“Our vision is to be a master community builder because in every location that we go into, if it is sizable enough, we would like to make it an integrated township where we hold at least 30% of the properties that we build.

The whole idea is that we want to be a co-investor with our customers who purchase these properties,” said Cheah.

“Therefore, Sunway is, in some ways, the biggest asset owner in the locations it co-invests in alongside anyone who buys a serviced apartment, residence or shop lot here. This is how we will position ourselves moving forward as we get new land banks because we believe a business model such as this in which we build, own and operate works very well for us and will ensure capital appreciation.”
Cheah said that the group is looking to expand its land bank.

“Our initial focus would be to follow infrastructure such as the LRT, MRT, speed rails, new highways and growing neighbourhoods while exploring other states. Every developer needs land bank to grow. It’s our core, raw material for township developments.What we currently have is very strategic and moving forward, there are opportunities for us to strategically pick from.

“We have larger townships so for the immediate term, we want to balance the land bank portfolio and are interested in smaller and more immediate launches with land area ranging from 5 acres (2ha) to 50 acres (20.2ha) in order to move faster and immediately launch depending on the product and location. We are also on the lookout for township and integrated city centre opportunities.”

Having said that, she added that the group is in no rush even as it looks at its building investment portfolio and acknowledged that it is a “good time for REITs (Real Estate Investment Trusts)” in a move which she described as being very holistic.

Forging new frontiers

The group has already made known its intention to have at least one integrated flagship township in the key capital cities in Malaysia.

Adding to the group’s burgeoning land bank is its acquisition of 1,800 acres (728ha) dedicated to its ambitious township development efforts in developing Sunway Iskandar in Johor.
In the Klang Valley, its thriving RM11bil Sunway Resort City flagship township has clearly taken on a life of its own with other integrated townships, including Sunway Damansara, Sunway Putra Place and Sunway South Quay adding to its list of achievements, while added pockets of land are spread out in other parts of the Klang Valley, Greater KL, Ipoh and Penang – though the other developments may be standalone components such as single condominium developments or landed residences.

In Ipoh alone, there is the replicated community township called Sunway City Ipoh, while in Penang, besides its integrated Sunway Wellesley development and Sunway Cassia development, the group will soon be launching its Paya Terubong integrated development.

“Land located next to public infrastructure is considered very strategic, so it will not do justice if we simply launch a development. The plan is to look at how to create more value from those strategic pieces even as we look for new land bank as we approach the year cautiously,” she shared.

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