The Malaysian Reserve – Friday, 23 November 2012
DALE Carnegie used to say, “I know men in the ranks who will not stay in the ranks. Why? Because they have the ability to get things done.” In any enterprise, it’s not how many ideas you have but how many you make it happen; leaders seem able to identify ideas which are practical and aren’t, and push beyond boundaries.
Trinity Group Sdn Bhd’s founder and managing director Dato’ Neoh Soo Keat, 42, has created an impelling vision that takes people to new levels and translated that vision into action.
Always thinking about better ways to do things and aspires to be one of Malaysia’s top 10 developers, he has successfully built the company from scratch in 2004 and been delivering quality and high value projects in all the communities it builds and pricing them at levels the market can appreciate, introducing fresh lifestyle concepts and enhancing infrastructures to benefit its residents.
He believes Trinity Group’s business can grow only by giving back what it has received from the communities in which it operates such as the Zest @ Kinrara 9 located along the Bukit Jalil Highway in Klang Valley.
When the mix-use development was completed three months ahead of schedule early this year, Minister of Housing and Local Government Datuk Seri Chor Chee Heung, who officiated the Zest Key Handover on Jan 9, commended Trinity Group for taking a leadership role in raising the industry bar for private developers and employing the six thrusts under the National Housing Policy as its guiding principles to achieving conducive and liveable environments and shared community infrastructure and foundation.
Fast gaining a reputation among the next-generation property players, Trinity Group under Neoh’s nimble stewardship has managed to attract senior professionals from diverse experience and background in urban planning and development, construction and site management, marketing and brand management, professional accounting and property management.
They work together to create a strong work culture whereby every employee subscribes to team operating principles to achieve the company’s objectives for long-term growth.
People are beginning to take notice of its projects and presence while talents of the country’s top public listed developers are looking at it as a potential employer. That says a lot for Neoh’s dynamism and Trinity Group’s brand transformation.
The Universiti Teknologi Malaysia graduate in urban regional planning honed his entrepreneurial skills at age 13, starting a plastic bag business with RM9 capital, selling them at prices lower than those at super-markets and shops, his first attempt at offering quality products at “superb value for price”, which remains a Trinity Group trademark.
Dato’ Neoh Soo Keat’s entrepreneurship journey continued with the setting up of Trinity Group in 2004. It chalked up RM50 million sales in its first year of operation when it completed eight months ahead of schedule its maiden project, The Heron Residency. Today, the 290-unit serviced apartment located in Bandar Bukit Puchong enjoys the highest rental rate compared to that of similar properties in Puchong and about 30% higher returns, giving the units good resale value.
Not born into wealth and privilege inspires him to achieve more: Following The Heron Residency, he embarked on 19 Residency in the same township. The 24 units of three-storey luxury semi-dees were completed in May 2010, 10 months ahead of schedule and achieved a 79% score in the Construction Industry Development Board’s Quality Assessment System in Construction (Qlassic).
Threats and opportunities
His major breakthrough as an entrepreneur was his third project, the Zest @ Kinrara 9, launched in April 2009 when the local economy was sluggish. People were reluctant to buy due to uncertain market conditions, dampened partly by the 2008 global financial crisis, and some developers had not sold a single unit for almost a year.
But Neoh was optimistic “as the project has all the right ingredients for success” such as a good product at a very competitive price point, track record of delivering ahead of schedule, and use of marketing strategies that include traditional media, social media and SMSes to reach out to a wider audience.
To add value to the project, Trinity Group invested RM7 million in an access ramp to connect it to the Bukit Jalil Highway to ease the heavy traffic flow and reduce travel time. It also built an air-conditioned bus stop to serve its residents and the community.
With all that, the RM250 million mix-use development of 720 units of serviced apartments, 20 shop-offices and 24 retail lots were sold out within six months of launch.
However, Neoh’s Z Residence @ Bukit Jalil condominium project was not smooth sailing. Despite obtaining approval for development and meeting regulatory requirements for safety and environmental sustainability, it faced anti-development protests from the neighbourhoods.
He initiated talks with them including his plans to minimise inconveniences. The project was finally rolled out in June 2011 with the first two blocks featuring 590 units snapped up on the first day. It is slated for completion by mid-2014.
His other projects are Latitude @ USJ 19 factory-warehouse units in Petaling Jaya and Zeva @ Equine South mixed development in Bandar Putra Permai, Seri Kembangan.
Human capital management
As Trinity Group is a relatively new player and rising fast, Neoh says that as an employer, heavy investments are made to equip its staff with the knowledge and experience to grow the company.
These include its brand transformation initiative to raise the relevance of the Trinity brand among customers, communities and staff and exposing the leadership team to best practices in design and concepts around the world via attending international property conferences and expositions such as the World Expo in Shanghai, China, and field trips to metropolitan cities to learn about the latest global property market and design trends.
Innovation, bottom line, direction
Innovation is the driving force that differentiates Trinity Group products from those of its competitors, he notes, and its employees are always challenged to come out with fresh ideas for products, design, lifestyle, marketing and business process.
Among the innovative ideas implemented are the floating garden and sky lounges at Z Residences @ Bukit Jalil, Malaysia’s first air-conditioned bus stop at Zest @ Kinrara 9 and the sky deck at Zeva @ Equine South.
Meanwhile, Trinity Group’s sales have jumped from RM50 million in 2005 to RM500 million today, a 900% growth over the last eight years. For FY2011, it posted a 197.7% year-on-year increase in net profit to RM13.4 million while revenue soared 79.4% to RM118.7 million from RM66.2 million previously, driven mainly by strong demand for its projects in Klang Valley.
Going forward, Neoh says it plans to launch five new projects with a combined gross development value of RM1.86 billion in Kuala Lumpur, Selangor and Johor over the next three years. These will likely be mix-use developments with residential, commercial and boutique retail components to meet the rising demand for balanced work-live-play lifestyles.
It also intends to expand its property development business overseas, mainly in Asia.
