61.   He said attracting foreign investors to the property sector would be beneficial to the country as it constituted long-term investment.

62.   He said for December, the growth of loans to the property sector as well as its share of total loans were expected to decline.

63.   He said the current regulation which allowed foreign ownership in the property sector was still vague, and therefore not attractive to foreign investors.

64.   He said the property sector would improve soon despite the current economic crisis.

65.   He said the monetary crisis had also hit the local property sector which resulted in declining demand for logs.

66.   Heavy exposure to the overextended property sector by lenders makes the risk a real one.

67.   Hidayat agreed, saying that the government should ease the limitation on foreign ownership in the property sector.

68.   He said the regional monetary crisis, which also affected buyers such as Japan and Korea, had resulted in a decline in the regional property sector.

69.   High interest rates and the impact of the currency crisis on the property sector has taken its toll on blue chip construction firm DM Consunji Inc.

70.   He says the group has continued penetrating new market and identified opportunities to supply doors to the property sector for both local and medium cost residential and commercial buildings.