HOT Magazine HOT Magazine Issue - 9, 10 Volume 5 | Page 74

Michael Tan,
Sanctuary Lakes Global Group
R
uss Downing, Managing
Director of HOT Hua Hin
Property, recently had the
pleasure of meeting up with
International property developer
Michael Tan, Founder and CEO
of Sanctuary Lakes Global Group.
Michael and his company have
developed housing projects in his
native Malaysia as well as in China,
America, Australia and now Thailand
with his first project being built in
Hua Hin which is called Sanctuary
Lakes Hua Hin.
RD: Michael, you have been a
developer for over 40 years. What did
you do professionally prior to Real
Estate Development and what was
the catalyst that led you into property
development?
MT: I obtained my degree in
economics from Sydney University,
Australia in the late 60’s.
My
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family business was in property
development. That is where my career
began. I have served as director of
few publicly listed companies and
have learned to look at "the forest
rather than the trees"
RD:
You’re native Malaysian
and still reside there. With many
development projects in Malaysia
what was the catalyst for branching
out internationally?
MT:
While the business was
growing in various states in
Malaysia, we also began to look at
opportunities
outside
Malaysia.
We’ve had projects in Melbourne,
San Francisco & Toronto. Currently
outside of Malaysia, we are
developing Sanctuary Lakes Huahin,
and Sanctuary Peak in Sichuan China.
RD: Throughout your development
career you’ve built tens of thousands
of residences worth over 1.5 billion
U.S. Dollars. Have you ever thought
of developing commercial properties?
MT: Over the years, we have
become more focused in our business
approach. We believe we should be
sticking to our knitting and doing
what we do best, developing "Resort
Residential". This is where we can
"create and deliver value assets" and
creating an impact in the process.
RD:
Your Sanctuary Lake
Development in Melbourne is a truly
massive and impressive project which
includes a Greg Norman designed
golf course. What can you tell us
about it?
MT: Sanctuary Lakes, Melbourne,
has a total of more than one thousand
acres consisting of 3,000 homes plus
a shopping center spread over 100
acres. The project was completed in
2010.