Beacon of pride for developers

Source: The Star

PETALING JAYA: From its humble beginnings in 2016 with just a few categories and two ranking-based awards, the StarProperty Real Estate Developer Awards has blossomed into a highly respected award that saw a tripling of categories and entries from all across the country.

It began in 2016 with just 10 categories and two ranking-based awards, with entries coming from within the peninsula only.

But in the ninth edition of the awards celebrated here yesterday, a total of 104 winners from a whopping 41 categories were recognised for outstanding achievements in real estate.

Headlining the show was the All-Stars Award, recognising the performing developers of 2023.

The award had two sub-categories - the Top 10 listed companies and the Top Five non-listed companies.

Taking home the All-Stars Award for listed companies were Sime Darby Property Bhd, IJM Corporation Bhd (IJM Land Bhd), IOI Properties Group Bhd, Mah Sing Group Bhd, Matrix Concepts Holdings Bhd, OSK Holdings Bhd (OSK Property), Paramount Corporation Bhd (Paramount Property), Skyworld Development Bhd, Chin Hin Group Property Bhd, Avaland Bhd, Radium Development Bhd, and UEM Sunrise Bhd.

Winners in the Top 5 non-listed companies were Setia Awan Group, Sri Pengkalan Binaan Sdn Bhd, Parkland Group, Seri Pajam Development, and UDA Holdings Bhd.

The awards were presented by guest-of-honour, Housing and Local Government Minister Nga Kor Ming.

Two new categories were also introduced - the Sustainability Vanguard Award - Best ESG-Conscious Development; and the StarProperty Readers' Choice - Newsmaker of the Year.

UDA Holdings Bhd and UMW Development Sdn Bhd were the maiden winners of the Sustainability Vanguard Award for the Pertama Complex and UMW High Value Manufacturing Park, respectively.

For the newly-created Newsmaker of the Year Award, Mah Sing Group Bhd, Perbadanan Kemajuan Negeri Selangor, and Sime Darby Property Bhd were declared the maiden winners, with each achieving 'Excellence' rankings.

Full house: Guests mingling at the StarProperty Real Estate Developer Awards 2024 gala dinner at One World Hotel, Petaling Jaya.

Other winners on the night include Sunway Property, Tropicana Corporation Bhd, and other household names in the industry.

Star Media Group (SMG) group chief executive officer Chan Seng Fatt said the past decade saw rapid changes across the real estate and property development industries.

"From vibrant growth, new building concepts, the introduction of green buildings, sustainability-related improvements to technology, and also digitalisation that enhances how we live and interact with our spaces.

"The dynamism of this sector is reflected in policies, rules and regulations that have been updated to suit the needs of the current market," Chan said in his speech at the event.

With the award now covering the entire country, Chan said the expanded categories provide an excellent opportunity for developers to broaden their horizons beyond the Klang Valley.

"For the customers and end-users, they have now been given larger lenses to identify outstanding developments that span across the country," Chan added.

In his speech, Nga congratulated SMG for organising another prestigious edition of the awards.

"The award has become an important badge of recognition for the property industry, signifying commitment to quality and high standards," he said.

Nga said his ministry was heartened to see the property industry continuing to grow amidst various conditions while still providing jobs and contributing to the national economy.

"The property industry has proven itself time and again as one of the important nation builders by fulfilling Malaysians' desire for home ownership," he said.

Nga added that the ministry was willing to listen and adopt constructive opinions from related stakeholders.

"We will seriously consider whatever is good and serves the best interests of the nation.

"We will continue to adopt a fair and balanced approach to ensure this industry grows healthily," he said.

Also present were SMG managing editor Brian Martin and chief business officer Lydia Wang.

To ensure fair play, the panel consisted of credible and impartial judges comprising captains of the Malaysian real estate industry and leaders of various disciplines, all working together to ensure that all entries received comprehensive and fair evaluations.

The event was organised by StarProperty Sdn Bhd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of SMG.

The official beverage partners were Heineken Malaysia Bhd and Edelweiss, with Kohler Malaysia also providing substantial hospitality-related sponsorship.

The tenth edition of the StarProperty Real Estate Developer Awards will be presented next year, where past winners will be acknowledged for their unwavering commitment to bring their respective projects to fruition.