[BRANDED CONTENT] Penang-based property developer Hunza Properties is looking to shape the future of Penang’s skyline with its ambitious PICC project. We talk to Group MD Datuk Khor Siang Gin and group ED Khor Tze Ming about its mission to transform Bayan Baru.
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00:00 [Music]
00:05 Penang-focused property developer Hunza has big plans for Bayan Baru
00:08 in the form of its multifaceted PICC development.
00:12 It's hoped to grow it into a place where people not only can work,
00:15 but also make their home in the sky.
00:18 We sit down with Group Managing Director, Datuk Khor Siang Jun,
00:21 and Group Executive Director, Khor Zee Ming,
00:24 to talk about the PICC and its residential development muse,
00:28 and how it intends to make it a pivotal part
00:31 of both Penang's landscape and its economy.
00:35 Things are starting to pick up for developers post-pandemic
00:38 and PICC is your flagship development, it's Hunza's flagship development.
00:43 Can you give an update on the current state of readiness
00:47 and the interest that it has drawn so far?
00:50 Because Penang appears to be buzzing.
00:52 Hunza Property Group first broke ground for our first face muse
00:58 at PICC back in late 2018, in conjunction with our 40th anniversary.
01:04 A little over four years later,
01:06 the muse will be ready for handover to the excited homeowners
01:11 within the next few months.
01:12 Basically, they are quite interested in our concept of our whole project.
01:17 There's some commercial there,
01:19 there's a shopping mall,
01:22 and an office block,
01:24 and a BPO office, is it?
01:26 Yes, the office town.
01:28 At a five-star hotel.
01:30 Of course, in order to make a commercial city feel livable
01:34 and not just a business hub,
01:35 you need to have a residential component, which is muse,
01:39 in particular, Muse Signature 6.
01:42 Can you tell us more about this development
01:44 and how it kind of fits into the whole plan of the PICC?
01:48 Muse Signature 6 is actually the penthouse duplex units
01:52 that we are launching for Muse.
01:56 Out of the 846 units,
01:58 there are only six units of penthouses.
02:01 That's why we call it Muse Signature 6.
02:04 And to make the entire project different from the rest,
02:09 we actually engaged U Design from the UK,
02:13 who come and design the interior part for Muse Signature 6.
02:17 As one of the top residential and real estate design companies in the world,
02:21 U's presence can be seen across its global branded properties.
02:25 So we decided to bring U aboard
02:28 in designing the interior of Muse Signature 6
02:31 because of their industry-leading reputation
02:34 and their keen understanding of us
02:35 and designing to elevate home living to a new height.
02:39 When you look for property, especially high-rise property,
02:41 people value the view.
02:43 You know, that's what you like.
02:45 The view does not get better than the penthouse.
02:47 So what does, aside from the ID,
02:49 make this particular offering stand out from whatever else is left in Penang?
02:55 Muse is currently the tallest smart residential in Penang.
02:59 And having Muse here,
03:01 it actually changes the entire skyline of the southwest of Penang.
03:06 So if you own a unit of the penthouse,
03:09 you're literally the highest in Penang at this position.
03:14 So it's unprecedented.
03:16 And having a U Design coupled with our experience,
03:20 I think it will give our buyer the value.
03:23 This is something that we want to do it different
03:25 from what we did in the past
03:27 and also different from the rest of the developers.
03:30 There are only six units and guess what?
03:32 It's already been taken up.
03:34 Two units have been taken up by local buyers
03:36 even before it's officially launched.
03:38 Hunza is not simply the type to just build and hope they'll come.
03:42 You guys are also doing the development around it.
03:45 And of course, traffic in Penang is legendary
03:48 for being extremely difficult during rush hour.
03:51 So what is Hunza doing to help ease that,
03:54 especially around a development so big?
03:57 In Pembaru, everyone in Penang knows that
04:00 it's an issue of traffic jam, you know.
04:03 So I think state government also very concerned,
04:07 you know, about this traffic jam.
04:09 But in order for us to approve this plan,
04:12 I think the state government has imposed on us
04:16 to redo all the infrastructure.
04:19 And then, for example, like flyover and underground,
04:25 they're going to take off a lot of traffic light,
04:27 you know, smoothen the slope
04:29 and of course, the whitening of the road.
04:31 That will help Pembaru a lot.
04:33 Hunza has been in Penang for a long time.
04:36 You guys are very much, this is your home here,
04:39 your home base here.
04:40 What are the future launches that, Datuk,
04:43 that Hunza has planned for sort of this area in the future?
04:47 Muse is phase one.
04:48 Phase two is SENSE plus the commercial hub.
04:51 So SENSE is the service apartment, 1,006 units,
04:54 plus the commercial hub is hotel, shopping mall, office tower.
04:57 They are all together.
04:58 One concept, where else you from a service apartment,
05:02 you can come down, you can enjoy all the facility
05:05 that you have, like a shopping mall, you got lifestyle,
05:08 there's an office block and of course,
05:11 there's a five-star hotel.
05:12 Of course.
05:13 That's a, it's one more concept,
05:15 but life concept for young, younger generations
05:18 who love to work here.
05:19 We've got 800,000 square foot of office space.
05:23 It's quite huge.
05:24 It is a three tower services residential,
05:27 which consists of 1,680 units.
05:30 That will suit the needs of a young generation of talents.
05:35 We will see the combinations of a shopping mall
05:39 and international hotel and a global business services hub.
05:44 Office spaces and a central park,
05:46 we will combine long-term investment value of 1.3 billion.
05:50 What is it about Penang that you feel as a property developer
05:54 will drive, you know, the growth of this state?
05:58 What makes you hopeful about the future of Penang,
06:03 you know, in general?
06:04 Because property is one of those things
06:06 where it's the gauge of the economy.
06:08 Basically, I think Penang has a lot of people coming in
06:11 that needs some lifestyle for the youngster.
06:15 And the youngster are quite different from what we have now.
06:18 I think for PICC that we are building,
06:21 I think we are designed for young people, you know,
06:25 who can live in a lifestyle.
06:27 They can work here.
06:28 They can enjoy their life.
06:30 The beautiful thing is that this is just a stone away
06:32 from our factories, right?
06:35 And Penang, as you know, our economic powerhouse
06:40 is driven by two major industries,
06:42 the manufacturing and also the services.
06:45 And now with the manufacturing expanding,
06:48 we naturally see a lot of job opportunities
06:51 and this will bring to housing demand
06:54 and especially for the younger people.
06:56 So we do see that as an opportunity for PICC.
06:59 Penang is different from the rest of Malaysia
07:01 being that it's an island.
07:03 And being an island, it has limited supply of land.
07:05 And because a majority part of the land
07:08 cannot be developed with until high rise.
07:10 And in this strategic location,
07:12 the last 43 acres freehold and close to the two reaches
07:16 and our international airport yet to be expanded.
07:19 And with the coming in of the factories,
07:21 I think this is really the last piece of the Houston
07:25 that we see here.
07:26 So that is why the entire PICC is planned
07:29 for more than 10, 12 years to be completed
07:32 because we want to engage into the advantage
07:34 and the benefits is being given
07:36 to this beautiful piece of land.
07:39 We have the confidence that this place will grow
07:44 and we will grow it together with our investors, our buyers,
07:48 because we feel that this is the future of Penang,
07:50 same as our State Government.
07:53 (upbeat music)
07:55 (whooshing)