MCT becomes Avaland – from jack of all trades to master of one

• Avaland Bhd chief executive officer Teh Heng Chong: In the past, the (MCT) founder was just doing too many things – from property development to construction, cinemas, hotels, etc. So, we have streamlined them to just the core business and then make sure we do it well. 

PETALING JAYA (July 12): Avaland Bhd, formerly known as MCT Bhd, has finally unveiled its new corporate identity. A rebranding launch that took place in Kuala Lumpur recently marks the culmination of a transformative journey that began four years ago. 

Acquired by Ayala Land, one of the most established property developers in the Philippines and one of the largest property developers in Southeast Asia, Avaland aims to be one of the choice developers in Malaysia, said its chief executive officer Teh Heng Chong at the launch event. 

EdgeProp.my sat down with Teh for an exclusive interview (edited for clarity) on Avaland’s new direction and what homebuyers can expect from the company with this rebranded image.

Q: Can you share with us the reasons behind the rebranding of MCT to Avaland? What does it mean for the company?

Teh: When Ayala Land took over this company, the DNA of the former was very different. So, in order to be aligned with our parent company, we had to go through a transformation exercise where we restructured the company to focus on the core business, which is property development. In the past, the (MCT) founder was just doing too many things – from property development to construction, cinemas, hotels, etc. So, we have streamlined them to just the core business and then make sure we do it well. 

We have also tapped into the experience of Ayala Land and implemented it here, and we are actually beginning to see good results. Our sales are good, people are waiting for our new launches, and we have also won some awards. Hence, we feel that we should start a new chapter because we are ready to build a new brand. We feel this is the right time for us to actually change.   

Q: Can you explain a little about the new corporate identity and image?

Teh: There are actually three main components here. First, the name Avaland – we have actually derived it from “avant garde”. This is because we are looking at being innovative, and we are introducing new concepts, so those are in line with our new DNA. Second, “Ava” is also an English name that means “to breathe and to live”, because we feel that the company is now rejuvenated, revitalised and is starting afresh. Third, we put in a new tagline – “Rediscovering possibilities”, which shows that we are an Ayala Land company.

Q: Will there be any restructuring in the company with this rebranding?

Teh: No, there won’t be any restructuring because in the last few years during the downtime of the Covid-19 pandemic, we took the opportunity to do that. From multi-businesses, we have downsized to only the core business. Internally, we have restructured our processes and focused on how to do well in property development. Those were the things we did during the Covid-19 downtime. So, right now, we are basically ready. 

Q: MCT has achieved several property awards in the last two years. How will the company build upon this track record under a refreshed image as Avaland?

Teh: Well, we definitely want to continue the momentum of winning the awards. We have the expertise, experience, people and resources, and we are very structured in terms of what we want to do in the respective locations. We want to make sure that all of our projects have certain standards and quality. So, we will continue to focus on that in the Klang Valley since it is still our main stay. We are also looking at how we can expand and grow the company faster. So, we have talked about exploring other areas such as the industrial sector and other growth centres.

Q: What can stakeholders or customers expect from Avaland in terms of offerings, new products and solutions?

Teh: They can continue to expect high standards, high quality and market-driven products because we are different from other developers. Before we launch, we will make sure that we cater to their needs. Like now, we are going into green developments. So, we are looking at how to make them more sustainable, and how we can actually manage or bring down homebuyers’ costs in terms of their service charges and things like that. Also, all of our developments get a QLASSIC assessment and we benchmark it at a minimum of 75%. So, those are some of the things that we want to offer to our buyers. 

Q: How are you leveraging the expertise and resources of Ayala Land to drive the growth of Avaland?

Teh: We do a lot of engagement with the team from our parent company in the Philippines. We even go there to study its projects and we see some of the strategies that it has implemented there, which may be suitable here. We are, in a way, the only developer that can actually tap into its know-how. Ayala Land is successful because it has certain strategies in place. Like I have mentioned before, we are beginning to see good results after implementing some of its strategies here. So, we will continue to engage with them and see how best we can actually do things differently here with the knowledge and resources that we have.

Q: Can you provide some insights into the company’s future developments in the coming years? Will there be a footprint outside of the Klang Valley?

Teh: Our three pillars on residential branding are very clear. We have the up market, the mid- upper and the mass market. So, whenever we buy land, we know which category we want to do depending on the location. Right now, our focus is a lot on affordable housing, definitely, and then a little bit on the up market houses. The middle one, we also feel it is the bread and butter. So these three categories are the ones we will continue to build on. 

Well, if there are good opportunities, why not? Because right now, the market is quite uncertain and more challenging. We feel that the Klang Valley is the place where we can actually do well in. But for other growth centres like Johor and Penang, perhaps when there’s more influx of foreigners and our [country’s] policies are a little bit more attractive to them, then maybe we will consider them. 

Q: Are there any specific sectors of the industry that the company will target for growth in the future besides industrial? 

Teh: At this point of time, just the industrial sector and more on residential developments. We are looking at industrial because there are a lot of opportunities in that sector, and Ayala Land also does the same in the Philippines. As for residential developments, it’s more of which category of residential we want to focus on. For Malaysia, we are a bit challenged because in terms of population, it is not very high. We rely a lot on foreign investment. So if our [national] policies are not aligned to attract foreigners, then we are only focusing on the locals. But the local population is not that big, so we are always constrained by this limitation.