The global economic crisis sparked off by the subprime mortage mess in the United States has put faith in property investment into a pickle. But not so for KPWG International (M) Sdn Bhd, a specialist in flexible and high yielding investment products centred on land and properties.

It said it strongly supports investing in land and properties, especially now with the numerous "lucrative offers and so few takers".

According to KPWG managing director and a founding member Paul Baker, investments have also to take into consideration the speculative nature of bonds and shares which, he said, are constantly subjected to fluctuating transactions and global sentiments while "land is a solid investment".

"When stock markets plummet and share prices plunge to their lowest, land and land-based products have demonstrated their resilience. The bottom line is, land investments are less volatile than stock markets," Baker said, adding that KPWG has a team of property consultants to locate strategic sites for Malaysians to invest in.

Its offerings include the Tai-Pan Resort and Condominium comprising 60 exclusive condo-resort hotel units located in the Thai royal resort town of Hua Hin in the Gulf of Thailand and managed by the Tai-Pan Hotel group, well known in the Indochine region.

Baker said KPWG is undertaking its investments through its two brands, Land Eye and Paradise Found. The former sources for land investment opportunities globally while the latter seeks mid-range and luxury properties and developments in thriving resort locations in Asia Pacific.

"We have land products in the region such as plots on which projects can be built on almost instantly and plots under agriculture status that can be converted for residential use.

"Currently, KPWG is negotiating for a large project in Indonesia's Bintan Island as well as several land deals in the United Kingdom. We are also eyeing Russia, Japan and Korea for various investment choices," he added.