Sime Darby Property takes top spot at The Edge Malaysia Top Property Developers Awards 2024

• Climbing up from No 3 last year, Sime Darby Property group managing director Datuk Seri Azmir Merican attributed the win to the team’s hard work and effort.

KUALA LUMPUR (Nov 11): Sime Darby Property Bhd (KL:SIMEPROP) took the No 1 spot at this year’s The Edge Malaysia Top Property Developers Awards (TPDA), the second time the company has done so after its inaugural win in 2009. This year, it also obtained the top spot in the Best in Qualitative Attributes sub-award.

The 22nd TPDA anchors The Edge Malaysia Property Excellence Awards (TEPEA) 2024. The TPDA winners were presented at the gala dinner on Monday at the Mandarin Oriental, Kuala Lumpur, and graced by Housing and Local Government Minister Nga Kor Ming.

Climbing up from No 3 last year, Sime Darby Property group managing director Datuk Seri Azmir Merican attributed the win to the team’s hard work and effort.

“We are grateful and humbled by this award. It has been 15 years since our last win. It is the hard work of the team,” he said.

Rounding up the Top 10 winners were Sunway Bhd (KL:SUNWAY)-property division and Gamuda Land (Gamuda Bhd (KL:GAMUDA)-property division) (joint No 2); S P Setia Bhd (KL:SPSETIA) (No 3); UOA Development Bhd (KL:UOADEV) (No 4); IJM Land Bhd (No 5); IOI Properties Group Bhd (KL:IOIPG) (No 6); Eco World Development Group Bhd (KL:ECOWLD) and Mah Sing Group Bhd (KL:MAHSING) (joint No 7); UEM Sunrise Bhd (KL:UEMS) (No 8); IGB Bhd (KL:IGBB) (No 9); and Matrix Concepts Holdings Bhd (KL:MATRIX) (No 10).

Gamuda Land was also a joint winner for the Best in Qualitative Attributes sub-award.

Meanwhile, the Best in Quantitative Attributes sub-award went to KSL Holdings Bhd (KL:KSL).

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

Meanwhile, in the quantitative category, companies are evaluated on their shareholders’ funds, turnover, profitability and cash or gearing.

The scores and rankings of the TPDA are audited by Deloitte Malaysia.

In his welcome address, The Edge Media Group chief executive officer and publisher Datuk Ho Kay Tat said that annual rankings are a good indication of how each company has performed.

“Rankings are like the report cards we had in school, one year we can be top in class and the next we can drop — and the reverse. What is more important is to be strong and good to last the test of time,” he said.

“Property development is after all a long game, and buyers and investors look for those who can sustain through the up-and-down cycles. In that respect, I believe that the benchmark we have set has been beneficial to all the stakeholders of the industry.”

Meanwhile, Nga noted that as Malaysia continues to experience rapid urbanisation, with more than 80% of the population expected to live in urban areas by 2030, it is essential that sustainable and inclusive developments are prioritised.

“We must avoid a tale of two cities — where one part of the city is for the poor and one part for the rich,” Nga said during his keynote speech.

“In line with the Madani Economy Framework, we aim to ‘raise the ceiling’ in growing the wealth of the nation while ‘raising the floor’ to improve quality of life and ensure equal opportunities that benefit all. This includes providing access to affordable, quality housing to all citizens, particularly the low- and middle-income households, as well as empowering them with business and job opportunities.

“While the government plays a crucial role in implementing the right policies, I firmly believe that achieving our goals can only be realised through the 4P model — People-Public-Private Partnerships (4Ps). This approach requires the collective efforts of all stakeholders.”

He added that for the ministry’s target of building 500,000 affordable housing units by the end of next year, 89% of that goal have already met and that he urged property developers to partner with the government in achieving the goal.

“Our goal for affordable housing is to go beyond being merely liveable — it should be lovable too. With initiatives like the newly launched People’s Residency Program (PRR), we want affordable housing that not only meets basic needs but is also well-connected, offering easier access to job opportunities, and incorporating sustainable design features like green technology.”

TEPEA 2024 also featured nine other awards — The Edge Malaysia-PAM Green Excellence Award; The Edge Malaysia-PEPS Value Creation Excellence Award; The Edge Malaysia Affordable Urban Housing Excellence Award; The Edge Malaysia Outstanding Property CEO Award; The Edge Malaysia Outstanding Contribution to the Real Estate Industry Award; The Edge Malaysia Property Development Excellence Award (Masterplan Excellence); The Edge Malaysia Property Development Excellence Award (Global Icon in Malaysia); The Edge Malaysia Excellence in Conservation & Adaptive Reuse Award; and The Edge Malaysia Outstanding Overseas Project Award.

The winners of The Edge Malaysia-PAM Green Excellence Award were The Night Shelter and One Shell Square Miri. The award recognises projects that demonstrate sustainable design innovation while contributing positively to the community.

On the other hand, the winner of The Edge Malaysia-PEPS Value Creation Excellence Award went to Park Regent. The award measures the capital appreciation of properties from the developer’s selling price to the subsequent resale price in secondary transactions.

There were three winners and special mention for The Edge Malaysia Affordable Urban Housing Excellence Award. The winners were Residensi Aman in Bukit Jalil and SkyAwani 5 Residences in Sentul, both in Kuala Lumpur; as well as Iconia, Taman Impian Emas in Skudai, Johor. The special mention recipients included Residensi Pauh Permai in Seberang Perai, Penang; Residensi Port Dickson; Residensi Bintawa Riverfront in Kuching, Sarawak; and Bandar Botani Parkland Phase 2A, Melaka.

Meanwhile, Tengku Datuk Ab Aziz Tengku Mahmud of PNB Merdeka Ventures Sdn Bhd won The Edge Malaysia Outstanding Property CEO Award. The Merdeka 118 development in Kuala Lumpur, developed by PNB Merdeka Ventures, also received The Edge Malaysia Property Development Excellence Award (Global Icon in Malaysia).

The Edge Malaysia Outstanding Contribution to the Real Estate Industry Award was awarded to Real Estate and Housing Developers' Association Malaysia (Rehda) Institute chairman, Rehda Malaysia past president and former Sunway Real Estate Investment Trust (KL:SUNREIT) CEO Datuk Jeffrey Ng; MKH Bhd (KL:MKH) managing director, Rehda patron and former 1Malaysia People's Housing Programme (PR1MA) chairman Tan Sri Eddy Chen; as well as Glomac Bhd (KL:GLOMAC) group managing director and CEO, Rehda patron and Malaysia Property Incorporated (MPI) founding director Datuk Seri Fateh Iskandar Mohamed Mansor.

For The Edge Malaysia Property Development Excellence Award (Masterplan Excellence), Eco Botanic, Johor; City of Elmina, Shah Alam in Selangor; and Sunway Ipoh City in Perak were the winners. The Edge Malaysia Excellence in Conservation & Adaptive Reuse Award, meanwhile, went to The ZhongShan Building and The Edison Penang.

Lastly, there were two winners for The Edge Malaysia Outstanding Overseas Project Award, namely Celadon City in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam by Gamuda Land; and Sapphire by the Gardens in Melbourne, Australia by S P Setia.

The awards were presented by City & Country, the property pullout of The Edge Malaysia weekly and supported by EdgeProp.my. GSPARX, a subsidiary of Tenaga Nasional Bhd (KL:TENAGA), is the official solar partner. Other partners include Porsche Malaysia, through its Malaysian dealer Sime Darby Auto Performance Sdn Bhd as well as China Pottery (M) Sdn Bhd’s ARTELIA, which is the official distributor of Noritake in Malaysia.

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