Expected exponential growth of proptech startups will change the way we invest in property, says property expert.
Property investment will undergo a game-changing transformation as it dismantles the traditional way of buying and selling, and building. “Proptech will certainly change the way we invest in property,” says Dato Sri Gavin Tee, President of Swhengtee Group.
The increasingly robust tech-enabled apps and software, and more sophisticated hardware will drive the real estate industry towards a more transparent setup where we will see faster completion at every stage of the building and buying process, he said.
The property consultant added that proptech innovation will allow greater ease of use, easy storage of critical documents on cloud and best of all, “you don’t even need to be physically present to buy, rent or furnish a property unlike the practice previously”.
At the heart of this transformation are big data and artificial intelligence, two developments that are currently being led by the United States and United Kingdom, with Asian countries such as China, Singapore and Malaysia trailing closely behind.
“Some of our local start-ups are doing very innovative stuff – I believe the number of such start-ups will increase exponentially as more big corporations and venture capital funds invest in them on the back of a very encouraging government policy.”
Tee cited the example of the setting up of the Digital Free Trade Zone (DFTZ) in Malaysia, which is considered the world’s first. The zone will be a future one-stop digital hub for logistics, payment gateway, clearance and data standardisation for Southeast Asia, as well as serve as a platform to encourage traditional brick-and-mortar businesses to transition into e-commerce.
Additionally, the Electronic World Trade Platform (eWTP), the brainchild of Jack Ma, is intended to help SMEs overcome complex regulations, processes and barriers.
“All these developments have the potential to turn Malaysia into the ‘Silicon Valley of Southeast Asia’, Tee noted.
To encourage the growth of proptech, and especially to support a new generation of technopreneurs (technology entrepreneurs) in Malaysia, Tee has set up the Malaysia Proptech Association. Launched in conjunction with the Swhengtee Expo 2017 on 25th June, 2017 (Sunday), the association is aimed at furthering the interest of the proptech entrepreneurs while at the same time educating the public on how proptech can benefit them.
The expo showcased some of the proptech entrepreneurs’ work with some of them taking to the stage to explain their innovative solutions. Organised by Swhengtee Group and co-organised by Asian Property Review (APR) and Real Estate Malaysia (REM) magazines, the proptech exhibition, talks and forums were held at the Mid Valley Exhibition Centre (MVEC), Kuala Lumpur. It attracted thousands of visitors during the long Hari Raya break.
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