One wouldn’t expect such a small state to be so packed with attractions, historical monuments and buildings, and a bustling modern economy all in one place, at the same time. Yet, Penang, located on Peninsular Malaysia’s northwestern coast, has all of these, making it one of the few cities in the world that successfully melds old and modern times, and a place where you’ll discover something new at every turn. It’s known as the pearl of the orient, and for a good reason: the state has much to offer to its residents and visitors, so you’ll have no shortage of fun while you’re here. Penang is the best place to go if you want to have a new adventure every time.

Two Portions of Penang

The state of Penang is divided into two halves by its land area: the first would be Penang Island off the main coast, which is nearly three hundred square km large, and the second is Province Wellesley, part of the main island. It’s seven hundred and sixty square km large, and the Malacca Strait sits on the western side, with the mainland surrounding the rest of the province.

George Town divides the channel into north and south sections, due to the sort of hourglass shape Penang Island and the mainland crates. Most of the interior of Penang Island is forested, and has a hill on the central part of the island, at eight hundred thirty meters above sea level. This hill is called Western Hill, and is part of the main Penang Hill. Aside from these two main portions of Penang, there are also smaller islets off the coast, and serve as tourist attractions nowadays.

The climate in Penang follows the traditional tropical pattern, and throughout the yea the weather is sunny and warm, punctuated by rainfall, which is a common occurrence in the state, most of it during the months of April until September, the monsoon months. The rainfall amounts to two thousand six hundred mm yearly, and the temperature ranges on the hot side during daytime at a range of twenty-seven up to thirty degrees Celsius during the day, and lowering down to twenty-two degrees during nighttime.

Population Demographics

The two dominant ethnicities in Penang are those coming from Chinese and Malay descent, each making around forty percent of the total population on its own. The rest are from Indian Malaysians, and other ethnicities. The state also hosts a large number of expatriates staying there, mostly retirees from either Britain or Japan, owing to the Malaysia My Second Home initiative. The languages widely spoken in Penang include English, Tamil, Malay, and Penang Hokkien, a variant of Minnan, traced back to the days of the early Chinese settlers in the area. English is also widely spoken in Penang, mostly used for business transactions, and the schools use these as a language medium for instruction in Math and Science subjects. Manglish is one common colloquial form of the language, combining Malay and English in a single spoken dialect.

Penang Economy

Even with its small size, second smallest only after Perlis, Penang still has the third-largest economy among the other Malaysian states. The biggest industry in this area would be manufacturing, with almost half of the entire GDP of the state coming from this source. Tech companies abound in the southern portion of Penang, like chip producers AMD and Intel, to name a few. Shipping is also a major contributor to the economy in Penang, with Port Klang nearby to Kuala Lumpur, and Butterworth having a container terminal for shipments in the northern portion.

Banking is one of the backbone industries of the economy in Penang, with the state being a major banking center even before Kuala Lumpur became a modern city. Standard Chartered Bank, the oldest in Malaysia, is located here, having operated since 1875. HSBC also counts Penang as its first base in the country, opened in 1885. Most of these old established banks still have their headquarters in the old commercial area of George Town.

Investing in Penang Properties

Putting your money in with Properties in Penang is a major commitment as an investment, especially with more rules governing foreigners buying up properties in any area in Malaysia. Buying a property means that you will keep it at least three years because of the restrictions, and a foreigner is only allowed two pieces of property at any one time. To acquire a third property you’ll have to secure a permit from the Foreign Investment Committee, and taxation would be too cumbersome from the gains if you sell before five years has passed, at thirty percent of the gains going to taxes. If you’ll sell property you’ve owned for six years, however, it’s only taxed at five percent, which is a fair amount.

Buying a property in Penang means that you’ll have to budget a minimum of around RM two hundred fifty thousand, which is not insignificant, but you’ll get plenty of nice listings to choose from in this minimum amount. Prices for luxury offerings like villas however, would reach higher prices, of course. In pounds, that would reach up to half a million for a full-blown luxury listing.

The potential returns coming from investments in Penang properties are nice enough to consider, having an average of six up to twelve percent, and with your capital, you can go from twenty percent up to as high as eighty if you choose wisely enough. Malaysia My Second Home is a program that makes it easier and even more tempting to own properties in Penang, Malaysia. Even with the minimum amount of the purchase price being considered, buying properties in Penang is an attractive proposition, with the profits gained from either selling long-term or renting out housing units, it’s a fair deal to work with and the potential returns for the price ranges have more growth at the minimum compared to just putting your money in with banks.