Stamp Duty Act Deferred until 2011

Salam and dear all, Following appeals from key players of the construction industry, the government has deferred the Stamp Duty Act until 2011 (as reported by Bernama 12 September 2009). According to the report (in quoting the MBAM) the deferment will allow the construction industry players as well as other service industries time to adjust and take necessary measures to manage their businesses accordingly. The Treasury announced on Sept 9, 2009, that the ruling has been deferred to 2011 and from Sept 15, 2009, to Dec 31, 2010, all service agreements will be imposed a stamp duty of RM50. After Jan 1, 2011, all service agreements which include construction contracts will be levied an ad valorem stamp duty of 0.5 per cent of the total contract sum. Source: Bernama 12th September 2009. This blog posting 8th September 2009. Wassalam.

Stamp duty on contracts

Salam and dear all, The Malaysian Government has recently imposed ad valorem stamp duty of 0.5% for second-tier private as well as Government contracts. Previously the stamp duty was RM10 per document. This new move by the government would add costs to parties to a contract: contractors, consultants and developers. Already a contractor is having to pay the CIDB's levy of 0.125% of a construction contract and this levy is priced by the contractor usually in the preliminaries section of the contract. Students, pay attention to this new ruling and incorporate them into your estimating courses. Wassalam. http://www.treasury.gov.my http://thestar.com.my

Minor changes to the blog

Salam and dear all, Frequent visitors to this blog might have noticed that for a couple of weeks ago this blogspot was temporarily disabled due to a malicious attack. As of now the blogspot has been restored. The following minor changes (not directly related to the above malicious attack) were introduced to improve the layout and contents of the blogspot: 1. A slightly newer layout to make viewing the contents more pleasing to the eyes 2. The welcome message is now at the top of the posting section of the blogspot 3. Additions of (i) google search engine to search this blogspot and (ii) business news headlines related to Malaysia. I hope the above changes would benefits all. Wassalam.

Research in Shari'ah Compliant Construction Procurement

Salam and dear all, Among the key research areas that the Procurement and Project Delivery Systems Research Unit are currently undertaking include Shari'ah compliant construction procurement. Specifically, the research areas are:

1. Shari'ah Compliant Construction Contracts
2. Shari'ah Compliant Construction Marketing
3. Shari'ah Compliant Construction Insurances

The key approach we take in our studies on the above is that we are not attempting to design a new approach, instead we examine the current systems on construction contracts, marketing and insurances and assess their compliant or otherwise with the Shari'ah. The latter is done by studying the key sources namely the Al-Quran, As-Sunnah and publications on Ijma' (concensus of agreement among Muslim scholars) and Ijtihad (continuous process of reasoning to interpret and harmonize the divine messages...); other publications and of course by consulting experts. On Shari'ah Compliant Construction Contracts, our studies so far indicated that the concept of Istisna (manufacturing contract) is relatively compatible with the current practice in construction contracting, that the contract drawings and the bills of quantities are key documents making the current contract practice shari'ah compliant, etc. In terms of Shari'ah Compliant Construction Marketing, our studies so far indicated that the concept of 5 Ps in conventional marketing could be re-organized to make them shari'ah compliant. We also observed that supports towards Shari'ah compliant construction procurement: contract, marketing, financing, etc is gaining momentum. In the coming in-augural conference Construction in the Muslim World, 21 Oct 2009, IIUM, we hope to present our initial findings on Shari'ah Compliant Construction Contracts and Shari'ah Compliant Construction Marketing insyaallah. We would like participants to share with us your expertise/opinions on these subjects. In addition, the in-augural conference would also discuss issues related to the state of construction in the muslim world, construction education in the muslim world, etc. We hope to see you at the conference, insyaallah. Details of the conference including registration fee, etc is available at (http://www.constructioninthemuslimworld.blogspot.com). Wassalam. Prof. Sr. Dr. Khairuddin Abdul Rashid Head, Procurement and Project Delivery System Research Unit Chair inaugural conference construction in the Muslim World

Book Joint ventures in construction

Salam and dear all, In my last posting, I informed all on the publication of our latest book "Joint ventures in construction". To provide all with a 'feel' of the book, listed below are the chapters of the book.

INTRODUCTION xxi

Part 1 Cultures and Ethics

1 The Role of Cultures of Governments, Firms and Civil Society in Multi National Joint Ventures in Construction

Lata CHATTERJEE 1

2 Construction Projects as Joint Ventures: Issues of Culture and Risk

Richard FELLOWS, Anita M M LIU 17

3 Culture and Workplace Behavior: A Case Study of Joint Venture Construction Projects in Thailand

Yoyu Toto ROMA, Stephen O. OGUNLANA 30

4 Ethics for Multinational JV Projects for Construction Works

Muhammad AMANULLAH 41

Part 2 Co-operation and Relationship

5 Cooperative Relationships in Partnering Projects in Hong Kong

Anita M M LIU, Richard FELLOWS 53

6 Co-opetition or Convenient Coalitions?-JV’s for Indian Airports Redevelopment in the Infrastructure Sector

Gangadhar MAHESH, Mohan M. KUMARASWAMY 62

7 Alliancing in Australia – A Long Term JV?

Steve ROWLINSON, Fiona Yan Ki CHEUNG 68

8 Relationship Marketing For Sino-Singapore Joint Venture Industrial Parks in China

David CHEW 76

9 Influential Factors Impacting International Construction – The Case of Malaysian Contractors

Nor Rozaini ABD RAHMAN, Johan Victor TORRANCE, Madinah Hussin TORRANCE 90

Part 3 Legal, Contractual and Government

10 Shari’ah Compliant Contract: A New Paradigm in Multi-national Joint Venture for Construction Works

KHAIRUDDIN Abdul Rashid 103

11 Civil Liability of Construction Joint Ventures Under the Thai Legal System

Veerasak LIKHITRUANGSILP 115

12 Third Party Reviews and Trust Formation

Tsuyoshi HATORI, Kiyoshi KOBAYASHI, Hayeong JEONG 122

13 Optimal Contract for PPP Projects Under Uncertainty: Hidden Action and Hidden Information Case

Toshimori OTAZAWA 130

14 Governance of PFI Projects: Lessons From the Sendai “Spo-Park Matsumori”

PFI Project Disaster

Katsuji ISHIHARA, Masamitsu ONISHI 140

15 Appraising Policies for Joint Ventures for Construction Works In Malaysia

KHAIRUDDIN Abdul Rashid 150

Part 4 Investment, Productivity and Sub-contracting

16 Goal Sets of International Construction Joint Ventures

Christian BROCKMANN, Gerhard GIRMSCHEID 167

17 The Effects of Migrant Workers on the Host Country

Sharina Farihah HASAN, Kakuya MATSUSHIMA,

Kiyoshi KOBAYASHI 183

18 Investment Evaluation of Construction Projects Considering Geotechnical Risks

Hiroyasu OHTSU, Yutaka SAKAI, Yoshiki ONOI 192

19 Investment of Multinational Companies in Vietnam in the Field of Transport

Infrastructure Construction: Potential and Challenges

Pham Huy KHANG, Nguyen Dinh THAO 204

20 Multi-layered Subcontracting System in Singapore’s Construction Industry

George OFORI, Kwee Hoe LIM 216

Wassalam.