Sime Darby Property is No 1

PETALING JAYA: The Edge Top Property Developers Awards 2009 has ranked Sime Darby Property Bhd (SDP) the No 1 property developer in the country. The overall second spot went to S P Setia Bhd, which was in the number one position the last four years.

The Awards ranks property developers in the country from the consumer’s perspective and developers were judged on both their quantitative (shareholder’s funds, group pre-tax profit, revenue, gearing and cash plus cash equivalents) and qualitative (product quality, innovation and creativity, value creation for buyers, image and expertise) attributes.

SDP, the property division of Sime Darby Bhd is the developer of townships such as Ara Damansara, Putra Heights and Bukit Jelutong, all in the Klang Valley while S P Setia is the developer of Setia Alam and the award-winning Setia Eco Park in Shah Alam.

Sunway City Bhd comes in at third place, retaining its position held last year. In fourth place is IGB Corp Bhd, the developer of Mid Valley City.

Non-listed Island & Peninsular Sdn Bhd (I&P), the previously listed IOI Properties Bhd and Bandar Raya Developments Bhd took the fifth, sixth and seventh position respectively.

I&P was voluntarily delisted in July 2007 and on May 1, 2009, I&P Group Sdn Bhd emerged following a rationalisation and merger exercise of I&P, Petaling Garden Sdn Bhd and Pelangi Sdn Bhd.

Eastern & Oriental Bhd is at number eight while in ninth spot is Sunrise Bhd, the name synonymous with the high-end high-rise residential enclave of Mont’Kiara. It also came in as the best developer in the qualitative attributes.

In tenth place is non-listed Bandar Utama City Corp Sdn Bhd, the developer of Bandar Utama which was in seventh place last year.

Companies listed on the property sector of Bursa Malaysia automatically qualify for the ranking. Quantitative attributes of listed companies were sourced from published sources compiled by Interactive Data Systems Sdn Bhd, while non-listed companies were required to submit copies of signed audited accounts. A total of 15 submissions were received from non-listed companies this year. All companies were judged on the FY2008 financial results.

A panel of industry experts and veteran property developers judged on the qualitative aspects of the companies. The judges were Datuk Alan Tong, Datuk Richard Fong, Datuk Jeffery Ng, Datuk Teo Chiang Kok, Kumar Tharmalingam and Datuk Eddy Chen. The Edge was represented by its executive editor Au Foong Yee, who is also the editor of City&Country and theedgeproperty.com.

The judges abstained from deliberation and judging companies in which they have direct or indirect interest. They are Fong for Glomac Bhd, where he is group executive VP; Teo for Bandar Utama City Corp (he is a director), Ng of Sunway city (he is an executive director), Chen for Metro Kajang (he’s the MD) and Au for Sunrise (Sunrise and The Edge have in common a major shareholder). The results were audited by Deloitte Malaysia for the third year running.

For more details on the ranking read the Oct 12 issue of City & Country in The Edge Malaysia and view a video of the awards presentation night held on Oct 8 at www.theedgeproperty.com.

Sime Darby Property Bhd managing director Datuk Tunku Putra Badlishah Tunku Annuar (right) receiving the Award certificate from Housing and Local Government Minister Datuk Seri Kong Cho Ha with The Edge Malaysia managing director Tan Boon Kean looking on