Quarza Residence

IN pursuing meaningful success, one’s intentions must be good, believes Datuk Jauhari Hamidi. “Everything starts with your nawaitu (intentions),” the managing director of Sime Darby Property Bhd (SDP) tells City & Country. “If they are honest, then you’ll be all right.”

“My management philosophy is simple. You need to have the right mindset to do the right thing,” adds the 57-year-old, who assumed his role last December.

Jauhari, who is fondly known as Datuk Jo among his peers, is relaxed and confident, and it becomes clear during the interview that he strongly believes in the importance of engaging with both the customer and employee.

“When I started as a young engineer [in Sime Darby’s energy and utilities division], I was working at the oil refineries. At that point in my life, I got used to running up and down the sites to ensure everything was running smoothly, and often, people would notice my tan. Although things have changed, now that I am at managerial level, I still prefer to go to the development sites to see what is happening on the ground,” explains Jauhari, who is a registered professional engineer.

He does not consider himself the typical “property man”. “If anything, I consider myself to be a professional manager, and I’ll do the tasks at hand to the best of my ability,” he says. “To a certain extent, this is good because I look at things from a different perspective, not purely from that of property. I also look at how to bring the group forward through marketing, branding and, of course, engineering.

“Before my appointment as the managing director of SDP last December, and acting managing director of SDP last April, I served as the executive vice-president of Sime Darby’s energies and utilities division (non-China) from August 2010. All in all, I have spent more than 33 years working for the Sime Darby group.”

The Kuala Kangsar boy also has experience in aerospace engineering under the group.

He had joined the group in 1983 and served in various capacities in its oil and gas division, which was eventually sold in 2011. “After the merger of Sime Darby Bhd, Golden Hope Plantations and Kumpulan Guthrie in 2007, I joined the utilities division in China.

“My experience in property began when I served as the managing director and divisional director of property development at Sime UEP Properties Bhd in 2005 [to 2007].”

Led by Jauhari, SDP has performed consistently over the past six months of its financial year 2016. “We are halfway through FY2016 [ending June 30] and our numbers continue to reflect the challenging business environment, mainly attributed to bearish sentiments,” he says.

The group achieved a profit before interest and tax of RM187 million on an external revenue of RM1.18 billion during the period.

To date, it has recorded about RM1.2 billion of unbilled sales, which translates into 48% of its target for FY2016 of RM2.5 billion. SDP remains confident of hitting its target and plans to do so with 18 more launches in the next three months.

“Times are tough, and my hair has never turned this grey in a short amount of time,” jokes Jauhari. But he is determined to make SDP “customer-centric” with emphasis on quality and accountability.

Sime Darby

New culture

Reflecting on the challenges he has encountered so far, Jauhari says, “When I joined SDP, it was definitely an interesting time in the market. Everyone was talking about the headwinds we were facing, the credit crunch, the imposition of controls on loans and how household debt was increasing.

“Last year, some of our launches saw take-ups of only 30% to 40%. Traditionally, SDP achieved at least 70% to 80% with our buyers queuing up from the night before the launch.

“I also had to deal with a delay of up to two years in one of our developments. I thought it [such a long delay] was unheard-of and felt it was unacceptable. We have since managed to shorten the delay to nine months.”

Jauhari is candid about the nature of the industry and how SDP is perceived and positioned. “In a way, SDP is an institution compared with other entrepreneur-driven developers. If you are the latter, decision-making is a lot easier because it is your own money and you want to see returns. That is a fact. But at government-linked companies and institutions, there tends to be bureaucracy at times and as much as you deny it, it is there. At the moment, we are trying our best to remove as many of these road blocks as possible to improve our processes so that we can get to the customer a lot faster,” he comments.

“I am trying to make the SDP team see that it is not just about having a product, selling it and trying to achieve the highest take-up rate. It is also about the way we launch our products and how we expedite their delivery.”

In a bid to overcome these challenges, Jauhari actively preaches the importance of brand value, quality and accountability. “Due to the current market, we have to adjust our strategies,” he remarks. The group’s latest strategies include the centralisation of its sales galleries, regular engagement with buyers and staff members, the introduction of a mobile app and the launch of its Lifestyle Collection 2016 (see accompanying story) to help prospective buyers find the right product and to facilitate the purchasing process.

“We engage regularly with our buyers [and also our staff] to understand their wants and needs. Feedback is important to us. Apart from that, we have now built and centralised the sales galleries in our townships. Previously, we only had our sales galleries at our corporate offices. Bandar Bukit Raja was the first township to have its own sales gallery. We understand that buyers would like to experience the ambience and get a feel of the area,” observes Jauhari.

“SDP also prides itself on its quality and sustainable homes. Hence, we would like to achieve 0% defect in all our developments today.”

During the interview, Jauhari keeps coming back to the issue of accountability at SDP. “When I was involved in aerospace engineering, I learnt that all the components to build an aircraft have to be of the highest quality — sort of ‘birthmarked’. If there are any complications, you can easily track them back to the manufacturing plant, its supervisor, which year it was built and so forth. And this is what I am trying to inculcate in SDP,” he says. “All these sources are held accountable and I believe the same should be applied to SDP.

“To ensure that our buyers have the best quality, we now birthmark or provide full details of their respective homes, such as information about the contractors, architects and so forth. All they need to do is access their respective accounts via our mobile app to learn more about their homes.”

According to Jauhari, the mobile app that was launched last month offers new and existing SDP customers the chance to manage their property portfolio via the mini-dashboard available under “My Account”. They can view billings and statements of account and report defects in their current property, if any. “This new approach complements the traditional push-marketing strategy and offers a new customer-centric experience,” he says.

And his formula seems to be working. “Phase 1 of Elmina Valley, which was launched in February, has achieved a take-up of 97%,” he says.

Located off the Guthrie Corridor Expressway, the 5,000-acre City of Elmina has a gross development value (GDV) of RM20.4 billion.

Elmina Valley 2

Striving to be the best

While SDP is renowned as a landed property and township developer that transformed areas such as Subang Jaya, Bukit Jelutong and, more recently, City of Elmina into much sought-after addresses in the Klang Valley, Jauhari maintains that the group is not opposed to exploring other types of developments.

According to him, the group’s focus has expanded from landed homes to serviced apartments and mixed-use developments. “For the past 40 years, SDP has been known as a township developer [specialising in landed properties]. However, we are now exploring other niche markets consisting of transit-oriented developments (TODs) and mixed-use developments.

“We understand the changes in the market and that we have to come up with innovative products with suitable price points. Sometimes, it is good to step out of our comfort zone,” he says, adding that the group will look at strategic partnerships to do so.

In the next three months, the group will concentrate on the launch of Elmina Valley 2 at City of Elmina in Shah Alam, a TOD called Cantara Residences in Ara Damansara and Quarza Residence at KL East in Desa Melawati.

Elmina Valley 2 has an estimated GDV of RM193.8 million and is due to be completed in April 2018. It comprises 309 terraced units, link units and townhouses with built-ups that start at 1,855 sq ft. Launched on April 9, Elmina Valley 2 has recorded an impressive take-up rate of 94%. Prices of the units start at RM600,676.

“We have seen strong demand for residential units in the RM600,000 price range,” says Jauhari, who anticipates Elmina Valley 2 to do just as well as Elmina Valley 1.

“As for Cantara Residences, we are targeting first-time homebuyers and young families and couples,” he says.

Also to be launched this month, Cantara Residences has a GDV of RM586.84 million and is due to be completed in 2020. The 23-storey tower comprises 888 serviced apartments with built-ups of 650 to 1,500 sq ft, and 13 commercial units. The project will feature a linear park, two pools, a pool deck and lounges. There will also be an aqua gym, an outdoor gym, a Jacuzzi, sky deck, reflexology path, futsal court, herb garden and jogging paths.

With a GDV of RM700 million, Quarza Residence is set to be launched next month. It comprises two 37-storey towers consisting of 508 serviced apartments with built-ups of 651 to 865 sq ft. Quarza Residence has acquired 1,500 registrants so far.

SDP will also be launching a four-acre, mixed-use development called Lapis Seri at the RM8 billion Kuala Lumpur Golf and Country Club Resort (KLGCC) in Bukit Kiara next month. It will consist of retail and office units, and serviced apartments.

Jauhari is confident that these upcoming launches will be well received. “As for our launched projects, we continue to see demand for landed properties in prime areas such as City of Elmina, Denai Alam, Bandar Bukit Raja, Nilai Impian and Bandar Ainsdale,” he says.

On the international front, the joint venture between SDP, S P Setia Bhd and the Employees Provident Fund (EPF) on the RM50 billion redevelopment of Battersea Power Station (BPS) in London will see the first shops, restaurants and cafés move into its first phase, Circus West. “The first residents will start moving in later this year and the first commercial tenants shortly after. The official opening is set for next year. Everything is moving according to schedule,” says Jauhari.

The Suave

Future plans

As at June last year, SDP had a landbank of about 30,000 acres across four main corridors in Selangor to Johor with an estimated remaining GDV of RM140 billion. About 10,900 acres of the land have been earmarked for future developments.

Jauhari hints that the group is looking to create more developments in certain parts of the Klang Valley. “We have some more land in Subang Jaya, SJ 7 and Putra Heights, and as we would like to continue to develop townships, we are looking at the possibility of developing on these strategic pieces of land,” he says.

In September, SDP will be launching The Suave at its RM4.5 billion master plan, the Subang Jaya City Centre (SJCC). Comprising 361 serviced apartments with built-ups of 624 to 1,001 sq ft, The Suave has a GDV of RM280 million and is due to be completed in 2020.

When asked about his hopes for SDP, Jauhari’s unhesitating reply is: “To be the No 1 developer.”

“It is my vision to make SDP the preferred and undisputed developer that caters for all the needs of our customers. In order to do this, it is important that everyone in SDP shares a common dream. We need to work as a team, trust one another, and God willing, all will be well,” he adds.

 ‘Stop to smell the roses’

“Life can’t be about work all the time. You have to take walks in the park, stop to smell the roses,” Jauhari advises.

He plays golf in his free time. “It is a way for me to de-stress; it is my form of escapism. Perhaps for a lot of people, golf is a way to bond with business associates and so forth. I play golf with my friends for the fun of it,” he says.

“Most of the time, I walk for the first nine holes. It is good exercise and it keeps me fit,” he says, adding that he has been playing the game for the past 16 years.

 

Lifestyle Collection 2016

Sime Darby Property Bhd (SDP) has once again launched its highly successful Lifestyle Collection. The programme, consisting of a wide selection of residential and commercial properties divided into five lifestyle-centric categories, was introduced in 2012.

This year,the Lifestyle Collection is introduced with new products and the Value Investment Priveleges (VIP) Fast Track programme to help facilitate purchasers in owning their dream properties, by offering pre-approved loans.

“Purchasers get to engage with a panel of bankers to check their credit score and receive the results in a couple of hours,” says SDP managing director Datuk Jauhari Hamidi.

“If eligible, purchasers will be given a conditional pre-approved loan and will be able to start shopping for their dream property offered by the programme,” he says.

The group is collaborating with AmBank, Bank Rakyat, BSN, CIMB, Citibank and RHB on this.

“There are five categories: The Signature, Inspired Living, Practical Charm, High Life and Prospectus. The properties are priced from less than RM600,000 to as high as a few million ringgit. We would like to believe that we cater for every segment,” remarks Jauhari.

According to SDP, the VIP Fast Track programme is applicable to 41 projects and over 15 townships in Seremban and the Klang Valley. Properties that are being offered include those in the Subang Jaya City Centre (SJCC), Bukit Jelutong and City of Elmina.

SDP’s newly launched serviced apartments, such as Cantara Residences in Ara Damansara (High Life) and Quarza Residence in KL East (High Life), are also included in Lifestyle Collection 2016.

Cantara Residences

This article first appeared in City & Country, a pullout of The Edge Malaysia Weekly, on April 18, 2016. Subscribe here for your personal copy.

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