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SUNGAI PETANI, 25 June 2024: The Bukit Banyan became the focal point for ‘hero-making’ once again on Saturday, 22 June 2024, with it hosting some 1,800 men, women and children who were participants of the Bukit Banyan Hero Run 2024. Bukit Banyan was the flag-off and finishing line for the run.

Each ‘hero’ went home with a finisher medal after completing either the 5km fun run or the 10km competitive run. This year saw a 50% increase in the number of participants compared to 2023.

Paramount Property, the developer of the 657-acre Bukit Banyan township, was the main sponsor as well as venue sponsor. The run was organised by the Kedah State Youth and Sports Department and Corporate Hero Century Sdn Bhd.

The run was flagged off by Chief of Mukim Merbok Hafizul Ahmad Salim, and representatives of the organisers and sponsors, Kedah State Youth Sports Director Noor Azma Binti Deris, Kedah State Youth Sports Department Deputy Director Mohd Hanaffi Bin A. Rahman, Corporate Hero Century Sdn Bhd Director Teoh Chia Chun and Paramount Property Northern Region CEO Wang Chong Hwa.

Wang said, “The Bukit Banyan Hero Run has once again brought together the community for a morning of healthy fun in this lovely town of Sungai Petani, while encouraging a sporting spirit among those who are more competitive.

“The Bukit Banyan Hero Run aligns with Paramount Property’s pillar to uplift communities as it promotes wellness and is an opportunity for Malaysians of ages and cultures to have fun together. Being flagged off at Bukit Banyan Hill Park, we also believe it promotes a love for Nature,” he said.

“We would like to congratulate the Kedah Youth and Sports Department and Corporate Hero Century Sdn Bhd for organising this wonderful event successfully for the second year in a row.”

The Bukit Banyan Hero Run offered two routes: 10km (competitive) and 5km (non-competitive). There were four categories for the 10km route: Men Open, Men Veteran, Women Open, and Women Veteran, that offered trophies and cash prizes from RM50 to RM500 for the top 10 in each category. The 5km category was open to all ages. A lucky draw prize of RM1,000 added to the excitement, offering participants who are not competitive a chance to also win big.

Bukit Banyan is Sungai Petani’s first gated-and-guarded hill park township development, offering a lifestyle that is ‘up close to nature’. The award-winning development comprises detached, semi-detached, double and single-storey terrace houses, townhouses, and shop offices. Bukit Banyan has received several awards for its family-centric designs and landscaping.

The Bukit Banyan Hill Park with its nine thematic landscaped parks is open to the public and is popular among Sungai Petani folk and those living in the northern region.

By Esther Lee, The Edge (10 June 2024)

Paramount Corp Bhd (KL:PARAMON) is known as a steady and predictable counter, so much so that some would even call it “boring”. As such, the announcement last month that the property developer was buying 517 million shares, equivalent to a 21.5% strategic stake, in Ecoworld International Bhd (KL:EWINT) took the market by surprise and made investors sit up.

The stake acquired by Paramount’s wholly-owned subsidiary Flexsis Sdn Bhd was done through a direct business transaction with GLL EWI (HK) Ltd — a unit of GuocoLand Ltd that is controlled by Tan Sri Quek Leng Chan — at 33 sen a share, amounting to RM170.6 million. GuocoLand, in a separate announcement on the Singapore Stock Exchange, said it has disposed of its entire 27% stake in EWI. The buyer of the remaining 5.46% equity interest remains unknown.

Paramount group CEO Jeffrey Chew recounts that the group decided very quickly to snap up the 21.5% stake in EWI after getting wind that GuocoLand’s block was up for sale.

“The whole process took about four to six weeks, including the time to get financing in place … It is quite unprecedented in the history of Paramount and it sounds shocking and very spontaneous. It was actually a fast decision, but it’s something that has been brewing for probably the last six to seven years,” says Chew in a recent interview with The Edge.

Chew, who led OCBC Bank in Malaysia for six years before joining Paramount says more than the deal being fantastic investment opportunity for the group, it fits into what it wants to do — which is to diversify into property development overseas, and at the same time fulfilling the wishes of its late chairman Datuk Teo Chiang Quan.

He says the board is cognisant of the fact that the exponential growth of the property development business — averaging some 16% per annum over the last seven years — is not sustainable. Hence, it is making a conscious effort to slow down the growth of property development locally and seek diversification into other areas.

“We are preparing for what we are going to do beyond the 7% to 8% of growth in Malaysia for property development. We have two choices, which is to grow in property development outside of Malaysia, or we can grow outside of property development, going into other businesses in Malaysia.

“This opportunity [investment in EWI shares] came very timely to our approach of diversification and also redeploying our capital that is coming back from property development in Malaysia as we slow down the growth in property development locally,” explains Chew.

He also told the media in a briefing last week that Paramount is targeting 30% of its annual profit from overseas property projects by 2030, supported by its strategic investment in EWI.

Taking a back seat in ‘EWI bus’

The strategic stake in EWI would mean that Paramount is taking the unconventional path of diversifying into property development overseas through EWI. It is worth noting that EWI’s development projects are predominantly located in the UK. According to its 2023 annual report, EWI’s gross development value amounts to £4.6 billion in the UK and A$700 million in Australia.

Chew stresses that while Paramount will seek board representation so as to have a better insight as a shareholder into EWI’s operations and decision-making, it has no intention of taking over the wheel. Using the analogy of a bus, he enthusiastically describes how Paramount will be taking a “back seat” while allowing EWI to drive it in the direction and speed it intends to go.

“They [EWI management] still know how to drive the bus despite having some minor accidents along the way, but they are experienced. I am not going to go there and ask them if I can take over the steering wheel or hold onto the brakes,” he says, adding that Paramount’s role will be as a partner to support EWI and also to provide more equity financing when needed.

“We’re not going to take over the bus because we have no experience in the UK. Let’s be real,” Chew says, adding that by entering the UK property market through its shareholding in EWI, Paramount will have a chance to better understand and the UK market, which could potentially open a pathway for it to venture directly into development in developed markets in the future.

“Operating in a foreign land is challenging. We know it’s going to be challenging in the UK, but we will learn. We will try to get involved slightly at the operational level of the joint venture (JV) to learn and also identify the risks and then to measure the risks as well as provide feedback.

“So that will be the learning process in strengthening our organisation to be able to manage projects like that in developed markets,” says Chew.

Asked if Paramount would consider collaboration with EWI and in what form it would take, Chew emphasised that it is something both companies will have to be careful about so as to not cause brand confusion among the public.

“There are some potential collaborations, but we are trying to understand and see the potential impact on both parties. We don’t want people to confuse Paramount and EWI properties. Our property has different positioning and location from theirs,” he adds.

From the interview, it is clear the former banker has crunched the numbers and calculated the risks before bringing the deal to the Paramount board.

In fact, Chew confesses that he has been paying close attention to EWI for the past seven years, since its listing on Bursa Malaysia. While the odds have not been in EWI’s favour since its listing, Chew believes that the external factors that dragged EWI down in the past should not continue to weigh it down in the future

Critics say Paramount may be making a costly mistake with its investment in EWI, given the company’s past performance, which has failed to excite.

EWI suffered nine consecutive quarters of losses, resulting in net losses for the financial year ended Oct 31,2023 (FY2023) and FY2022, amounting to RM85.37 million and RM234.42 million respectively. However, it turned the corner in 1QFY2024, reporting a net profit of RM182,000 compared to a net loss of RM30.82 million a year ago.

Responding to the criticism, Chew says Paramount is essentially forking out some RM62 million for the stake, if the potential RM108 million return in dividends from EWI were taken into account.

EWI has committed to clear its inventories worth RM850 million and to distribute its excess cash as dividends for FY2024.

However, for Chew it is more than the cash value that he sees in EWI, he believes in the prospects of the property developer going forward.

He believes that EWI was largely impacted by Brexit, Covid-19 and subsequently high interest rates, rather than poor management.

“I believe the UK government would know how to deal with the implications from Brexit by now, they cannot do worse. So that’s a positive for EWI. As for Covid, if there’s no Covid, it’s another positive for the group.

“In terms of interest rates, it is hovering at 5% to 6% in the UK, making mortgages very expensive. But if it stays at the same level for the next five years, it’s neutral for EWI but if it goes down, then it’s another positive factor for the group,” he says.

Would Paramount invest further in EWI in the future if the latter needs funds?

“We have capital coming in and with us slowing down our growth rate locally, I will be very eager to pump the capital into EWI. We really believe that with the right strategy, right leadership and right direction, a company can go forward,” says Chew, who believes that EWI might need some capital somewhere in 2027 or 2028 for land banking.

JV for overseas development for now

Since the disposal of its controlling stake in the tertiary education business back in 2019, Paramount has been looking for other avenues to diversify its income stream to make up for the gap from the education business. It has ventured into co-working spaces, dipped its hand in digital enterprises such as peer-to-peer financing and online learning platforms while steadily building its property development portfolio locally.

Nevertheless, diversifying into property development overseas has continued to challenge the group. It has tried unsuccessfully to break into the Australian property development market.

Outside of Malaysia, it currently has only one ongoing 49%-equity venture development in Bangkok, Thailand, in which it invested RM24.6 million.

But the group is not letting go of its ambition and it is still on the lookout for opportunities overseas.

“We are not buying land overseas directly but we will probably look at joint ventures. I don’t think we are ready to go into the market overseas and buy land on our own for now. Over time, we might. But I think at this point, we’re not ready,” shares Chew.

Paramount’s philosophy is not to hoard land, but rather to focus on churning its projects quickly in order to keep its return on equity high.

Its projects are concentrated in the northern and central Peninsular Malaysia, with 10 ongoing developments currently.

Asked about the outlook for the group in 2024, Chew says he is “cautiously optimistic”, adding that the is hopeful for a pickup in activity in the second half of 2024.

“I believe that 2024 is also part of the continuous recovery and also the new government, new so-called plan for energy transition, economy transformation and all that will take place. It has been a little bit slower than what I expected. But I hope the second half will improve,” he says.

For 1QFY2024, Paramount recorded a net profit of RM7.7 million, down 33.4% from a year ago. Revenue was down 11.2% at RM172.61 million from the previous year.

In the past one year, Paramount’s counter has gained 38.2%, closing at RM1.12 per share last Thursday, giving it a market capitalisation of RM697 million.

This article first appeared in City & Country, The Edge Malaysia Weekly on June 10, 2024 – June 16, 2024

The royal city of Klang has gradually transformed over the years. In addition to excellent seafood and bak kut teh, it has also become a popular place for property development.

This month, Paramount Property Development Sdn Bhd is introducing Uptown Residences 2, a residential offering with an intergenerational living concept, at its Berkeley Uptown development in the city.

Berkeley Uptown is a RM1.2 billion commercial project that sits on 33.12 acres of freehold land on Jalan Goh Hock Huat.

Paramount Property’s property division CEO Chee Siew Pin, who grew up in Klang, tells City & Country how familial ties are still very important for those living here.

“I roughly know of the needs of the people here [in Klang] and so I planned what is best for the community,” he says, adding that the entire project is designed to provide an intergenerational lifestyle where families can live close to each other.

THE STAR (15 March 2024) – Nestled along the Embassy Row neighbourhood, The Ashwood is more than just an elite enclave surrounded by embassies, high commissions, and top-notch facilities; it emerges as a premium locale for expat living and the privileged class.

With its prestigious address, The Ashwood stands as a symbol of exclusivity and opulence.

Located just 1.8km to the KL city centre, residents will not only benefit from proximity to amenities, corporate offices and renowned educational institutions, but also excellent accessibility with a brief 10-minute drive to KLCC and the Tun Razak Exchange.

Revel in recreational activities from shopping to sports at Suria KLCC, the Kuala Lumpur Polo Club, Royal Selangor Golf Club, KLCC Park, and Titiwangsa Golf Course.

Accessibility is via major high- ways like MEX, DUKE, AKLEH, MRR2 and SMART.

With the conveniently positioned LRT station that connects to the ERL at KL Sentral, the city’s transportation hub, and the MRT station connecting to the ERL at Putrajaya Sentral, this ensures a swift and seamless ride to KL International Airport and throughout Klang Valley.

Experience the best of refined living
As you return home after a long day at work, relaxation and rejuvenation become effortlessly accessible with its carefully designed layouts for exclusive living and well-being, complemented by curated facilities dedicated to leisure and recreation.

The Ashwood was intentionally planned to set its foundation at a strategic location that captures the essence of the Kuala Lumpur cityscape and lush greenery of the Royal Selangor Golf Course.

“For the development concept, we leaned towards a design theme inspired by resorts. It imparts a relaxed ambience to offer an experience reminiscent of resort-style living,” says Paramount Property (property division) chief executive officer Chee Siew Pin.

“We also aimed to ensure the building would feature a time- less design, remaining stylish and relevant for many years to come, without being subject to trends that come and go.”

Chee is optimistic about the property, saying: “It’s strongly influenced by market demand, which we’ve thoroughly researched. Drawing from valuable insights and feedback, we have delved into the specific sizes and demand trends within the surrounding area, with the development centring around people’s preference.

“Our projects are tailored for the nuclear family and expat living, with market research indicating a demand for residences starting from l,300sqft and featuring at least three bedrooms.”

Masterfully crafted home with smart solutions
The Ashwood is a meticulously designed residence, blending timeless aesthetics with cut- ting-edge smart home technologies.

The living spaces are designed to accommodate growing families, offering ample rooms for both relaxation and practical use, and complemented by a minimum of two to six car parking bays.

“All our units are semi-D in design, with wider windows built to maximise cross-ventilation and spacious balconies, allowing owners to enjoy a panoramic view of the KL cityscape and the Royal Selangor Golf Course,” says Chee.

Every unit at The Ashwood comes with a complimentary semi-furnished package that includes premium materials, along with a digital door lock for enhanced security, and a smart home system controllable via a mobile app. This system encompasses lighting, air conditioning, and master switch controls.

The units – with 12 layout options ranging from l,381sqft to 3,399sqft, and up to five bed- rooms – are priced from RM1.641mil for condominiums while villas start from RM4.307mil. The duplexes will be launched in the second phase.
With a gross development value of RM758mil, the project featuring two residential towers is set to launch at the end of the first quarter of 2024, and is expected to complete by 2028.

Curated lifestyle facilities and secure living
Spanning three dedicated zones with a resort-style ambience, these lifestyle spaces offer an idyllic retreat for residents. Its 48 facilities include a 50m-infinity pool, a jacuzzi, an indoor and outdoor gym, a multipurpose court and a yoga deck.

Stimulate your senses with a visit to the herb garden, designed for aromatic pleasures and culinary pursuits in your kitchen.

Enjoy any occasion with stunning views of the KL cityscape from the rooftop BBQ terrace and sky lounge. Whether it is a quiet dinner for two or a lively gathering, it is a perfect venue for all celebrations.

At The Ashwood, every detail is carefully planned – from a dedicated grooming room for in-house pet care to speed ramps in the carpark to control traffic for residents.

Seeing that working from home, online shopping and food delivery became the norm during the pandemic, The Ashwood is contuining these practices by offering a co-working lounge and a dedicated parcel drop-off area – ensuring the evolving life- style is fully supported.

The Ashwood is equipped with a multi-tier security system.

With 24/7 security patrols providing constant vigilance and a dual guardhouse ensuring your well-being around the clock, your safety remains its top priority.

The Ashwood’s visitor screening and management system further enhances the safety measures for residents.

Sustainability at its core
At The Ashwood, environmental, social and governance (ESG) measures stand as its core development principle, reinforced by its ongoing pursuit of the GreenRE certification and adherence to stringent ISO standards.

“Over the past five years, the majority of our projects have been designed with a focus on sustainability, and many have received green certifications. Similarly, efforts are underway to attain GreenRE certification for The Ashwood,” Chee shares.

Its environmental initiatives include temperature control, energy efficiency, and water conservation.

“The incorporation of energy-efficient features can lead to savings of about 5% on energy costs and 10% on water bills for landscaping.

“By offering more open space in common areas and larger balconies for each unit, we estimate potential energy savings on air conditioning of up to 29%,” he says.

The Ashwood features EV charging facilities, solar-powered lighting, rainwater harvesting systems, energy-saving high- speed elevators, low VOC materials, and low emissivity glass windows for cooler interiors.

Prioritising societal well-being, its unit designs emphasise natural ventilation, safety, resort- style amenities, and community building.

Governance is embodied through advanced security measures that redefine premium safety standards.Masterfully crafted home with smart solutions

The Ashwood is a meticulously designed residence, blending timeless aesthetics with cut- ting-edge smart home technologies.