KUALA LUMPUR, May 15 (Sin Chew Daily) — Malaysia is ranked sixth among the most favored destinations for Chinese property buyers for a second consecutive year, according to a report by Juwai IQI.

Juwai.com is a portal for Chinese nationals looking for properties overseas.

In its 2019 report on preferred destinations in the world for Chinese property buyers, it said Malaysia was even placed above the United Kingdom (7th), Vietnam (8th) and Singapore (11th) among Chinese house buyers.

Juwai IQI executive chairman Georg Chmiel said in a statement, "The finding is based on inquiries made by Chinese property buyers in over 90 countries. The company has more than 3.3 million visitors making inquiries on overseas properties each month."

The report said Chinese property buyers had strong preference for Thailand, Australia, Japan, United States and Canada.

"Malaysia has long been a favorite investment choice for Chinese buyers. It has affordable standards of living, high quality of life, medical facilities and accessible educational facilities.”

Chmiel said the Malaysia My Second Home (MM2H) initiative was a major contributing factor for Malaysia to become a popular investment and retirement destination.

In 2018, the average property price in Malaysia was RM416,993. Compared to other regional countries, property prices in Malaysia are very attractive.

"The Expat Insider 2019 survey revealed that expatriates in Malaysia are generally happy with the affordability of life in the country and they found it easy to settle in.

"MM2H has made Malaysia a popular destination for investment and retirement.

"The initiative has been very popular with Chinese nationals who make up about 30% of the over 42,000 applications approved between 2012 and 2018," he said.

According to the report, Chmiel said inquiries on residential properties in Malaysia by Chinese buyers increased by 40.2% in 2019 compared to a year ago.

Malaysia remains attractive to Chinese buyers, with Kuala Lumpur, Johor Bahru, Melaka, Kota Kinabalu and Shah Alam being the most favored destinations.

Kuala Lumpur has lured the largest number of Chinese buyers. Being the capital of Malaysia, the city boasts the largest pool of properties and new launches.