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PPR folk want jobs, not handouts — UN study

While there were also requests for a bigger amount of aid, DM Analytics managing director Muhammed Abdul Khalid said many low-income households surveyed wanted assistance that can have a more lasting impact on their livelihoods, such as equipment to start a burger stall, a place to sell goods or a microloan to start their own business.

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Housing loans are not always productive debt

IT is better to invest in property than buy a car, which depreciates in value. One should also spend within one’s means. What’s often unsaid in these old adages is that one should only borrow what one can comfortably repay, even when it comes to “productive debt” for an appreciating asset.

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Higher EPF withdrawals do not solve affordability issues

Most Malaysians want to own a home, and buying real estate has traditionally been a good inflation hedge. First-time homebuyers might welcome being able to withdraw more money from their Employees Provident Fund (EPF) retirement nest egg to buy a home — if indeed the government raises the withdrawal ceiling (Account 2) to 40% from 30% come Oct 21 when Budget 2017 is tabled in Parliament.

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Sizing up SC’s proposed changes to REIT rules

REAL estate investment trusts (REITs), as prospective property buyers, not only provide a new source of deals but is also an avenue for banks to cut property-related lending exposure as developers raise cash from property disposals to relieve their stretched balance sheets.

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