form of
restriction but prerequisites to ensure that foreigners adopting this
program are able to live comfortably in Malaysia. Each participant needed
to have strong and credible financial standing to prove that they have the
capacity to support their stay here (see Conditions for Applicants). While
participants cannot earn a salaried income from Malaysia, investments in
common assets are allowed. Above all, “the purpose of this program is to
encourage foreigners to live and enjoy life in Malaysia.”
Conditions for Applicants
Applicants below 50 years old
Fixed deposit of RM300,000, applicants can
only withdraw from the FD account one year later to buy assets in Malaysia
after one year. However, RM60,000 balance must always remain in the
account.
Applicants above 50 years old, (can opt for
condition 1 or 2)
Condition 1, Fixed deposit of
RM150,000.
Applicants can only withdraw from the FD
account one year later to buy assets in Malaysia. RM60,000 balance must
always remain in the account.
Condition 2, prove of offshore monthly
income of RM10,000 per month.
New regulation, effective 1 July 2008
New applicants who have purchased a
residential property of RM1 million and above can be exempted from placing
the full fixed deposit amount required. Only a sum of RM60,000 is
required.
Participants Typical profiles so far
From more developed countries looking for a
more secured place with lower cost of living. They may be bankers,
teachers, taxi drivers etc from countries like Japan, South Korea and UK,
and who have about RM2 to RM3 million reserves for retirement which may
run out any time soon if they retire in their own country.
Some are rich but from less developed
countries such as China, seeking a more secured place for their family.
People working in the region and they see
Malaysia as a second home for their family while working elsewhere.
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