GEORGE TOWN, July 10 -- Malaysia must encourage more foreign buyers of local real estate to resolve the issue of unsold units in the country, the Malaysian chapter of the International Real Estate Federation (FIABCI) asserted today.

FIABCI Malaysia president Michael Geh said foreigners now own less than three per cent of Malaysian real estate.

"Three per cent is still relatively low so we can increase foreign owners of Malaysian properties to five per cent," he said in a statement today.

He said this was not an invitation for foreigners to speculate on local real estate.

Instead, he said foreign buyers who are keen to reside, work or let their children study in Malaysia should be welcome to invest in local property market.

"There are...