This article first appeared in City & Country, The Edge Malaysia Weekly on September 9, 2024 - September 15, 2024

As the third-generation principal of family-owned business, Hong Bee Land Sdn Bhd director Gan Hua Tiong recognises the importance of heritage. The company has come a long way from its humble beginnings in 1933 when it was known as Hong Bee Textiles. Today, the once low-profile property developer has established itself as one of the leading players in Selangor and Johor.

“Hong Bee Textiles was the number one brand for fabrics and textiles in Malaysia. It was also the main sponsor of beauty pageants. Miss Universe Japan Akiko Kajima was our brand ambassador in 1959,” Hua Tiong recalls.

“As the fashion industry shifted towards manufacturing, my grandfather [founder Gan Theng] foresaw the textile industry going downhill. He then decided to diversify the business into the plantation industry in the 1970s by setting up Gan Theng Enterprise. He also began to acquire land around the Klang Valley and Johor, paving the way for future business expansion and diversification.”

In 1994, Hong Bee Land was formed with a total land bank of 3,000 acres. As a newcomer in the real estate industry, the company embarked on its first property project by entering into a 50% joint-venture agreement with GuocoLand (Malaysia) Bhd (KL:GUOCO) in the late 1990s. The companies jointly developed the 1,056-acre Emerald Rawang township in Rawang, Selangor.

Then in 2008, Hong Bee Land launched a joint-venture project with S P Setia Bhd (KL:SETIA) to develop the Setia Eco Gardens township project in Johor. Spanning 800 acres in Iskandar Malaysia, the eco-themed project has won multiple awards.

Building on its experience from the two large-scale township developments, Hong Bee Land rolled out its first wholly developed residential project called Anggun 1 in Rawang in 2006. The gated and guarded development offers 235 semi-detached houses and bungalows with a gross development value (GDV) of RM126 million.

Riding on a successful first launch, Hong Bee Land ramped up its operations to launch Anggun 2 (225 units of semidees and bungalows with a GDV of RM175 million) and Anggun 3 (312 units of 2- and 3-storey terraced houses with a GDV of RM221 million) in 2013 and 2016 respectively.

Elsewhere, Hong Bee Land also enhanced Rawang’s vibrancy by introducing several notable commercial developments, such as the first commercial mall in Rawang called the AEON Rawang in 2011; the first McDonald’s drive-through in 2012; Rawang’s first street mall Anggun City in 2017; the third Uniqlo roadside store in Malaysia in 2023; international school Knewton Global School in 2023; and the first and only standalone Watsons concept store in the Klang Valley this year.

“With all these commercial components surrounding our street mall [the 3-storey Anggun City with a GDV of RM338 million], we are creating a new, vibrant commercial hub in Rawang,” says Hua Tiong with a smile.

“People are already calling this place the ‘New Town’ of Rawang. Our goal is to infuse the area with energy and a new lifestyle to set the stage for our own first large-scale residential development, Templer Residence.”

Situated a kilometre away from Anggun City, Templer Residence is a 73-acre landed residential development introduced by Hong Bee Land in 2021. The individual titled, gated development will feature 1,000 terraced houses that will be built over five phases. It has an estimated GDV of RM800 million.

“We opened the first phase, which consists of 243 units of terraced house, for sale in 2021 without officially launching the masterplan. But the response was overwhelming. We fully sold the phase, built the homes and handed them over to buyers in November last year,” Hua Tiong shares.

“For a low-profile developer like us, my predecessors didn’t really focus on branding in the past. I must attribute the good response to the project’s design concept and product that hit the sweet spot of the market.”

One of the unique selling points of Templer Residence in this area is the larger-sized terraced houses.

“According to our statistics and study, properties with larger land sizes will hold better value in the future because it is the fact that land [in mature areas] is scarce. Bigger lots will have relatively greater room for capital gains in the future. It is why we decided to offer bigger-than-average [terraced houses with] land sizes from 22ft by 70ft, and they were well-received by the market,” Hua Tiong explains.

His fellow director and cousin Philip Gan adds that buyers also like the project for the English-inspired architecture, as well as the fact that the development is individual titled and gated.

“Some buyers want the security feature, but they are also concerned about the long-term monthly maintenance fees. Templer Residence answers their needs. Parameter fencing aside, the development is separated into the east and west zones, each with one dedicated traffic entrance to ensure the security of the community, as well as better traffic control,” Philip shares.

Following the successful launch of the first phase, the developer decided to launch the second phase through two sub-phases. The entire Phase 2 has a total of 245 units with a land size of 22ft by 70ft (1,783 sq ft) and prices starting from RM740,000. The first sub-phase with 112 units was launched in June last year and is fully sold. In July, it launched the remaining 133 under the second sub-phase.

While retaining homebuyers’ favourite features from the first phase, the developer listened to market feedback and improved the layout for the new homes. “For example, all three bedrooms on the first floor are ensuite. We also made the bedroom on the ground floor smaller to give more space to the kitchen,” says sales and marketing manager Doreen Ng. “In Hong Bee Land, we strive to build homes, not just houses, for our homebuyers. And food brings people together, so we decided to ‘steal’ some space from the bedroom to accommodate a bigger and wider kitchen, making it a central and cherished part of the home.”

According to the project feasibility study, the bedroom on the ground floor of a terraced house is often used as a non-essential space such as store room, play room or study room. “For non-multigenerational families, the bedroom on the ground floor is often underutilised because households are shrinking in the city area. But having said that, we make sure that the room is big enough to fit a queen size bed, just in case there is a need for an extra bedroom,” she says.

Another feature is the high ceiling of 19ft on the first floor, which allows owners to build a loft space, evoking traditional English charm.

Templer Residence features a linear park, pocket parks and children’s playgrounds. Those seeking additional lifestyle facilities will welcome the 3-acre clubhouse that will be centrally located to effectively separate the vehicular traffic of the east and west zones. Homeowners of Templer Residence can enjoy this facility at a discounted monthly subscription fee.

“We aim to create an iconic clubhouse that our owners will take pride in. The English-themed clubhouse will be fully owned and managed by us. Some of the facilities are a swimming pool, gym, 12 badminton courts, two banquet halls and a café. The clubhouse will also be open for non-residents,” says Hua Tiong.

He highlights that each banquet hall will be 5,000 sq ft in size, while the café will be about 4,000 sq ft. The developer is now in a final leasing discussion with a caterer and café operator.

“Although Templer Residence is not a stratified development, we are investing RM25 million to build this clubhouse because we are committed to offering our residents access to enhanced facilities at a minimal fee,” Hua Tiong explains.

He adds that upon its completion in 2026, the clubhouse will be the only one in the vicinity with banquet halls and 12 badminton courts, which are open to the public to rent. “Badminton is a national sport in Malaysia, and we aim to create the most beautiful badminton courts in this part of the Klang Valley. We hope to set a new standard within our development and bring added vibrancy to the community.”

Meanwhile, Hong Bee Land is looking to launch the remaining three phases of Templer Residence in the next three years, and targets to complete the entire project in seven years.

The team is also working on another landed residential project, a bigger one of 300 acres, located just across the road from Templer Residence.

“The working name is Templer Garden. It is a premium landed residential project with semidees, bungalows, cluster homes and terraced houses. Similar to Templer Residence, it will be a purely landed residential development without any commercial component or high-rise. It is on higher ground with a mountain range in the background, [so] it is more suitable for premium products,” Hua Tiong explains.

For high-rise developments, Hong Bee Land is looking to roll out the first phase of Rumah SelangorKu (RSKU) next year. “We have earmarked a piece of land closer to Anggun City for this RSKU project. We hope to launch the first phase sometime next year.

“We also have pockets of land [in Rawang] that are planned for high-rise development. But nothing is concrete yet,” he adds.

Hong Bee Land has about 430 acres of undeveloped land bank with an estimated GDV of RM4.5 billion in the Klang Valley. While the company is actively looking for land acquisition opportunities, Hua Tiong says the team is also working to increase revenue contribution from recurring income.

“Our ideal ratio [of recurring income vs property sales] is 50:50. We are working towards this target but still have some distance to cover. Despite owning and leasing commercial components in Rawang, including AEON Mall, standalone stores, drive-through McDonald’s and so on, we are not yet meeting this ideal balance.

“Property development is a business that requires a strong cash position and cash flow. By building up stable and strong recurring income, we can better support our property development ventures and mitigate industry risks. This strategy helps diversify our investments rather than relying solely on one sector. So, apart from land, we are also looking to buy potential assets that can provide immediate rental income and future capital gains,” explains Hua Tiong.

He adds that in its search for investment opportunities, the company is exploring potential assets in the region as well, such as in Singapore and Hong Kong.

“We also did not set a target timeline for the 50:50 target ratio. We don’t want to simply buy something because we have a timeline to meet. Moreover, the upcoming projects will keep us busy for the next few years. We need to put more focus on delivering the product to our customers and assisting them to build a home and community after handover,” he shares.

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