27 August 2011

Eric Yong : Being Media Shy?

Some people asked me recently what do I do - in which I replied; Property and Construction lorrr... and then some even asked me, how come I am not media shy, or not camera shy... and probably a lot of other random questions. Errr.... Okay, I am actually quite camera shy too LOL; but every now and then I do enjoy being in the media a bit. It is all about the branding and the good of the company, and ideally, it is about talking the markets up etc etc bla bla bla.

So, someone asked me how often have I appeared in the papers; I would say.. not many times. I used to appear considerably quite often - but none so far in 2011; perhaps thats why some say I am media shy.

The first time I appeared in the papers was way back in 2007. In a little interview with The Star's Bizweek - I mentioned about the company's business direction, the company's sector-by-sector performances, the order book and so on. Then, I also talked about the property division and its various upcoming projects.

And then fair enough, they interviewed me again when we secured the Verticas Residensi project; a massive prestigious project in the heart of Bukit Ceylon, developed by premium developers WingTai Asia of Singapore.

Awhile later, I also appeared in the Chinese papers; an interesting interview once again on the updates of the company's performances, and the outlooks of the company. It was a 2 part article - with a big mention on Tierra Crest - our new commercial office development in Kelana Jaya. Comparing the descriptions that I mentioned before and today - there have been some major upgrades and improvements to the design; and ultimately, even the Gross Development Value had increased quite a bit.

Then awhile later in middle of 2008, I was somewhat misquoted a bit on The Edge Financial Daily. I had mentioned that we might consider setting up other entities to enhance our earnings further, such as forming a Real Estate Investment Trust. This is something that I believe will enhance earnings for the Group - however there is nothing on paper yet. Even up til now, I still believe in that - but that is really the long term goal.

When it came to March 2009, I appeared on a full page for the first time ever. The Edge did a very comprehensive feature on Crest Builder in their weekly The Edge - with the main highlight being our acquisition of the 4.26 acre land in Damansara Perdana, the current property projects as well as an outlook onto the Group's Construction Division for 2009... Oh best part, and it had a mention of this BLOG too!

And then we went for the Bursa Malaysia Kuala Lumpur Rat Race, organized by The Edge Malaysia. I didnt run, but I formed the team and I went all out to support my boys.
2009 was also the same year that I was shortlisted under the Prestige Top 40 Under 40. It was indeed an awesome recognition of my contributions, despite my age - and I really appreciated it. And then I also appeared and featured on Property Buyer magazine, with a good interview and writeup. Amongst my favourite question/reply was this... "What is it like working with family?"

I just answered - Its like 18-hour long family days. I always say that I work 8 days a week and dinners are like half a board meeting because my two sisters work with the family plus my parents are both directors too!

And then The Edge's Financial Daily featured me on a cover story. I told Mr Chong Jin Hun that we are now on an expansion basis - of which apart from our expertise as a building specialist, we also want to eye other areas in the industry - areas with lesser projects and competition.

And then about a year ago, there was another article on me and the company, on the deferment of our Kiara Crest luxury condominium project in Mont Kiara. We were planning to develop a 38-storey luxury tower housing 178 condominiums with floor space of between 2,000 sq ft and 2,600 sq ft on a 2.93-acre freehold land. With only six units per floor on 32 levels, the average unit will have between two and four bedrooms. Each unit will have a minimum of three car parks... but the plans would probably be delayed a bit as there is no rush for this project.

So all in, I reckon I have been considerably quite media shy, just a handful of articles and interviews in the last few years. I am still rather active on Twitter as well, ready to answer and advice any questions on the construction and property industry, as well as questions on the government, politics, policies and perhaps, just ask me anything. I would answer based on what I know.

Anyways, I think I would still be rather 'media-shy' til end of the year at least, but look on the bright side... just look out for my blog here, and we shall see more exciting things brewing for the company. =)

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