S P Setia is the top property developer

S P SETIA Bhd has done it again. It is The Edge Top Property Developers Awards 2010’s (TPDA) No 1 ranked developer in Malaysia. It was No 1 for four consecutive years from 2005 to 2008 but coming in second to Sime Darby Property Bhd (SDP) in 2009.

The developer has projects in Johor, Penang, and the Klang Valley including the Setia Alam and Setia Eco Park developments in Shah Alam and the upcoming RM6 billion KL Eco City. For FY2010, it has already recorded RM1.95 billion in sales two months shy of the end of its financial year ending Oct 31. The group has ventures in Vietnam, China and more recently in Australia.

SDP, the property division of Sime Darby Bhd, plays second fiddle to S P Setia this year but there is no doubt SDP owns the strongest quantitative attributes overall with about 17,300 acres in its landbank. The developer of Subang Jaya, Bukit Jelutong, Putra Heights and Ara Damansara recorded in FY2009 a turnover of RM1.407 billion.

Sunway City Bhd (SunCity) is in third place three years in a row. The developer of the Sunway Integrated Resort City, showed strong financials for FY2009 led by its property investment projects, including the expanded Sunway Pyramid and Sunway Tower 2 (formerly Wisma Denmark in Kuala Lumpur). The developer also recently listed Sunway REIT with RM3.4 billion in asset value.

Advancing to fourth position this year from ninth last year is Sunrise Bhd. The group’s ongoing developments in the Mont’Kiara area include 11 Mont’Kiara and 28 Mont’Kiara, and Solaris Dutamas. It is expected to launch office tower Menara Solaris in Kuala Lumpur soon. It recently soft-launched and sold out the first phase of Quintet, a residential development in Richmond, Canada.

At No 5 overall is the developer of Mid Valley City in Kuala Lumpur, IGB Corp Bhd. Mid Valley Megamall and The Gardens Mall continue to be its mainstay whilst it is aggressively expanding its hotel chains Cititel and St Giles locally and overseas.

The developer synonymous with the development of Puchong, Selangor — IOI Properties Bhd — is ranked sixth again, unchanged from last year. It is currently developing a number of niche commercial projects and a new township development known as Sierra 16 in Puchong.

I&P Group Sdn Bhd, the developer of townships such as Alam Impian, and Temasya Glenmarie in Shah Alam as well as Seri Beringin in Damansara Heights comes at No 7.  It also took home The Edge/PEPS Value Creation Excellence Award 2010 (residential category) for its Bandar Kinrara project in Puchong.

Bandar Raya Developments Bhd (BRDB), developer of One Menerung, The Troika and Capsquare Office Tower 2  recently launched 6 Cap Square in Kuala Lumpur and Straits View Residence in its Bandar Baru Permas Jaya township in Johor. The owner of Bangsar Shopping Centre has completed the refurbishment of the mall while the adjacent Menara BRDB, a 12-storey Grade A office was completed this year. In its coming five-year growth plan, BRDB is targeting RM7bil to RM8 billion in revenue.

Mah Sing Group Bhd has for the first time joined the Top 10 list at No 9. Mah Sing has in the last seven years quadrupled its revenue to RM701.6 million with net profit rising 18-fold to RM94.3 million as at Dec 31, 2009. It has already passed its RM1 billion sales target for FY2010.  

Rounding up the Top 10 this year is IJM Land, the listed property arm of IJM Corp Bhd. Also a newcomer to the Top 10 list, the developer boasts more than 5,000 acres in its landbank and is developing its most significant project to date — the RM5.2 billion The Light Waterfront in Penang.

The captains of the winning companies received their award certificates from Housing and Local Government Minister Datuk Wira Chor Chee Heung at The Edge Property Excellence Awards ceremony last Thursday.  

“The property sector in Malaysia has to ensure sufficient housing for the various income segments of the population in the country,” says Chor..

“I urge the property and housing sector to heed the call from the government to transform the landscape of the sector into a more robust and sustainable industry,” he added.

Also receiving their awards that night were winners of the inaugural The Edge-PEPS Value Creation Excellence Award and The Edge-PAM Green Excellence Award. I&P Group Sdn Bhd’s Bandar Kinrara development in Puchong (residential category) and Encorp Bhd’s Encorp Strand in Kota Damansara development (non-residential category) won the value creation award. The award is jointly launched by The Edge and the Association of Valuers, Property Managers, Estate Agents and Property Consultants in the Private Sector Malaysia (PEPS).

Meanwhile, Ken Holdings Bhd won The Edge-PAM Green Excellence Award with its Ken Bangsar development. it is jointly launched by The Edge and the Malaysian Institute of Architects (PAM). The TPDA ranks the country’s best property players from the consumer’s perspective for their quantitative and qualitative attributes. The “quantitative” elements were the companies’ shareholders’ funds, revenue, pre-tax profit and net gearing, for the fiscal year ended 2009. The “qualitative” attributes were given 65% weightage this year (50% previously). They include the quality of the product, innovation and creativity, value creation for buyers, image and expertise. Deloitte Malaysia audited the results.

In his speech at the awards night, The Edge managing director Tan Boon Kean said the two new awards enhanced the main awards (TPDA) that recognise the best developers for their work and performance.

The seven-person panel that judged the qualitative components of the TPDA were Datuk Alan Tong Kok Mau, Datuk Eddy Chen Lok Loi; Datuk Jeffrey Ng Tiong Lip; Kumar Tharmalingam; Datuk Richard Fong,, Datuk Teo Chiang Kok and The Edge executive editor of property and retailing Au Foong Yee.


This article appeared on the The Edge Property Excellence Awards 2010 page, The Edge Financial Daily, October 11, 2010.