This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily on October 31, 2017

KUALA LUMPUR: S P Setia Bhd clinched the top spot in The Edge Malaysia Top Property Developers’ Awards (TPDA) 2017. This is the second consecutive year the company has won the spot. It dropped to third and fourth position in 2014 and 2015 respectively, before winning the title again last year.

S P Setia president and chief executive officer (CEO) Datuk C J Khor said the company is honoured and delighted to receive the award.

“It belongs to the team Setia, people who are passionate and working together to make the company moving forward,” he added. “It is team work and team effort, which is always our strong point.”

S P Setia was also awarded the Best in Quantitative Attributes sub-award, sharing it with IOI Properties Bhd. The Best in Qualitative Attributes sub-award, meanwhile, went to Sunway Bhd.

The TPDA anchors The Edge Malaysia Property Excellence Awards (Tepea), which in recent years has expanded to include other sub-awards such as The Edge-PEPS Value Creation Excellence Award, The Edge-PAM Green Excellence Award, The Edge Malaysia Affordable Urban Housing Excellence Award, The Edge Malaysia Outstanding Property CEO Award and The Edge Malaysia Property Development Excellence Award.

The rest of the Top 10 are Sunway Bhd (No 2), Sime Darby Property Bhd (No 3), IJM Land Bhd (No 4), Eco World Development Group Bhd (No 5), UOA Development Bhd (No 6), Mah Sing Group Bhd (No 7), IGB Corp Bhd and IOI Properties Bhd (No 8), UEM Sunrise Bhd (No 9) and Tropicana Corp Bhd (No 10).

The Tepea awards gala dinner was held yesterday at the Grand Hyatt Kuala Lumpur, with about 400 real estate players and experts coming together to celebrate the event.

“For the Top Developer Awards we have both qualitative and quantitative evaluation,” The Edge Media Group publisher and group CEO Ho Kay Tat said in his speech. “The qualitative evaluation is done by a panel of judges who are industry personalities. Companies are judged by their peers, which is probably the most satisfying way to be recognised. To mitigate the risk of biasness, judges abstain from casting their scores for companies where they are conflicted.”

The scores and rankings are audited by Deloitte Malaysia.

This year, a new category was added — The Edge Malaysia Outstanding Contribution to the Housing Industry — to Tan Sri Ong Ka Ting to recognise his contribution to the housing industry during his 10-year tenure as Minister of Housing and Local Government from 1999 to 2008.

The Edge Malaysia Outstanding Property Entrepreneur Award was shared between Matrix Concept Holdings Bhd Datuk Lee Tian Hock and Sunsuria Bhd executive chairman Tan Sri Ter Leong Yap. The award recognises their achievements and contribution to the property development industry.

Meanwhile, The Edge Malaysia Outstanding Property CEO Award went to S P Setia’s Khor and Sunway Bhd (Property Division) managing director Sarena Cheah. The award recognises CEOs and professionals whose leadership has taken their companies to extraordinary heights.

The Edge Malaysia Property Development Excellence Award went to Mid Valley Megamall by IGB REIT Management Sdn Bhd, 1 Utama Shopping Centre by Bandar Utama City Centre Sdn Bhd and Sunway Pyramid by Sunway REIT Management Sdn Bhd for Excellence in Suburban Family Mall.

The same award was also awarded to Pavillion Kuala Lumpur by Kuala Lumpur Pavilion Sdn Bhd for Excellence in International Luxury Shopping Mall as well as Regeneration of George Town by Think City Sdn Bhd.

The Edge Malaysia Pioneer Development Award — to recognise significant projects that have not only emerged as a pioneer in the market but also contributed positively to the growth of its surrounding areas — was awarded to KDU University College by Paramount Corp Bhd and Sunway University by Sunway Bhd for diversifying into the education sector.

The Edge-PEPS Value Creation Excellence Award — started in partnership by The Edge and the Association of Valuers, Property Managers, Estate Agents and Property Consultants in the Private Sector — recognises developments that have provided outstanding rewards to their purchasers in terms of capital appreciation.

This year’s winner was Horizon Hills Development Sdn Bhd’s Phase 2C in Horizon Hills, Johor, while the merit award went to Paramount Corp Bhd’s KU Suites in Kemuning Utama, Selangor.

The Edge-PAM Green Excellence Award was jointly created with the Malaysian Institute of Architects to recognise projects that demonstrate sustainable design innovation while contributing positively to the community.

The winner was Heriot Watt University Putrajaya by Putrajaya Holdings Bhd, and the honorary mention award was given to Majlis Bandaraya Pulau Pinang for the Revitalisation of Chowrasta Market.

The Edge Malaysia Affordable Urban Housing Excellence Award, which honours affordable housing projects for the urban middle-income group undertaken wholly by Malaysian private developers, was awarded to the Seri Mutiara Apartment by Bandar Setia Alam Sdn Bhd. Bayu Nusantara by Nusajaya Heights Sdn Bhd, meanwhile, received the merit award.

The Edge Property Excellence Awards this year was sponsored by Hansgrohe, Jotun Paints Malaysia, USG Boral and Volvo Car Malaysia, and presented by City & Country, the property pullout of The Edge Malaysia weekly. It is supported by EdgeProp.my.