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CEO
CONVERSATIONS
2014
The Business Times | Wednesday, October 8, 2014
RISING
STAR
Fast-growing Hatten Group
aims to be among Malaysia’s
top 10 premier developers by 2020
C
OLIN Tan June Teng may be just 31 years of
age, but he has made people sit up and take
notice. Hatten Group, the Malaysia-based
property development and investment corporation he runs, has emerged as a dark horse,
rising through the ranks in the last 10 years to become a
force to be reckoned with.
“We started out with just 10 employees in 2004. Now, we
are a 500-strong workforce stationed across five offices in
Malacca, Kuala Lumpur, Seremban, Johor Bahru and Singapore,” says Mr Tan, Hatten’s Group Managing Director.
“We have undergone a prolific portfolio expansion. We
are dominant in Malacca’s property, retail and hospitality
sectors, and staking vast new grounds in Iskandar Johor,
Negeri Sembilan and Pahang.”
This quarter, the group will be unveiling its latest showpiece in Malacca called Terminal Pahlawan. Located along Jalan Merdeka as an extension of mixed development Hatten
Square, Terminal Pahlawan is an integrated development
featuring a 30-bay international coach station, four retail
floors with fashion, food and lifestyle offerings, and a
200-room Peranakan boutique hotel.
In the fourth quarter of next year, Elements Mall, the
group’s first project in mixed development Hatten City, will
also be ready. Running through the built-up area of 1.6 million sq ft is a thematic concept that links heritage with high
fashion. Mini-replicas of Malacca and famous historical sites
will be in the mall, along with themed shopping floors.
“We are not afraid to push the boundaries of innovation
with our bold, energetic and dynamic philosophy,” Mr Tan
says.
“We are not afraid to push the boundaries of innovation with our bold,
energetic and dynamic philosophy. In this entrepreneurial era, being a young gun
in the industry is definitely an advantage.”
Colin Tan, Group Managing Director, Hatten Group
“In this entrepreneurial era, being
a young gun in the industry is definitely an advantage. We are more receptive to new ideas, always striving to
exceed our own standards of excellence, introducing new concepts and
allowing for a better, less regimental
work environment.”
Hatten’s creative and proactive approach has been noticed, he adds,
pointing to the 30 international
awards the company has won to date.
They include the Best Property Development Brand Malaysia 2014 at
the Global Brands Awards, the Best Developer Asia – Bronze 2013 at the
Overseas Property Professional
Awards, and the Best Company for
Leadership Property Investment Malaysia 2014 at the IAIR Awards.
Mr Tan himself scooped up the
Most Outstanding Entrepreneur of
the Year award from the Asia Pacific
Entrepreneurship Awards 2014, the
Distinguished Chinese Certificate of
Honour in 2013 and the Most Promising Entrepreneurship Award in 2011.
“Despite our young age, both Hatten Group and I have proven that age
is just a number,” Mr Tan says.
“Hatten Group has already garnered the top titles from some of the
most respected awards committees
in the South-east Asia region.”
HUMBLE
BEGINNINGS
Hatten Group began in 2004 and was
incorporated in 2008 after the
group's Malaysian businesses were
consolidated under one umbrella.
The group was set up by Mr Tan, older brother and group CEO Edwin Tan,
and his father, Hatten Chairman
Datuk Wira Eric Tan.
Hatten means growth and development in Japanese. The group gained
prominence after it took on an abandoned project in the heart of the historic Malacca city centre in 2004, now
a Unesco World Heritage site.
Within a few years, Hatten transformed it into the Dataran Pahlawan
Melaka Megamall, the biggest mall in
the state with over 2 million sq ft and
drawing millions of foreign and local
visitors a year.
Since then, the group has gone on
to develop the largest hotel in Malacca, Hatten Hotel, with 704 deluxe
suites. Nearby, Hatten City, a 25-acre,
integrated mixed development valued at over RM2 billion (S$777 million), has three interlinked phases
fronting the Straits of Malacca.
Further north by the Malacca River, it is working on a contemporary retail mall called Vedro by the River, targeted at the young and trendy. South
of its Hatten City development, it is
building a mixed development with
an indoor theme park in Pulau Melaka. Westwards, the group is working
on Malacca’s first auditorium project
in the Kota Laksamana precinct.
It has also brought prominent global partners on board. The group is
working with international hotel
brand Hilton, whose DoubleTree by
Hilton Hotel will be in Hatten City.
“Our newly incorporated brand
management division has also managed to secure the licensing for renowned Hong Kong brands SEMK and
Pacific Coffee. We are talking to eight
more international labels,” he says.
Hatten is also developing its “Teddie Bear” brand, where a theme park,
hotel, museum and retail merchandise are planned, he says.
Its corporate social responsibility
arm, Hatten Cares, works on campaigns focusing on environmental
awareness and community care.
Hatten Group has also spread its
wings beyond its Malacca city base.
In August, it launched the Unicity
mixed development, located next to
Seremban’s Universiti Teknologi Mara
(UiTM) campus.
It also recently launched the Capital City project within the Iskandar Johor Flagship A region. Targeted for
2018 completion, the mega retail mall
Capital 21 project will showcase
life-sized architectural elements from
21 famous capital cities from around
the world.
Ultimately, the group will build on
the over 40 years of experience in its
top management to make “bold yet
prudent decisions” for its stakeholders and investors, Mr Tan says.
He says he is very proud of his
team, which comprises a range of specialists such as in architecture, construction, leasing, management, administration, branding, public relations and hospitality.
“We have a fully comprehensive
and self-sufficient corporate structure where every area of specialisation is incorporated. This ensures consistency, efficiency and effective communication across all departments to
maintain Hatten’s high standards of
excellence,” Mr Tan says.
“I am very proud of my team. We
are a cohesive unit that keeps building a solid foundation for the group.”