This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily on March 20, 2019

KUALA LUMPUR: Mah Sing Group Bhd has allocated RM28 million on its digitalisation transformation for three years, from 2017 to 2019.

Executive director Datuk Steven Ng Poh Seng said as of now, slightly over RM6 million has been spent for the said initiative.

“We need to ride on digital transformation for sustainable value creation, in order to stay ahead of the times,” Ng told reporters at the Invest Malaysia 2019 here yesterday.

He said Mah Sing has embraced digital initiatives in every part of the property developer’s journey, from sales and marketing, construction management and quality assurance, customer experience and engagement, to property management.

“This [transformation] is at a very initial stage. What we are doing here is basically cut down all the papers so that customers have easy access [to our projects]. They can look at our projects via our apps.

“Over the medium to long term, we are looking at data analytics. With data and artificial intelligence, we can study our prospective buyers’ behaviour.

“But at the moment, we just want to ensure that we develop apps to have all the things in place for buyers to enjoy a seamless customer experience,” he said.

Launched in April 2018, the property developer’s MY Mah Sing app provides a number of services that caters to a homebuyer’s journey, from when one first signs the sales and purchase agreement to the moment one gets the keys to one’s unit.

With the app, customers will be able to keep abreast of construction progress and keep themselves updated on any defect rectifications, Ng said, adding that the app further enhances customer experience and provides convenience to buyers, like allowing them to book facilities, and register guests and renovation contractors.

Leveraging on the strength of its digital marketing strategy to enhance the lives of its customers and reach out to wider market segments, Ng said Mah Sing had, in November last year, become the first property developer in Southeast Asia to collaborate with Lazada to list homes online.

He also reiterated that the group is planning to launch RM2.2 billion worth of properties for 2019, and is targeting at least RM1.5 billion worth of sales.

He also said that the company’s unsold units now stood at RM580 million, comprising large units such as penthouses and corner units, of which the company is planning to dispose of soon.