The company plans to leverage property tourism to promote growth when borders reopen post-pandemic.
It has been a year since the 2020 pandemic put all our lives at a standstill. The long-awaited arrival of the COVID-19 vaccine has Malaysians feeling eager to resume their pre-pandemic lives. The official roll-out of the vaccine also means two things: the starts of global economic recovery and the hopeful revival of Malaysia’s tourism industry.
In tandem, the Malaysian property market is also expected to make a strong recovery — with demand fueled by first-time buyers looking to take advantage of the pandemic-induced value dips, all-time low lending interest rates and recession-beating schemes introduced by the government.
One Hong Kong-based property company, in particular, Sheng Tai International, has developed a vision of not only using the tourism industry recovery as a springboard to strengthen the property market but also develop opportunities that will enrich the lives of property owners and investors in 2021. A vision that is unsurprising as Sheng Tai has not been a stranger in pioneering innovative business moves.
Get to know Sheng Tai International
Sheng Tai International is an award-winning property company that was established in Hong Kong in 2012. Founded by Dato’ Leong Sir Ley, the company’s main business lies in property development, hotel resort ownership, acquisition and development and real estate services.
Since setting its foot in the property industry, the company has spread its wings into key cities around the world such as Malaysia, Hong Kong, Japan, China, Korea and the United States, with their developments.
One of the company’s key strengths is in the areas of property tourism (the company has been steadily bringing in more than 400 tourists and investors into Malaysia every month in recent years) and its strong business networks worldwide, through the establishments of branches in many of the countries it operates in.
What has Sheng Tai done so far in the property market here in Malaysia?
The company has been steadily building a strong portfolio of developments and projects in recent years. In this country, a lot of their development efforts have centred in Malacca. The company chose Malacca as its cornerstone to growing its foothold here in Malaysia because of its strategic location which is between KL and Singapore, its proximity to the Straits of Melaka and the State’s cultural history.
One of the flagship projects of the company is The Sail Melaka an impressive 6.5 billion integrated development in Taman Laksamana in Malacca. Upon its completion in 2024, the development will feature 6-star luxury hotels, high-end condotels, business suites, a luxury shopping mall and a Melaka-Nanjing-themed cultural square. The project was planned, designed and constructed using sustainable and environmentally focused themes and concepts. The company plans for The Sail Melaka to be the new CBD of the state.
The company also has a strong development portfolio around Malacca, with projects such as Regalia Beachfront Residence, Metrasquare Serviced Suites and hotels such as Ames Hotel and Nyra Hotel. Dato’ Leong shared that she felt the company’s efforts in promoting property tourism has had a positive effect on the State’s economy, “After the wonderful experience, our participants will return home and tell their family and friends about it and we heard that many have returned in larger groups to visit Melaka.”
The company also continues to break new grounds even through this pandemic by creating new business opportunities through partnerships with global brands such as FashionTV, IWG and Memorigin.
What is Sheng Tai’s vision for the property market in 2021?
Looking at how the pandemic has slowed the progress of many people’s lives in the last year, it is a given that people would be looking to get their lives in order in a big way when we come out of it. With the timely development and distribution of the vaccine, the company feels this would be the year of growth for the property sector, especially in this country.
As a pioneer in the property tourism industry in Malaysia, one of the key metrics that Sheng Tai plans to use as a measure of success is the number of investors/property tourists that they successfully bring in this year. They’ve earmarked for a total of 8,000 investors/property tourists annually into this country once border restrictions have cooled.
In a strategic move, Sheng Tai International is advocating for a partnership between them and the Federal and State governments to encourage international property stakeholders to embrace this concept of property tourism and to assist the process through matching grants, financial assistance, multinational advertising and promotional activities.
“We believe that the property and the tourism sector can leverage on each other in a mutually beneficial manner,” says Sheng Tai founder Dato’ Leong. Through these efforts, the company hopes to build greater awareness locally for its company’s brand
Sheng Tai certainly believes that the property outlook in Malaysia is looking up this year. The company plans to leverage on the market’s sentiments as we come out of the pandemic to grow itself by offering potential property buyers and investors both home and abroad the right developments that suit their living and investment needs.