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THIS year, two well-known developers — S P Setia Bhd and Sunway Bhd — were the stars of The Edge Malaysia Property Excellence Awards (TEPEA) 2013, winning multiple awards.
The Edge Malaysia Top Property Developers Awards (TPDA) is the anchor of TEPEA. TEPEA also comprises The Edge-PEPS Value Creation Excellence Award and The Edge-PAM Green Excellence Award, The Edge Malaysia Outstanding Property Personality Award, The Edge Malaysia Outstanding Property Project Award, Best in Qualitative Attributes Award and The Edge Malaysia Notable Achievement Award.
S P Setia received four awards this time around: No 1 in TPDA, Best in Qualitative Attributes Award, winner of The Edge-PEPS Value Creation Excellence Award 2013 (non-residential) for the Setia Walk en bloc shopoffices in Puchong and The Edge-PAM Green Excellence Award 2013 for Setia City Mall in Shah Alam.
Sunway received three awards this year: The Edge Malaysia Outstanding Property Personality Award 2013 for its founder and executive chairman Tan Sri Jeffrey Cheah, The Edge Malaysia Outstanding Property Project Award for Sunway Resort City and
No 2 in TPDA 2013.
Nevertheless, TPDA saw mostly familiar names, although there were some changes in the rankings and a new entry. The top three developers in Malaysia remained unchanged from last year. There was no recipient for The Edge Malaysia Notable Achievement Award this year.
S P Setia emerged once again as the No 1 developer in the country from the consumer’s perspective. This marks the developer’s eighth time in the top position since the inception of TPDA in 2003. It came in second to IGB Corp in 2003 and 2004, and runner-up to Sime Darby Property Bhd in 2009.
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| The TPDA judges (from left): Au Foong Yee, Datuk Teo Chiang Kok,Tan Sri Eddy Chen, Ho Chin Soon, Datuk Alan Tong, Kumar Tharmalingam, Datuk Jeffrey Ng, Datuk Seri Michael Yam and Rosalynn Poh (Datuk Richard Fong could not be present for the photo shoot) |
This year, S P Setia came in first in the qualitative attributes sub-ranking. Thus, the Best in Qualitative Attributes 2013, an award introduced last year, also went to S P Setia. The developer was seventh in the quantitative attributes ranking this year.
Renowned in the Klang Valley, Johor Baru and Penang, the developer also has projects in Singapore, Vietnam, Australia and Britain — namely, the much-talked-about £8 billion (RM40.83 billion) Battersea Power Station project in London, jointly developed with Sime Darby Bhd and the Employees Provident Fund (EPF). S P Setia has earned a reputation for its award-winning townships, such as the 2,525-acre Setia Alam and the eco-themed Setia Eco Park in Shah Alam, Selangor.
The developer also garnered The Edge-PEPS Value Creation Excellence Award 2013 (non-residential) for its Setia Walk en bloc shop offices and The Edge-PAM Green Excellence Award 2013 for its Setia City Mall, built by Greenhill Resources Sdn Bhd, a joint venture with Land Lease.
Recently, S P Setia launched its second project in Melbourne — Parque Melbourne in St Kilda Road. Within two weeks, 95% of the apartments had been sold.
In second place again in this year’s TPDA was Sunway Bhd. With total assets exceeding RM7 billion and a landbank close to 2,800 acres, Sunway was listed on Bursa Malaysia on Aug 23, 2011. Its landbank has a potential gross development value (GDV) of about RM22 billion. The developer was eighth in the quantitative attributes ranking this year.
The former tin mining company was established in 1974 and Sunway is the result of a merger of Sunway Group’s property and construction units, namely Sunway City Bhd and Sunway Holdings Bhd. Sunway City Bhd had come in third in 2011.
The group’s Sunway Real Estate Investment Trust, incorporated in December 2010, is one of the country’s largest REITs. It has assets comprising retail outlets, offices and hotels located all over the country.
The developer’s flagship development is the 800-acre Sunway Resort City (SRC), which has more than 7,000 residential and commercial units. SRC received The Edge Malaysia Outstanding Property Project Award this year while group founder Tan Sri Jeffrey Cheah received The Edge Malaysia Outstanding Property Personality Award 2013.
Sunway is also one of the largest landowners in Iskandar, Johor. Its 1,800 acres there will take 10 to 15 years to develop. Meanwhile, its new projects are Sunway Velocity in Jalan Cheras, Kuala Lumpur, and Sunway Geo in a corner of Sunway South Quay.
Remaining in third place this year was Sime Darby Property Bhd, which is one of the financially strongest developers in the country. It was first in the quantitative attributes ranking this year. Last year, it was second, behind
S P Setia. Sime Darby Property was seventh in the qualitative attributes ranking this year.
Known for its townships, such as Subang Jaya and Ara Damansara in Petaling Jaya and Bukit Jelutong in Shah Alam, the developer recently launched a massive 5,000-acre development along the Guthrie Corridor Expressway. City of Elmina is a regional grouping of townships with a GDV of RM25 billion and is expected to take 10 to 18 years to complete.
Its partnership with S P Setia and EPF in the Battersea Power Station project in London is expected to contribute significantly to its 2014 earnings. Sime Darby Property also has a joint-venture project with Asia’s leading shopping mall developer CapitaMalls Asia Ltd to develop Melawati Mall in Taman Melawati, Kuala Lumpur. The mall is expected to open in 2016. Another exciting project by Sime Darby Property is the Subang Jaya City Centre.
Coming in fourth was UEM Sunrise Bhd — one spot up from last year’s debut fifth placing in TPDA. Formerly known as UEM Land Holdings Bhd, it is the property investment and development arm of UEM Group, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Khazanah Nasional Bhd. UEM Land integrated with Sunrise Bhd to form UEM Sunrise in June.
The developer has a presence in Nusajaya, Johor, the Klang Valley as well as Canada. It is the master developer of Nusajaya, which is one of the five flagship zones and the key driver of Iskandar Malaysia.
In fifth place was IGB Corp Bhd, which is best known for the Mid Valley City integrated development, featuring Mid Valley Megamall, The Gardens Mall, hotels, office towers and serviced residences. IGB Corp was No 4 last year. IGB REIT was listed on Bursa Malaysia in September 2012 with Mid Valley Megamall and The Gardens Mall offering a net lettable area of 2.5 million sq ft.
In June, IGB Corp announced its partnership with Distinctive Group to undertake an integrated commercial development in Medini in Iskandar Malaysia. The developer recently launched Three28 Tun Razak, a serviced apartment project with a GDV of RM96 million in Kuala Lumpur.
In sixth place this year was Bandar Utama City Corp Sdn Bhd — an impressive improvement from its ninth placing last year. It is the developer of the Bandar Utama township in Petaling Jaya, which features such landmarks as the 1 Utama Shopping Centre, One World Hotel and 1 First Avenue.
Bandar Utama City Corp has adopted the build-then-sell concept for its residential properties and its latest launches include the last block of 9 Bukit Utama condominiums and 90 villas called The Effingham.
Making a impressive debut in the Top 10 this year was UOA Development Bhd. It took the seventh spot. UOA Development was in 11th place last year following its listing on Bursa Malaysia in June 2011. The developer of the 60-acre mixed-use commercial development Bangsar South in Kampung Kerinchi, Kuala Lumpur, was the inaugural recipient of The Edge Malaysia Notable Achievement Award 2012.
Founded in Australia and listed on the Australian Securities Exchange in 1987, UOA Group is primarily involved in property development, construction and property investment. Other developments by UOA include Villa Yarl in Taman Yarl and Desa Bangsar Ria condominium in Bangsar.
Remaining in eighth place was Gamuda Bhd’s property division, which is known for its township projects such as Kota Kemuning in Shah Alam and Bandar Botanic in Klang, Selangor. Gamuda’s other projects include Horizon Hills in Johor, Madge Mansions in Kuala Lumpur and Gamuda City and Celadon City in Vietnam.
Its property arm saw record sales in FY2013 ended July 31, registering RM1.78 billion, of which
RM1 billion was from its Horizon Hills project in Iskandar Malaysia.
In ninth position this year was I&P Group Sdn Bhd — down three spots from its sixth position last year. The developer, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Permodalan Nasional Bhd, was the result of a merger between Island & Peninsular Sdn Bhd, Petaling Garden Sdn Bhd and Pelangi Sdn Bhd in 2009.
I&P Group has at least 12 large township projects in Selangor. Among them are Bandar Kinrara in Puchong, Bandar Baru Seri Petaling, Temasya Glenmarie, Bukit Damansara, Alam Impian and Alam Damai.
In 10th position was Mah Sing Group Bhd — down three spots from its seventh position in 2012. The developer, known for its aggressive land acquisitions and quick turnaround strategy, is present in the Klang Valley, Johor Baru, Penang and Kota Kinabalu.
It has 45 projects in its portfolio and its recent ventures include Meridin@Medini, Meridin@Senibong and Southville City.
Eastern & Oriental Bhd took the 11th spot this year, up two notches from last year. IJM Land Bhd fell out of the Top 10 ranking this year, taking 12th spot compared with its 10th place in 2012. Another developer notably missing from the Top 10 was Bandar Raya Developments Bhd (No 12 in 2012) as it did not submit an entry for the awards this year. Making it to the Top 30 in TPDA 2013 were IOI Corp (No 15), Wing Tai Malaysia Bhd (No 21), Hunza Properties Bhd (No 25), Symphony Life Bhd (No 26) and MKH Bhd (No 28).
The results of the TPDA rankings were audited by Deloitte Malaysia.
This article first appeared in The Edge Malaysia Weekly, on October 14, 2013.
