SINGAPORE, 7 June 2014 – PropertyGuru hosted its 9th Malaysia Property Show this weekend, highlighting investment opportunities and discussing broader investment issues across the peninsula. The show is the biggest that PropertyGuru has organized for Malaysian properties and represented a number of different states within the country. A total of more than 16 developers were present at the show, promoting a range of developments from Iskandar and Penang.
The event is one of the biggest Malaysia-themed property shows in Singapore, and plays host to developers showcasing more than 20 featured property projects across Klang Valley, Penang, Iskandar Malaysia Johor and Malacca. For the first time the show also includes a dedicated Penang Pavilion; a display space dedicated to the region.
While growth and investment opportunities in the Medini Iskandar region remain a hot topic of conversation in Singapore, the featured Penang Pavilion focuses attention towards key projects in Penang that offer high returns on investment.
High relative property cost and eight rounds of cooling measures had collectively led to decline in property prices for the past 2 quarters in Singapore, making foreign investments increasingly attractive. Singaporeans have been the largest foreign buyers of property in Malaysia in recent years and Malaysia remains an obvious investment choice.
According to Malaysia Property Incorporated (MPI), foreign investors accounted for 5.5 percent of the Malaysia market with Kuala Lumpur coming out on top at 10 to 16 percent, followed by Johor and Penang at 10 to 14 percent and six to seven percent respectively. The Malaysian property market has something for everyone, regardless of investment destination.
“There has never been a better time to invest in Malaysia,” said Steve Melhuish, CEO and Cofounder
of PropertyGuru. “With the Malaysian economy growing at between 5 and 5.5 percent per year, and the 6 percent GST coming in next year, 2014 is the ideal time to buy into the Malaysian property market,” he continued.
Over the course of 2 days, VIPs including Mr. Lim Guan Eng, Chief Minister of Penang State, and representatives of the governing bodies of Medini Iskandar Malaysia and REHDA will introduce development and investment opportunities in both Penang and Iskandar. Medini Iskandar Malaysia is the brainchild of the next phase of Iskandar Malaysia (an initiative by the Central government of Malaysia and the Sultan of Johor to develop the land of Iskandar in Johor today), and who would be in-charge of the development of Medini Iskandar for the next 5-10 years. REHDA (Real Estate and Housing Developers’ Association Malaysia) is the national representative body for property developers in Malaysia, and who is recognised as the leading voice in advocacy and governance of the real estate and housing industry.
The event included presentations from leading developers and industry representatives to talk about the socioeconomic impact of property trends and new Malaysian legislation, and focused on providing a market outlook for Malaysian properties to delve into the effects of an increasing cost of living and favourable currency exchange rates with Singapore.
FOR MORE QUERIES OR TO ARRANGE FOR AN INTERVIEW, CONTACT:
Matthew Overington
D: +65 6390 3316
M: +65 9839 6620
Email: matthew.overington@hkstrategies.com
Editor’s Note
About PropertyGuru Group
PropertyGuru Group is Asia’s leading online property portal group used by almost 11 million property buyers, viewing over 91 million property pages and generating over 350,000 enquiries for real estate developer and agent advertisers – every month – across Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand. The Group has developed and launched 16 mobile applications in four countries and three languages. At the end of 2013, the Group recorded 1,357,946 downloaded mobile apps, resulting in a slew of three MOBEX awards sweep.
Headquartered in Singapore, PropertyGuru was founded in 2006 by two entrepreneurs with a vision to simplify the property search process and help buyers, sellers and investors make better property decisions faster. Taking advantage of Asia’s growing affluence, property demand and online explosion, the company received its first VC investment funding in 2008 and secured approximately $60m investment in 2012 from Deutsche Telekom, South East Asia’s largest digital investment to date. PropertyGuru was also the first to integrate its website with social media, first to launch Singapore’s only dedicated property newspaper – with over 100,000 copies circulated island-wide every month – and it has also developed a property events platform, with approximately 30 shows held annually across four countries, addressing 30,000 potential property buyers on the ground.
ABOUT STEVE MELHUISH
Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer
Steve is an award-winning entrepreneur. In the last two decades, Steve built profitable companies throughout Asia and Europe. In 2006 along with his partner Jani Rautiainen, founded PropertyGuru. Under the auspice of this newly established brand, PropertyGuru provided a one-stop online shop for the listing and sale of residential and commercial properties to individual and institutional buyers and investors. Prior to Steve’s current role, he held executive positions in various venture capital firms including Skype, AOL, Virgin Media, Vodafone, Extreme Media, iPass and Ariadne Capital. Steve’s expertise in leading global teams resulted in a US$500 million turnover for a business unit for Cable & Wireless. In 2007, Steve was awarded the Spirit of Enterprise Award in recognition of his contributions to entrepreneurship in Singapore. Steve is a non-executive director for two other firms, an angel investor and member of the Business Angels Network South East Asia.
ABOUT GERARD KHO
Country Manager, PropertyGuru Malaysia
Kho oversees all aspects of PropertyGuru’s Malaysian-based operations, inclusive of day-to-day operations in KL, Penang and the Iskandar region in Johor, as well as to promote the Company’s rapid expansion within the online portal market amongst consumers and advertiser clients.
Kho brings a wealth of experience and vast industry knowledge with 14 years of experience under his belt in real estate markets such as Australia, Singapore and Malaysia. Formerly Chief Executive Officer at Reapfield, Malaysia’s largest real estate agency, he was responsible for successfully growing its revenue base within 4 years by 90% and garnered a slew of property-related awards such as the MIEA Real Estate Agency of the Year for 4 consecutive years (2009-2012) and in the Specialised Category for Education in 2012. Prior to that, Kho has served in various capacities including Senior Vice President of Reapfield, Managing Director at Elders Singapore & Malaysia and Partner at Elders Real Estate Pyrmont, Sydney. He has also co-authored the Thrust in 2012, a leading publication on the Malaysian real estate industry and is a notable industry speaker.
Kho obtained double degree in Law and Medical Science from University of Sydney. Upon the completion of his studies, he underwent Masters of Commerce (Accounting) in University of Sydney. To broaden his understanding, he further studied Doctorate in Strategic Leadership in Regent University, United States.
ABOUT PROPERTYGURU MALAYSIA
Propertyguru.com.my is the fastest growing property portal in the country with offices in Kuala Lumpur, Penang and Johor. The Malaysian portal currently has over 1.5 million visitors viewing almost 12 million property pages monthly.
PropertyGuru Malaysia reported a 2.5 times growth in revenue in 2012, attributed to a large growth in agent members, real estate developers and bank clients as well as a rise of 132% in website visitors to reach more than 11 million in comparison to the same period at the end of the previous year. 2012 also saw PropertyGuru taking the lead in the mobile space in Malaysia with the triple launches of PropertyGuru Malaysia’s consumer mobile app on Android and iPhone platforms as well as the Agent app on Android. The mobile apps have proved to be highly popular since launching in Q3 2012, with both consumers app receiving more than 77,700 downloads within three short months alone, with over 20% of all PropertyGuru users are now using mobile phone or tablet to visit the website in Malaysia.