This article first appeared in City & Country, The Edge Malaysia Weekly on May 5, 2025 - May 11, 2025

Exsim Group is looking to launch projects with a estimated combined gross development value (GDV) of RM5 billion across the country this year, its corporate affairs and branding director Michelle Siew tells City & Country.

One of the projects to be launched is the ninth phase of the 65-acre Sentral Damansara development — formerly called Central Park Damansara — in Petaling Jaya. The Aldenz (GDV: RM499 million), which is slated for launch in June, will offer 662 serviced apartments and a retail component.

The developer launched three serviced suite projects in the first quarter of this year, namely Qubaz Suites in Terengganu (GDV: RM355 million), Sea Crestz @ Kuantan Waterfront Resort City in Pahang (GDV: RM299 million) and The Asteriaz @ Kebun Teh in Johor (GDV: RM446 million). There was a soft launch for these three developments last year.

“We soft launched Qubaz Suites in Kuala Terengganu last year, but the official launch will be this year. The same goes for Sea Crestz @ Kuantan Waterfront Resort City in Pahang,” says Siew.

“We believe Kuala Terengganu is a hidden gem for such an investment product as you cannot miss the town when you are visiting some of the most popular islands in the country. The location has few serviced suite projects compared with Kuantan — it is an untapped market.”

On The Asteriaz, she says: “Knowing that the Johor property market is booming, we are definitely giving more attention to the state. We have another two land [parcels] in Johor and they will be launched in the near future.”

Siew declines to share further details on other launches in the pipeline as they are still on the drawing board, but mentions that they will be in the Klang Valley (residential high-rise projects, including affordable housing, with a combined GDV of RM1.69 billion); the southern region (residential and commercial high-rise with a combined GDV of RM1.77 billion); the northern region (residential and commercial high-rise with a combined GDV of RM898 million); the east coast (commercial high-rise with a GDV of RM137 million); and in Sabah (commercial high-rise with a GDV of RM700 million). 

In terms of its targets, Siew says the developer is aiming for RM3 billion in sales this year, compared with RM2.6 billion in 2024. “[We will do this by] focusing on mid-range residential products priced from RM500,000 to RM700,000, as well as hospitality projects. To date, our unbilled sales is at RM4.2 billion.

“We have about RM47 billion in GDV to be launched over the next 10 years, with most of them in the Klang Valley, Terengganu and Sabah. To date, we have unveiled 51 developments in the Klang Valley, Penang, Perak, Johor and Pahang.”

The Aldenz, a mixed-use development on leasehold land, is part of the ongoing Sentral Damansara master plan. It features a 40-storey tower with 662 serviced apartments, as well as a retail component.

The serviced apartments will have built-ups of 775 to 926 sq ft and the selling price starts from RM640,000. There will be four layouts, each with at least two bedrooms and two bathrooms.

Each unit will be partially furnished, while the three-bedroom layout will have hackable walls to cater to owners looking for flexibility in designing their living space. Residents will be able to enjoy 17 facilities, including a swimming pool, basketball shooting court, co-working/reading lounge, karaoke room, games room, children’s playroom, indoor and outdoor gymnasium and herb garden.

The project is slated for completion in 2028. The maintenance fee will be 38 sen psf, including the sinking fund.

The retail component, a 100m retail street called Nanyang’s Alley, will feature Nanyang-inspired design, al fresco cafés and food trucks. “Similar to [other retail components in Sentral Damansara], we are retaining all the units in Nanyang’s Alley to bring in [preferred] tenants and brands that can create vibrancy in the place,” says Siew.

There will be a separate entrance and car park for residents to ensure their privacy and safety.

Exsim has launched 70% of the master plan since it launched the 65-acre Sentral Damansara in 2019. Located across the Damansara-Puchong Expressway (LDP) from Empire City Damansara, the RM11 billion leasehold development offers serviced apartments as well as retail and commercial components.

The first four phases — D’Cosmos Residences (402 serviced apartments), D’Vervain Residences (1,066 serviced apartments), D’Quince Residences (1,310 serviced apartments) and D’Vine Residences (1,450 serviced apartments) — have been fully sold and handed over to buyers since 1Q2024.

The fifth phase, D’Erica Residences (1,143 serviced apartments), is currently under vacant possession. When the process concludes, the developer will have delivered a total of 5,371 serviced apartments to buyers.

Phase 6 (D’Clover Residence), Phase 7 (D’Terra Residences) and Phase 8 (D’Tessera Residences) are under construction. D’Clover and D’Terra — comprising 593 and 767 serviced apartments respectively — have been fully sold and are slated for completion in 2025 and 2026. D’Tessera, comprising 671 serviced apartments, is 87% sold and is expected to be completed in 2026.

Market demand has driven the Sentral Damansara development, says Siew. “We launched the master plan in 2018 and opened [the first phase, D’Cosmos Residences,] for sale in 2019. Initially, we planned to take about 10 to 15 years to develop the entire master plan. We are in our seventh year now [and already 70% launched].

“I wouldn’t say that we are in a hurry to launch. It is all due to market forces. The demand has been really, really strong, and it has pushed us to bring forward our launches.”

A low-rise retail mall called Trader’s Market is also under construction. This commercial component — which will offer a mix of F&B outlets, service providers and a grocer to cater for the daily needs of residents and the community — is slated for completion in mid-2026.

There will be three public parks in Sentral Damansara — Hill Park, Al Fresco Retail Park and Sanctuary Park — with a combined land size of 18.84 acres. Hill Park and Sanctuary Park are expected to be completed in 2028, while Al Fresco Retail Park will be completed in two phases, by 2027 and 2030 respectively.

Hill Park will be a 10-acre park with a bamboo walking trail that leads to a lookout pavilion, lake garden, picnic pocket garden and adventure park. Connected to it is the 500m Al Fresco Retail Park — a linear park that will offer al fresco dining as well as 11 shoplots overlooking a natural 80m waterfall in the forest reserve.

Sanctuary Park, at one end of the Al Fresco Retail Park so visitors and residents can be close to nature, is designed as a green lung and will span three acres.

“We love this location for its size and strategic location with a forest reserve as its backdrop. I doubt that you will be able to find another similar land in this part of Petaling Jaya,” says Siew.

“Therefore, we are very mindful [of the environment] when doing the master planning as we want to preserve it as much as possible. Hence, we are turning the hilly land into a public park.

“We are also keeping the waterfall as one of the highlights of the place. We are preserving the lakes and water bodies and opening them to the public. We will manage and maintain the parks until they are mature and sustainable enough to be handed over to the local authority.”

According to her, Exsim still has four undeveloped parcels or about 20 acres in the remaining master plan.

“We have about 20 acres of undeveloped land in Sentral Damansara, which are mainly for commercial developments, such as offices for start-ups, serviced residences and a neighbourhood retail mall,” she says.

“We may have another residential development targeting the mid- to high-income group, but [that is not confirmed yet]. One thing is for certain, that we only build what the market needs. That is a key strategy in developing our well-received Sentral Damansara.”

A 6.2-acre tract out of the remaining 20 acres has been earmarked to be the main commercial hub. The details, however, are still under wraps.

“We are not in a hurry to roll out this development. We would like to wait for the opening of Hextar World in Empire City, which is expected to open at the end of this year. The commercial hub will not compete with it, but complement it and provide conveniences to the [growing] community,” says Siew.

It was recently announced that Hextar World would be opening in 4Q2025. With 1.8 million sq ft of total net lettable area, the mall will be divided into six distinct zones, offering more than 600 retail lots, a 28,000 sq ft supermarket and 450,000 sq ft of entertainment space.

“[In the main commercial hub,] we plan to have a smaller-scale retail mall to serve the community and offices designed for start-ups and small and mid-sized companies. And instead of a hotel, we are looking to build serviced suites there, something similar to our Mossaz and Paxtonz at Empire City Damansara,” she says.

Mossaz and Paxtonz are hospitality developments by Exsim, offering 1,117 and 844 serviced residences respectively. They cater to investors looking for short-stay rental income. As part of the Empire City Damansara integrated development, they were fully sold and completed in 1Q2024 and 1Q2025 respectively.

“Hospitality development is something that the group is currently focusing on. We intend to expand this segment by launching more projects in the right location. We believe that with reasonable pricing, everyone [can] stand a chance to own an investment product with peace of mind, as we also provide management services through our hospitality management brand, Mana Mana Hospitality, to our buyers,” says Siew.

Meanwhile, Exsim has been actively upgrading the infrastructure in and around Sentral Damansara. It has invested about RM300 million to replan the traffic flow system, widen roads, increase the number of access roads and construct a tramway that connects to Empire City Damansara.

“It is not a secret that the access roads to the site were limited and traffic flow was a challenge. The local authority had the same concern and it requested a thorough [traffic flow] study and plan to address the issue before it could approve the master plan. It was satisfied with our proposal and gave us the green light [to develop the site],” she says.

“Based on our study, we believe that access roads with one-way direction are the key solution, similar to the successful approach in Bangsar South [in Kuala Lumpur], a 60-acre development of a similar scale to Sentral Damansara. This layout optimises traffic movement and improves overall flow.”

Apart from that, the developer recently completed the road widening project in Jalan PJU 8/8, the existing main access road to the site, and opened a new tunnel access road to connect to the main road and Jalan Penchala Indah, as well as a new exit to the LDP.

The tramway, which will provide direct access to and from Sentral Damansara and Empire City Damansara, is under construction. The developer is planning to provide a free shuttle bus service to ferry residents to the nearby Mutiara Damansara MRT station in the near future.

“Upon completion of the [entire development], there will be a population of 60,000 to 80,000 in Sentral Damansara, and not forgetting the existing residents of other projects nearby. Therefore, it is [our] commitment to our buyers to ensure a smooth traffic flow in and out of Sentral Damansara. With the current and upcoming upgrading of the road system and infrastructure, we are confident that we will be able to address the traffic issues here,” says Siew.

On Exsim’s rapid expansion, Siew says the group values talent and believes in choosing the right partner as the key to growing the company organically and efficiently.

“It is true that the company’s development arm has been moving fast in recent years, but we always make sure that each decision is well planned. One way to do that is to choose like-minded local partners who know the location inside out,” she elaborates.

“We have total confidence in all of our joint-venture partners and we leave our local developments in their good hands, while our role is to provide back-end support and resources, such as sharing our experience in project planning and construction, operation and networking. Our local partners know what the local market needs best. They will provide input on product planning and the sales and marketing strategy. This is how we grow together over the long term,” she adds.

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