Here are all the winners from South East Asia Property Awards (Malaysia) 2015

Now it’s official – Malaysia’s most competitive industry awards to date happened on 26 August.

The country’s finest developments and developers were last night recognised and rewarded at the Malaysian real estate event of the year.

Featuring a total of 20 awards given to developers coming from North, South, Central and East Malaysia, the South East Asia Property Awards (Malaysia) 2015, now rebranded as Asia Property Awards, black-tie awards ceremony and gala dinner, held at the JW Marriott Kuala Lumpur, was attended by more than 300 influential industry leaders, VIPs and top real estate professionals – the culmination of a rigorous nomination and judging period spanning the last six months.

Multiple nominee S P Setia Berhad bagged the year’s biggest award for Best Developer. A majority owned unit of Permodalan Nasional Bhd, S P Setia also won four other awards, including Best Green Development for KL Eco City and Best Luxury Condo Development (Central Malaysia) for Vogue Suites 1 at KL Eco City, and two Highly Commended in the development and design sections.

“We are really honoured and at the same time humbled by this recognition as the Best Developer in Malaysia,” said Dato’ Khor Chap Jen, S P Setia’s acting CEO. “This shows the team spirit of S P Setia and all of these awards would not have been possible without Team Setia doing their best.” He added that winning the Best Green Development trophy was also very important to the company because of its commitment to green philosophy.

Aside from winning some of the year’s highest honours, S P Setia also has had a successful 2015 and recently announced that it was on track to achieve its sales target for the current financial year.

“We’ve returned for a second year in Malaysia with the confidence that we’re bringing the country’s finest current developments and active developers to the forefront via our credible, free-to-enter awards process, which has become highly respected in the region for fairness and transparency,” said Terry Blackburn, CEO of Ensign Media, awards organiser and publisher of Asia’s industry-leading Property Report magazine.

“Malaysia is still one of the most dynamic markets in the region despite some temporary setbacks due to the cooling measures, and the best of the best in Malaysia certainly deserve to be showcased on a regional level,” he added. “We greatly appreciate all the local developers and industry professionals for their continued support and trust, and we look forward to next year’s Awards.”

Among the other major winners include Mammoth Empire, whose WOLO Bukit Bintang project won the judges’ approval in the Best Commercial Development, Best Commercial Architectural Design and Best Hotel Interior Design categories; and Front Concept Sdn Bhd, which went home with three awards for its Senibong Cove residential development, winner of Best Landscape Architectural Design, Best Housing Development (South Malaysia), and Best Housing Development (Malaysia).

Meanwhile, returning Best Developer nominee Sime Darby Property Berhad was presented with a Special Recognition for its initiatives in corporate social responsibility, covering “four pillars” namely community, education, sports, and the environment. The company‘s active CSR programmes include Quality and Affordable Housing; Green Heart, Young Sustainability Ambassadors; and T.R.E.E. (Together in Restoring The Earth’s Environment) Planting.

Five-time nominee OSK Property Holdings Berhad did not come home empty-handed, receiving five Highly Commended certificates, including one for Mirage by the Lake luxury condominium development in Central Malaysia, and four in the design categories. UM Land, which was in the running for Best Developer, took home three Highly Commended certificates, including one for its Dynasty View Sdn Bhd unit in the Best Green Development category.

Presented by Asia’s industry-leading magazine Property Report, the event in Kuala Lumpur was the first Property Awards programme in Malaysia since the Goods and Services Tax (GST) was introduced to the market last April. The move was initially feared to potentially weaken the demand for real estate in the country, although investor sentiment has remained positive and values generally stable across segments, with local developers striving to maintain the high quality of their developments.

“The Awards has improved the ‘public spotlight’ for those developers who are serious about generating high standard projects,” said David Aboud, director of Investments and Asset Management, Asian Real Estate, Guidance Investments, and chairman of the independent judges panel. “There’s a very good spread of entries. Obviously, some did very well tonight, but in general there’s a lot effort put in. You’ve got to admire (these developers who entered this year)… because they chose to be judged, and that takes a lot of courage.”

“Having independent assessment is much more powerful than simply having a large marketing budget. It has also allowed countries to measure themselves against other regional ASEAN developers, which is a healthy thing.”.

Aboud added that he would like to see the Awards be even bigger in the next instalment and further expand its national reach to showcase more quality developments in other Malaysian locations. “For next year, I expect more entrants, particularly in the regional areas of Malaysia,” he said.

With all the top winners in Malaysia revealed, everyone is looking forward to the regional grand finals at the fifth annual South East Asia Property Awards 2015, which will be held at The Shangri-La Hotel in Singapore on Wednesday, 21 October, and preceded by the inaugural Property Report Congress, a high-level forum on the same day and venue featuring the who’s who in Southeast Asian real estate, architecture and design.

Supervised by BDO, the fifth largest accountancy network in the world, the South East Asia Property Awards (Malaysia)’s highly qualified and distinguished members of the central judges panel in Malaysia were: Khalil Adis, founder, Khalil Adis Consultancy Pte Ltd; Karen Tan, founder and managing director, Pocket Projects; YBhg Dato’ George Stewart LaBrooy, chief executive officer and executive director, Axis REIT Managers Bhd; Previndran Singhe, chief executive officer, Zerin Properties; Kumar Tharmalingam, chairman of Hall Chadwick Asia; Vignan Hunt; and YY Lau, country head and managing director, JLL Property Services (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd.

One special award, which was not determined by the independent panel of judges and instead chosen by the editors of Property Report, is Malaysia’s Real Estate Personality of the Year, presented to Dato’ Colin Tan June Teng, group managing director of the Hatten Group, one of the largest privately-owned real estate development, property investment and retail management corporations in the country. Tan’s pioneering, mixed-use current developments include Hatten City and the collaborative Capital City, two of the year’s Highly Commended projects.

“It is certainly an honour to win this award. I am both proud and humbled to receive this title; it is a major milestone in my career,” said Tan, who envisions his group to become one of the country’s top 10 premier developers by 2020. “More importantly, it means that I am on the right track towards making an impact to the global industry.”

Supported by gold sponsor Hansgrohe, silver sponsor TEKA and official supplier Sanpellegrino, the South East Asia Property Awards (Malaysia) served as a unique networking venue for professional realtors in Malaysia to meet industry leaders and stay in touch with their peers. The annual gathering was promoted throughout the country and across South East Asia through various advertising campaigns in multiple formats, as well as through media partners such as iProperty.com Malaysia, Malaysia Top 10, Form, Room, Palace, and Property King.

Full list of Winners and Highly Commended at the South East Asia Property Awards (Malaysia) 2015:

DEVELOPER

Best Developer

• Winner: S P Setia Berhad
• Highly Commended:
  • Sime Darby
  • Mah Sing
  • Dynasty Group (Subsidiary of UM Land Berhad)

Special Recognition in CSR

• Winner: Sime Darby Berhad
• Highly Commended:
  • Dynasty View Sdn Bhd (Subsidiary of UM Land Berhad)

Best Green Development

• Winner: KL Eco City Sdn Bhd (Subsidiary of S P Setia Berhad Group)
• Highly Commended:
  • Dynasty View Sdn Bhd (Subsidiary of UM Land Berhad)

BEST OF THE BEST

Best Commercial Development (Malaysia)

• Winner: WOLO Bukit Bintang by Mammoth Empire

Best Housing Development (Malaysia)

• Winner: Senibong Cove by Front Concept Sdn Bhd.

Best Condo Development (Malaysia)

• Winner: Astaka @ Bukit Senyum by Astaka Padu Sdn Bhd

DEVELOPMENT

Best Luxury Condo Development (North Malaysia)

• Winner: Ferringhi Residence by Mah Sing Group Berhad
• Highly Commended:
  • Tropicana Bay Residence by Tropicana Ivory Sdn. Bhd

Best Mid-Range Condo Development (North Malaysia)

• Winner: The Arena by Golden Virtue Capital Sdn Bhd
• Highly Commended:
  • The Latitude by Ivory Properties Group Berhad (Highly Recommend)

Best Housing Development (North & Central Malaysia)

• Winner: One Residence by Ideal Property Development Sdn Bhd
• Highly Commended:
  • Sierra 6 @ 16 Sierra by IOI Properties
  • The Terresse by IOI Properties

Best Luxury Condo Development (Central Malaysia)

• Winner: Vogue Suites 1 – KL Eco City Sdn Bhd (Subsidiary of S P Setia Berhad Group)
• Highly Commended:
  • Mirage by the Lake by OSK Property Holdings Berhad

Best Mid-Range Condo Development (Central Malaysia)

• Winner: Vina Versatile Homes @ Cheras by Mitraland
• Highly Commended:
  • H2O@Ara Damansara by Epoch Property Sdn Bhd
  • The Véo, Kuala Lumpur by Sime Darby Property Berhad

Best Luxury Condo Development (South & East Malaysia)

• Winner: Astaka @ Bukit Senyum by Astaka Padu Sdn Bhd
• Highly Commended:
  • SilverScape @ Hatten City by Hatten Group Sdn Bhd
  • The Republic by Elica Sdn Bhd

Best Luxury Housing Development (South & East Malaysia)

• Winner: Senibong Cove by Front Concept Sdn Bhd
• Highly Commended:
  • Taman Rimba Phase 3 by Wilakaya Sdn Bhd (Wah Mie Group)

Best Mid-Range Housing Development (South Malaysia)

• Winner: Foresta Precinct by S P Setia Berhad

Best Commercial Development

• Winner: WOLO Bukit Bintang by Mammoth Empire
• Highly Commended:
  • Capital City by Capital City Property Sdn Bhd

DESIGN

Best Residential Architectural Design

• Winner: Vogue Suites 1 – KL Eco City Sdn Bhd (Subsidiary of SP Setia Berhad Group)
• Highly Commended:
  • Astaka @ Bukit Senyum by Astaka Padu Sdn Bhd
  • Mirage by the Lake by OSK Property Holdings Berhad
  • Senibong Cove by Front Concept Sdn Bhd

Best Commercial Architectural Design

• Winner: WOLO Bukit Bintang by Mammoth Empire
• Highly Commended:
  • Atria by OSK Property Holdings Berhad

Best Landscape Architectural Design

• Winner: Senibong Cove by Front Concept Sdn Bhd
• Highly Commended:
  • Mirage by the Lake by OSK Property Holdings Berhad
  • Setia Sky Residences by Exceljade Sdn Bhd (Subsidiary of S P Setia Bhd Group)

Best Residential Interior Design

• Winner: Senibong Cove by Front Concept Sdn Bhd
• Highly Commended:
  • Setia Sky Residences by Exceljade Sdn Bhd (Subsidiary of S P Setia Bhd Group)
  • Mirage by the Lake by OSK Property Holdings Berhad

Best Hotel Interior Design

• Winner: WOLO Bukit Bintang by Mammoth Empire

PUBLISHER’S CHOICE

Real Estate Personality of the Year

Dato’ Colin Tan June Teng

Group Managing Director, Hatten Group of Companies