SINGAPORE, 16 June 2014 – PropertyGuru hosted its 9th Malaysia Property Show on the first weekend of June, highlighting investment opportunities and discussing broader investment issues across the peninsula. The show was the biggest that PropertyGuru has organized for Malaysian properties and represented a number of different states within the country. A total of 16 renowned developers were present at the show, showcasing more than 20 featured property projects across Klang Valley, Penang, Iskandar Malaysia Johor and Melaka. For the first time, the show also staged a dedicated Penang Pavilion; a display space showcasing the region.
“We observed increased interest from the Singaporean investors since the Malaysia Property Show in March 2013, which took place just after the second last round of cooling measure in Singapore in January 2013. This is a positive sign and indicates increased confidence in Singaporeans investing in Malaysia as a long term investment,” commented Gerard Kho, Country Manager for PropertyGuru Malaysia. We saw more than 2,000 serious property investors at the show last weekend, attending seminars and discussing investment opportunities with developers.
According to a statement released by the Monetary Authority of Singapore in May, Singaporean investors poured $2 billion into foreign properties last year – a 43 percent jump on 2012. According to estimates, Malaysia was the most popular overseas buying destination, accounting for slightly more than half of the investments.
Chief Minister of Penang, Mr Lim Guan Eng, was the Guest-of-Honour at the show on Sunday. When addressing the public at the show with full house attendance, he shared his views on why Penang was able to attract property investors, “It’s all about offering value, not just at this moment but value that can be sustained over time. We’re looking at value creation and not value destruction.” Highlighting his government’s efforts to drive the economy, the Minister added: “We can sustain values [of property] by bringing in jobs, which will increase demand and [maintain prices].” The recent opening of Penang’s second bridge between the Penang Island and Batu Kawan on the mainland will help to contribute to the already fast-growing industrialization and tourism of the state.
With property investors’ renewed interest in Penang, coupled with the strong confidence of participating developers from that region, Penang Pavilion will be a permanent module in the next coming Malaysia Property Shows, with the very next one happening in September 2014.
“As Malaysia is poised to become a developed economy by 2020 with more than RM200 billion channelled towards strengthening infrastructure, transport and the economy, and GDP projected to grow between 5 and 5.5 percent per year, the Malaysian property market is still very much a viable investment destination in the long term,” said Steve Melhuish, CEO and Co-founder of PropertyGuru.
With the new High Speed Rail Link connecting Singapore to Kuala Lumpur by 2020, the extension of Medini Iskandar’s special economic zone status until 2025, and Penang as an increasingly attractive investment hotspot for foreigners, property prices in Malaysia had seen a double-digit growth since 2012 (source: Global Property Guide).
“Malaysia will still be an attractive location for property investment for the next two years, but investors must take a long-term investment view. Speak with industry experts, understand the development plans for the area, and weigh your options before purchasing,” added Gerard.
The 10th edition of Malaysia Property Show will be held from 13th to 14th September at Marina Bay Sands.
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
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, PropertyGuru
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 onestop 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.