Cambodian developer Borey Penghuoth Group swept the inaugural Cambodia Property Awards.
The inaugural Cambodia Property Awards were held last night at Sofitel Phnom Penh Phokeethra, where leading property players around the world were recognised at a black-tie gala dinner and awards ceremony.
The Phonm Penh-based Borey Penghuoth Group was the night’s biggest nominee and winner with five awards, coming out tops in all the categories in which it had been nominated. Its awards included Best Developer (Cambodia) and Best Residential Development (Cambodia, category Grand Star Platinum).
The group also won received Special Recognition in Corporate Social Responsibility, thanks to its modern housing development initiatives for Cambodians, especially in the aftermath of the civil wars that have ravaged the country.
Other notable nominees were Olympia City Development Co Ltd, which received a total of three nominations and won the Best Mixed-Use Development award for Olympia City, and Urbanland Asia Investment Co Ltd, which won the Best Condo Development (Central Phnom Penh) award for Embassy Residences.
Around 300 industry leaders and VIPs were in attendance, including the Secretary of the State Ministry of Land Management, Urbanisation and Construction, His Excellency Dr. Pen Sophal, representative of His Excellency Senior Minister Im Chhun Lim, who delivered the keynote speech.
Associate director of CBRE Cambodia Simon Griffiths, who led the judging panel, said the awards have set a precedent for developers to continue enriching the local property market with high-quality commercial and residential developments.
“What will become a more exciting time for Cambodia is when the developers really start to differentiate within sectors — and that has yet to come in most sectors — so there are definitely more exciting times ahead,” he said.
The winners and highly commended were selected by an independent panel of judges of top experts from all segments of the industry, after a six-month nomination and judging process overseen by BDO, one of the world’s largest accounting firms.
The Real Estate Personality of the Year award went to property and e-commerce entrepreneur Rithy Sear, chairman of Worldbridge Land. Unlike the other awards, which were chosen by the judging panel, this one was selected by the editors of Property Report.
The Best of the Best winners will competing in the grand finals of the South East Asia Property Awards 2016 in Singapore this November, alongside their peers from seven ASEAN markets.
Congratulating the winners and highly commended, Terry Blackburn, founder of the Asia Property Awards and publisher of Property Report, presenter of the awards, said, “After over 10 years of organising the Asia Property Awards, tonight’s event represents a milestone — the awards are now part of PropertyGuru, Southeast Asia’s leading real estate media group.
“Cambodia now joins the other leading economies of ASEAN in hosting its own awards programme. We are grateful to all the developers, sponsors and partners who have participated this year, and we look forward to a bigger awards gala in 2017.”
You can see the full list of winners here.
Cheryl Marie Tay, Senior Journalist at PropertyGuru, wrote this story. To contact her about this or other stories, email cheryl@propertyguru.com.sg
