Henry Butcher: Malaysia's industrial subsector to continue strong performance
22 Jan 2025, 03:51 pm
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(From left) Henry Butcher Malaysia Solutions Sdn Bhd director Fahariah Abd Wahab, Henry Butcher Malaysia (Sel) Sdn Bhd's Datuk Desmond Tew, Henry Butcher Malaysia Sdn Bhd group managing director Long Tian Chek, Henry Butcher Real Estate Sdn Bhd's Tang Chee Meng, Henry Butcher Malaysia (Pontian) Sdn Bhd's Cheng Wui Kiang, and Henry Butcher Malaysia (Seberang Perai) Sdn Bhd's Fook Tone Huat at the launch of the Henry Butcher Perspective — Malaysia Property Outlook 2025 report. (Photo by Sam Fong/The Edge)

KUALA LUMPUR (Jan 22): The industrial subsector is expected to continue its positive trend in 2025, according to Henry Butcher Malaysia chief operating officer Tang Chee Meng. The Henry Butcher Perspective — Malaysia Property Outlook 2025 report, which was launched on Wednesday, noted that the volume of industrial transactions in the first nine months of 2024 (9M2024) increased by 6.5%, while the value rose 22.8%.

“We believe that the industrial subsector will continue to lead in terms of market performance, unless [US] President [Donald] Trump comes in with a lot of restrictions that will jeopardise supply chains, and the Malaysian government’s ambition of making Malaysia a regional centre of chip design and manufacturing is not able to take off. Otherwise, we believe the industrial subsector will continue to lead the way,” he said. 

In addition, the report highlighted that in 9M2024, offices in the Kuala Lumpur city centre performed much better than those located outside the city centre. 

“The occupancy rate of purpose-built offices in the city centre was 72%, which was better than the 63.2% recorded by purpose-built offices outside the city centre,” said Tang. 

“But this trend may change a bit, because some companies may feel that in terms of rental, it is better to shift out [of the city centre] to where the rental is cheaper, and not wanting to come into the city, which is congested.” 

When queried about the use of artificial intelligence (AI) within the property industry, he reckoned it is something that needs to be accepted, but emphasised how the human element is still needed.

“Proptech will be a big influencer in the property industry. For example, those doing marketing can use AI to do basic research; it saves a lot of time and effort by using AI. But at the end of the day, you cannot dispense with people with actual experience and knowledge. You still need the human touch to filter out whatever information that is not correct,” he said.

Meanwhile, Malaysia’s overall property market is expected to continue positively this year. “Supported by a steady gross domestic product growth projected by the government at between 4.5% and 5.5% in 2025, and barring any adverse global events, which can affect Malaysia’s economic well-being, we are confident that the resilient Malaysian property market will continue to experience positive growth in 2025,” Tang said.

Furthermore, he added, digitalisation of the property industry will continue to expand, leading to improved operational efficiency, service quality, marketing reach, and time and cost savings.

“Infrastructure enhancement like the LRT, MRT and highways will influence property development activities and trends. Increased FDI (foreign direct investment) and DDI (domestic direct investment), including investments by large multinationals in data centres and chip design and manufacturing activities, will drive the industrial subsector, while Visit Malaysia Year 2026 promotional programmes will boost the hospitality and retail subsectors,” said Tang.

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