You may not have heard of him, but the recipient of the this year’s Real Estate Personality of the Year award is one hardworking individual who is known in the industry for his aggressive and visionary leadership.

Founder and group CEO of Mitraland Group, Chuah Theong Yee, was voted the Real Estate Personality of the Year at the South East Asia Property Awards (Malaysia) 2016 by the editors of Property Report, Asia’s leading luxury real estate, architecture and design publication.

Chuah began his illustrious career in the construction sector in 1992 after graduating from the University of Malaya with a degree in civil engineering. He initially worked as a project engineer and subsequently ventured into property development. In 1992, he joined the construction industry upon graduating from the University of Malaya with a degree in civil engineering, serving as Project Engineer until 1995. Subsequently, he ventured into property development and established his own property development company.

Established in 1998 by Chuah, Mitraland Group has grown and emerged as one of the nation’s leading boutique lifestyle developers with a solid reputation. Although considered small compared to other industry bigwigs, Mitraland stood out as an enterprising developer with a consistent early delivery record whilst not compromising on quality, which has earned it much praise for projects such as the acclaimed Kiara 1888 luxury condominium in Mont’ Kiara, award-winning Cascads Kota Damansara mixed development, and ongoing Gravit8 integrated development in Klang South.

Here’s what Chuah had to say to Property Report, when asked about his thoughts on receiving the award, his company Mitraland Group, and the Malaysian real estate market:

On being named the Real Estate Personality of the Year:

“This is an unexpected yet tremendous honour to be presented with this prestigious award. It is a wonderful feeling to know that the work you do is being appreciated and considered to be of great value amongst your peers. My team and I are proud of our achievements and will continue to strive to create more incredible moments for our purchasers, investors and business partners.

“I dedicate this recognition to my amazing team at Mitraland. My team members are a dedicated bunch who understands the need to constantly craft lifestyles and create value in all of our projects. They are the foundation of the company and without their support and commitment; Mitraland wouldn’t be what it is today. I would also like to thank my wife and children for being such a great support system and I owe my success to them as well.”

On Mitraland Group’s proudest achievements over the last 18 years:

“I am proud to note that Mitraland has indeed achieved a number of milestones; some of the more notable ones were completing RM1.4 billion (US$345.82 million) worth of completed projects in 2014 and also embarking on our maiden international development in Melbourne, Australia called Esque, South Yarra. In 2015, we moved into our corporate tower, Menara Mitraland at Cascades @ Kota Damansara, which is also one of our acclaimed projects.”

On his outlook of Malaysia’s real estate sector:

“The Malaysian property market is experiencing a slowdown but I am still cautiously optimistic – this temporary situation will not deter real investors and home-buyers. In fact, this is the opportune moment to make an informed purchase as buyers are spoilt for choice. In the market, there are a number of wonderfully designed and affordably priced properties. With a little bit of research, a buyer will be able to own a home/property with great capital appreciation potential.”

On Mitraland’s future projects:

“We are currently focused on a freehold mixed-use development with a projected GDV of RM1.3 billion (US$321.34 million) called GRAVIT8. This project is located at Klang South and will encapsulate a contemporary maritime design, as a nod of respect to Klang’s rich heritage of being one of the busiest transhipment and container ports in the world.”