It is more than just Property Development
DEVELOPER OF THE MONTH
By Gunaprasath Bupalan
Peter Chan turned a dream into
reality…then, did it again
P eter Chan, Chief Executive Officer of The Haven
is no stranger to the property industry. Over
the years, he has proven that perseverance and
determination equates success. This Singaporean,
who left his hometown in 1979 to pursue his
dreams, travelled the globe to countries such as
the United States, England, Hong Kong, and many
others before settling down in Australia back in
1980. He was headhunted by several companies,
and finally accepted an invitation by a friend to
manage NV Multi Bhd which operates Nirwana
Memorial.
Upon forming a steady base for the
company, he then joined Superboom Projects Sdn
Bhd and The Haven Sdn Bhd as CEO, developing
properties in Subang as well as in Ipoh.
It was back in 2009 when I first met with
this extraordinary gentleman. My Chief Editor at
that time (when I was writing features for NST
PropertyTimes), assigned me to a story about a
luxury condominium that is soon to be built in
Ipoh, Perak. Mind you, 11 years ago, the thought
of a luxury condominium in Ipoh was a laughable
matter. Any sort of property investment in
Ipoh was debatable. So, I decided to take on the
challenge to write this article.
When I spoke with Chan over the phone,
the conversation I planned to have for 15 minutes
lasted two and a half hours. As the conversation
progressed from the initial ice-breaking, I came
to realise that this man had more wisdom in him
than most top-notch leaders (you may know who
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I am referring to). We spoke about his notion to
transform the face of Ipoh, and indirectly Perak,
while preserving the natural resources that the
area was rich with – limestone hills.
He explained his journey to me, and his
difficulties obtaining loans from banks as nobody
understood his notion and nobody trusted that
such a thing could be done profitably. He knew
what he needed to do – which was to prove
everyone wrong and he stood by his guns and
with much perseverance and determination,
sweat and tears, he began development of The
Haven Resort Hotel & Residences.
Then, Chan did offer me a unit at the
going rate of RM350psf, which was considerably
affordable (RM250,000), but being a rookie at
that time, I couldn’t see the capital appreciation
potential and let’s be honest, I wasn’t planning to
get into the property investment game yet. WHAT
A MISTAKE! (350psf)
Today, 11 years later, the very few units
that are still available at The Haven are being
snapped up at more than RM700psf.
THAT IS MORE THAN DOUBLE!
However, I did recently ask Chan if he
would still sell me a unit there at the once offered
price, he just said he would if Public Bank could
sell him their shares at a price 6 years ago.
Well… there are still units available for sale
– to live at or Invest in (with 5% lease return).