Friday 29 Mar 2024
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This article first appeared in City & Country, The Edge Malaysia Weekly on December 20, 2021 - December 26, 2021

No. 9 | Matrix Concepts Holdings Bhd 
  2021 2020
Overall 9 11
Quantitative 6 7
Qualitative 10 11

It is apparent, from the way he speaks, how enthusiastic Matrix Concepts Holdings Bhd group managing director Ho Kong Soon is about the business.

“Having passion for what we do is key for me. If you do something that you like, you’ll feel the excitement and satisfaction,” says Ho. 

This year, Matrix Concepts made its debut in the Top 10 of The Edge Malaysia Top Property Developers Awards.

The developer was established in 1996 in Negeri Sembilan and its maiden project comprised 595 residential and commercial units in Bahau. Today, it is developing major integrated joint-venture projects such as the 5,233-acre Bandar Sri Sendayan in Negeri Sembilan and the 900-acre Bandar Seri Impian in Kluang, Johor, in collaboration with Menteri Besar Inc Negeri Sembilan and Koperasi Kemajuan Tanah Negeri Johor Bhd respectively. Both Bandar Sri Sendayan and Bandar Seri Impian boast a thriving community of more than 45,000 people. The Sendayan Tech Valley industrial park in Bandar Sri Sendayan has attracted more than RM4.5 billion worth of foreign direct investments (FDIs) thus far.

The company was listed on Bursa Malaysia on May 28, 2013. “The pace of business has intensified since our listing and we’ve been more aggressive. We needed to give value to our stakeholders and that’s when we had to carve out our own brand,” says Ho.

Matrix Concepts has also expanded its footprint to Melbourne, Australia, with its first project, M.Carnegie in 2016, followed by M.Greenvale in mid-2019. It has built up its land bank in Greater Kuala Lumpur and initialised investment in Indonesia in 2019.

Next year will be another busy one for the developer. Ho tells City & Country about the company’s plans and strategies.

City & Country: Matrix Concepts is on track to achieving its sales target for FY2022. How did the group perform in the last 12 months and what are your strategies to meet your target?

Ho Kong Soon: Things were challenging for the group in 1QFY2022 ended June 30, 2021, owing to Movement Control Order 3.0, which disrupted our overall operations. In terms of sales performance, however, we are still on track to achieving our RM1.2 billion target for FY2022 ending March 31, 2022. We also managed to achieve a profit after tax of RM31 million in 1QFY2022.

We shifted towards digital transformation five years ago, so we were ready when the Covid-19 pandemic hit. In fact, sales in FY2021 were better than before the pandemic.

We will continue to strengthen our sales and marketing strategies and development planning, since we already have a range of products that we can quickly innovate and modify to suit global and market changes, and to continue moving towards digitalisation for better efficiency and engagement with our customers.

Although the pandemic has escalated our timelines to meet our targets, we are confident of reaching our goal by being flexible and agile. Our cash-flow position is also intact and our gearing is very low at 0.04%. We always plan ahead.

How did you mitigate the risks and consequences brought on by the pandemic?

The crisis is an opportunity for us to test our resilience. Having our own construction arm and workers also means we are not overly dependent on external parties, which puts Matrix Concepts in a stronger position today. We are also thankful for the good relationship with all our business associates and stakeholders, which helps minimise the impact during challenging times.

During the pandemic, we were proactive in vaccinating our staff, construction workers, business associates and those in our supply chain. We have rolled out lunch@work programmes, supplied fortnightly groceries to our construction workers, and carried out weekly and monthly self-testing programmes for our associates to minimise the spread of the virus. 

In addition to managing cash flow and the continuous digitisation of our operations, we have doubled our online sales and marketing activities. Having a good mix in our product range in different locations ensures our resilience and survival, especially in challenging times. 

Tell us about your recent and upcoming launches.

Phase 9, which is the last phase of the 300-acre Tiara Sendayan in Bandar Sri Sendayan, was launched in April. Comprising 90 two-storey terraced houses, the RM48.4 million project has been fully sold and sales conversions are at quite an advanced stage. Construction has also started. We have acquired the land surrounding Tiara Sendayan, which we call Tiara Sendayan Extension and will comprise Phases 10 to 14.

Bayu Sutera 2B in Bandar Sri Sendayan was launched in August. It comprises 325 two-storey terraced houses and has a gross development value (GDV) of RM194.3 million. We managed to close the sale of this project within two weeks of the launch, when the lockdown was not fully lifted.

Other launches in Bandar Sri Sendayan this year include Laman Sendayan Phase 1B and Tiara Sendayan 13A and 13B1. All are fully sold.

At Bandar Seri Impian, we launched Impiana Damai 2A (Phase 1) in 4Q2020, comprising 68 double-storey terraced houses. Impiana Damai 2A (Phase 2), comprising 67 double-storey terraced houses, will be launched in March 2022.

In the pipeline are another seven launches at Bandar Sri Sendayan from now until March next year, comprising 2-storey terraced homes at Resort Residence 1B, Bayu Sutera 2A and 1B, and Tiara Sendayan Extension 13B2 and 14A; townhouses at Laman Sendayan P3; and single-storey shoplots at Laman Biz. We also plan to launch Impiana Bayu 3B1 in Bandar Seri Impian, Johor, in 1Q2022.

In addition, we have two condominium projects in the Klang Valley: in Pandan Perdana, Cheras; and Bandar Puchong Jaya, Selangor. We plan to launch them in 3Q and 4Q next year respectively.

As for our international projects, we plan to launch 333 St Kilda in Melbourne in 3Q2022. The project is an 8-storey mixed-use development comprising 74 apartments and retail lots.

Matrix Concepts was established 25 years ago. What would you say is key to the business having come this far?

Passion and a unique proposition are key. We believe in over-delivery in terms of expectations and to always push to be exemplary over the ordinary. We make sure we are dynamic and have the tenacity to adapt to changes. Ensuring we are well prepared for any situation is already half the battle won.

We have faced the Asian financial crisis, global financial crisis and, now, the Covid-19 pandemic. Every crisis has made us stronger.

Establishing trust with our stakeholders and building on that relationship also helps. In short, it is a mix of passion, inclusivity and going the extra mile.

What are your plans to grow the business in 2022 and beyond?

We will further strengthen our property development with more exciting concepts and by venturing into other investments and property assets in different classes to strengthen our position in the market. In addition to our hospitality, education, industrial and healthcare businesses, which help ensure the business is sustainable, we plan to add retail and commercial components to our portfolio.

We look to acquire 200 to 300 acres every year around our Sendayan development to expand the business. We also have land bank in Bandar Sri Impian and acquired another 300 acres recently.

We may also be looking to form strategic collaborations and alliances to accelerate and strengthen our expansion and growth.

Matrix Concepts recently expanded into Kuala Lumpur as well as internationally into Australia and Indonesia. Does it plan to expand to other states or countries?

M.Greenvale in Australia will be handed over in the middle of next year. Our third project in Australia will be 333 St Kilda. Our project in Indonesia, in which we are purely an investor, is ongoing.

In the Klang Valley, we have a land parcel in Damansara Perdana, in addition to the ones in Cheras and Puchong. We won’t be moving so fast in the Klang Valley, however, as sentiment is still soft. We will continue to plan for our high-rise projects so that, when the time is right, we are ready for it.

We are open to opportunities, but with the current economic situation, our priority is to ensure that the operations at all our geographical locations are stable and sustainable before we move on to the next one.

Our business expansions are done based on the right timing and the right resources.

In your opinion, what needs to be done to spur economic recovery and the property market?

The government of the day plays an important role in driving the nation’s economy and needs to expand the economy with a very clear vision. It has to ensure a strong fiscal policy and create catalysts for the economy, such as infrastructure development that can open up more areas, high-tech industries, infrastructure improvements in terms of port operations and logistics, and providing equal opportunities.

Policies related to the property market need to be constantly reviewed or revamped based on market sentiment and industry voices. An example is allowing the Home Ownership Campaign to continue. There should also be a consistent and sustainable housing policy across all states.

Policies should help promote Malaysia as an international hub for high-quality logistics and industry ports and services as these will attract skilled workers and generate a pool of prospective property buyers.

Our education system should also be reformed to produce employable, high-quality graduates who can adapt and be in demand in the market.

What are Matrix Concepts’ sustainability targets and why are they important?

We need to grow in tandem with our environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) aspects to sustain our business in the interest of all our stakeholders. This is a commitment by Matrix Concepts as reflected in our tagline ‘Nurturing Environments, Enriching Lives’. In fact, we have been emphasising ESG for some time now.

We have put in place our sustainability targets according to the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Based on our FY2021 sustainability report, we have achieved a reduction of diesel consumption by 41.78% year on year, energy reduction by 11.22% on the back of electricity consumption from the grid, some 242,095kWh of clean energy from a solar photovoltaic (PV) installation at d’Tempat Country Club, and an overall reduction in construction waste produced using the Industrialised Building System (IBS).

We target to further increase the use of solar energy through additional PV installations, include environmental management data in future reports, increase the use of the IBS in overall construction and enhance the waste management system. In addition, we aim to continue to encourage diversity and merit in recruitment and work towards zero fatality and reduce time lost due to injury.

Through our actions, Matrix Concepts has been well recognised as a constituent of the FTSE4Good Index Series since 2018. We have also adopted integrated reporting for the past three years, where the principles are based on the International Integrated Reporting Council.

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