Manners Maketh Man

The man is none other than the Group Executive Chairman of Team Keris Berhad, Dato’ Lee Seng Hee.

I would have never imagined being chauffeured  around Ipoh, but a very successful gentleman made it possible for me. The Group Executive Chairman of Team Keris Berhad (TKB), Dato’ Lee Seng Hee had recently invited Property Insight’s team including me to his manor.

The manor was beautifully designed with accessories that are personally patterned by Dato’ Lee’s lovely wife, Datin Irene Lee. The moment I stepped into the home with a glass of fresh orange in my hand, I thought to myself, ‘He must love building homes this much’. Therefore, Dato Lee very generously fed my curiosity with an engaging narrative of his journey in development over lunch.

 

THE HISTORY OF TKB

Upon returning from his studies in Belfast some 30 years ago, Ipoh was a landscape riddled with abandoned development projects. Feeling responsible to improve the situation, Dato’ Lee established the Group was established and specialised in reviving and completing the struggling developments all over the State.

“Establishing the company was not by chance of fault, but a calling that needed to be answered.  Perak needed to convert from mining to housing lands, and I wanted to change that.”

“The capital market back then was retreating given the economic climate and it was a great challenge raising capital especially for stranded developments.”

“So what we did in those testing times was to go back to the fundamentals – building affordable housing which provided homes for families and were comfortable banks to finance. I applied common sense during that time which was building homes that the general public could afford and in doing so bucked the trend in a slow property market.”

He adds, “I think in the process, we got recognised. People looked at us and said ‘Wow, this was an abandoned project and you came in and in the blink of an eye turned it around!’”

Dato Lee is quick to add that there is no magic wand. “We decided on a slimmer bottom line. The important thing was to raise the capital needed to complete the development, build and complete the properties and return value to our buyers. That was the objective during that time.”

BEING DISTINCTIVE

TKB is different from the others in many ways. As a developer, TKB continues to expand its land banks through acquisitions while keeping true to its roots and relying on its ability to address distressed developments. He adds that the Group places a high value on thorough research and groundwork.

“We will have aspirations of the developments that we want to undertake. The criteria is already there and we will then look around for locations. If there is a vacant lot of land that meets our specifications, we will seek out the land owner and make propositions to buy it or to go on a joint venture. So, in addition to being approached with lands from interested parties, we also seek out lands on our own steam.”

“In the process of doing business, we can plan what we can and should manage – product, location and everything else to return values to our buyers. What became a nightmare during 1997’-1998’, and the financial headwinds of 2008 – that was frightening. Overnight, the perfect storm hit the property sector and a lot of people were caught unprepared. Of course, you can never be prepared for a perfect storm.”

Dato’ Lee reminisces, “In the run-up right to 1997, I think a lot of developers proposed commercial, high-rise, high-end properties, and overnight all the money of the purchasers disappeared, the lending institutions retreated and loans became scarce. My recollection of those episodes are in black and white – I can never recall 1997’-1998’ or 2008’ in colour. It is useful as it is this contrast that creates a deeper appreciation for the good times which are everyone remembers in colour. We will have the third storm hitting us without knowing it.”

Under Dato’s stewardship TKB overcame the challenges and emerged even stronger today. How did Dato’ Lee do it? He says, “Is is the DNA of the company that we find strength and grow in times of adversity. Bucking the trend, we expanded our landbanks during the downturns and launched sensible and practical developments. In adverse markets,  we relied on our stocks to fuel the company and kept to our fundamentals which is affordable homes. By the time the market recovered, the Group would have new development concepts primed for take off.”

TKB’S DEVELOPMENTS

Dato’ Lee explains that the criteria when buying residential and commercial developments are very different, and it is a good developer whom can marry the two. “If you want to build commercial properties, do not buy land that the traffic does not reach there. It must be visible and have good connectivity and accessibility. It must also be surrounded by residential developments – the most important component in sustaining a commercial development.”

“I describe the best residential project as the one that is a ‘quiet nook in the midst of every amenity’. What does that mean? When you choose to walk out of your house that is your sanctuary, you will have the world at your feet.”

“For Ipoh South Precinct, the story is that I was offered a 300-acre land in Ipoh town and that is actually a very massive land bank. If you count the population and digestion rate, what do you do with that piece of property? We decided to do a joint venture with the land owner during that time, and subsequently acquired the property. This property links southern Ipoh with northern Ipoh. That link never existed before. So we immediately wanted to do that project because it allows us to roll out 12 different components. All of those multiple component projects allow us to develop this project meaningfully and reach out to various sectors with very tasteful planning.”

“There  is also our 5.3-acre Treetops Residency. If you’re going to look at where the building sits on, we occupy less than 23% of the entire project. That means we are leaving 77% of open space.”

“Why the name ‘Treetops’? I always look at birds, perched on the tops of trees – always chirping away, the embodiment of freedom. Treetops Residency is a translation of that in bricks and mortar. Residents enjoy a protected lifestyle, complete with panoramic aerial views, lifestyle amenities with every amenity at its doorstep.”

“A retreat amongst a well-structured planned township, the positioning of Treetops Residency put it within a  perfect walking distance to a new hypermarket – never too far away, never too near enough to make a gentle stroll and absolute pleasure”.

How about Times Square Ipoh and what is the story behind it? “Ipoh is a great city and every great city must have a Times Square. As a great city, there must be a congregation point for people to celebrate – New Year’s Eve, Hari Raya, Merdeka celebration, whatever it is. And what I thought was, this is seriously lacking in Ipoh. Why don’t we build a perfect square that Ipoh deserves? Times Square sits right in the middle of Ipoh, overlooking the Perak Turf Club, surrounded by three major hotels and located in a very exclusive address,” explains Dato’ Lee.

IPOH’S PROPERTY MARKET

Dato’ Lee does not think that Ipoh’s property market is badly hurt by the current market sentiment. He says, “Ipoh will always be resilient in property as it having always grow at a steady and sustainable rate. It is a place many from near and far call home and the population swells during festival season as people flock to ‘balik kampung’. The slight in the commercial property market is felt in the market, but with re-planning of development components, the market will surely self correct without too many casualties.”

“The present market sentiment is effected by sentiments of uncertainty and guilt. There is very selective buying in Ipoh, because there are so many developers but so few purchasers. In the context of Klang Valley and Selangor, they are buying the most convenient property – for example, nearest to where they are working. In Ipoh, the distances between Point A and Point are relatively close and purchasers consider more than mere location –  making Perak a very challenging market for developers indeed.”

I realised one thing when I was touring Dato’ Lee’s home. There is a lot of windows that are overlooking the the scenery outside. I asked Dato’ Lee about it and he says, “That is my style and it is very important for me that every window must have a vista. It is the same either for my own home or my developments. Do not build a window if you do not have a beautiful view beyond it.”

It was just a discussion about windows but it teaches me to be thoughtful. Do not do something just for the sake of doing it, it will become pointless. Do something not only you can enjoy, but also everyone else. I have never felt as welcomed as I was when visiting Dato’ Lee’s home.