Recognising the best in property development

KUALA LUMPUR (Nov 1): S P Setia Bhd clinched the top spot in The Edge Malaysia Top Property Developers’ Awards (TPDA) 2019 last night, marking the fourth consecutive year the company won the spot. It dropped to third and fourth positions in 2014 and 2015 respectively, before regaining the title in 2016.

S P Setia president and chief executive officer (CEO) Datuk Khor Chap Jen said the developer is honoured to be awarded the top honours for the 12th time since the award’s inception in 2003.

“We are honoured and excited by our performance. I want to attribute this success to Team Setia,” he added.

“Because of the challenges the market is facing, the thing that makes us different is the people who come out with unique ideas and services so buyers will continue to buy from us.”

S P Setia is also the winner of the Best in Qualitative Attributes sub-award.

The others among the top 10 are Sunway Bhd — property division (No 2), UOA Development Bhd (No 3), IJM Land Bhd (No 4), UEM Sunrise Bhd (No 5), Mah Sing Group Bhd (No 6), Gamuda Bhd — property division (No 7), IOI Properties Group Bhd (No 8), Sime Darby Property Bhd (No 8), Eco World Development Group Bhd (EcoWorld) (No 9) and IGB Bhd (No 10).

IOI Properties and Sime Darby Property shared the rank at No 8. Meanwhile, UOA Development won the Best in Quantitative Attributes sub-award.

The TPDA is evaluated based on both qualitative and quantitative attributes. In the qualitative category, judges evaluate each company based on their expertise, image, innovation and creativity, product quality and the value they create for buyers.

Under the quantitative category, companies are evaluated based on their shareholders’ funds, turnover, profitability and cash or gearing. The scores and rankings for the TPDA are audited by Deloitte Malaysia.

The TPDA anchors The Edge Malaysia Property Excellence Awards (TEPEA). In recent years, TEPEA has expanded to include other sub-awards such as The Edge-PEPS Value Creation Excellence Award, The Edge-PAM Green Excellence Award, The Edge Malaysia Affordable Urban Housing Excellence Award, The Edge Malaysia Outstanding Property CEO Award and The Edge Malaysia Lifetime Property Achievement Award.

The TEPEA awards gala dinner was held yesterday at the Shangri-La Hotel Kuala Lumpur, with more than 400 real estate players and experts coming together to celebrate the event.

The Edge Media Group publisher and group CEO Datuk Ho Kay Tat, in his speech, said the TEPEA awards serve not just to recognise the best in property development but also to guide buyers who are looking for properties to buy. The idea is to help them make better decisions.

“We launched these awards to provide a guide to the public on the strongest and best real estate players in the country. TEPEA has become an industry benchmark for companies which have sustainable financial strength and delivered quality products to their customers to be used as a home or as an investment asset,” he added.

This year, there is a new award — The Edge Malaysia Outstanding Overseas Project Award — which is awarded to Gamuda Gardens in Gamuda City, Hanoi by Gamuda Land, as well as Circus West Village in Battersea Power Station by the Malaysian Battersea consortium of S P Setia, Sime Darby and the Employees’ Provident Fund.

Meanwhile, The Edge Malaysia Lifetime Property Achievement Award is awarded to executive chairman of Ireka Corp Bhd, Datuk Lai Siew Wah, in recognition of his efforts in steering the company successfully through the boom and bust of several economic cycles in the past 50 years.

As for The Edge Malaysia Outstanding Property Entrepreneur Award, that goes to UOA Development managing director C S Kong. The award recognises his contribution in building the company into the fourth largest on Bursa Malaysia with a market value of around RM4 billion and a significant presence in the Klang Valley.

Group CEO and managing director of IGB and IGB Real Estate Investment Trust Datuk Seri Robert Tan took home The Edge Malaysia Outstanding Property CEO Award. The award recognises his leadership that has enabled a business started by his father and uncle to become industry giants in residential and commercial development and real estate investment trusts. The two companies under his charge now have a collective market capitalisation of close to RM9 billion.

The Edge Malaysia Property Development Excellence Award also recognises two developments this year, particularly two township developments that showcased how entrepreneurial grit can deliver modern township living to where it did not previously exist. The award goes to I-Bhd for its i-City development in Shah Alam as well as Matrix Concept Holdings Bhd’s Bandar Sri Sendayan township in Seremban.

The Edge-PEPS Value Creation Excellence Award — started in partnership by The Edge and the Association of Valuers, Property Managers, Estate Agents and Property Consultants in the Private Sector — recognises developments that have provided outstanding rewards to their purchasers in terms of capital appreciation.

This year’s winner is Pangsapuri Danau Seri by Gamuda Land (residential category) and Gateway 16 @ Bandar Bukit Raja for 1½-storey semi-detached factory by Sime Darby USJ Development Sdn Bhd (non-residential category). The mention award goes to Gamuda Land’s Phase 27, Ambang Botanic 2.

In partnership with the Malaysian Institute of Architects, The Edge-PAM Green Excellence Award recognises projects that demonstrate sustainable design innovation while contributing positively to the community. The winner is International School of Kuala Lumpur.

The Edge Malaysia Affordable Urban Housing Excellence Award, which honours affordable housing projects for the urban middle-income group undertaken wholly by Malaysian private developers, is awarded to D’Cerrum Apartment by Setia Ecohill Sdn Bhd.

The Edge Malaysia Property Excellence Awards this year is sponsored by Euromobil Sdn Bhd — the largest distributor of Audi in Malaysia as well as USG Boral — a specialist building materials supplier. It is presented by City & Country, the property pull-out of The Edge Malaysia weekly and supported by EdgeProp.my.