Sankey Prasad ... ‘Our association with Blackstone provides us the expertise of looking at projects that are attractive from an investment perspective.’
Chairman and managing director Sankey Prasad says Malaysia is one of the few countries in the region that remained resilient during the global financial crisis.
“Malaysia showed a lot of stability during the global recession. If you compare with many other markets, this country showed a lot of character and did not suffer any electric shocks of the crisis,” he tells StarBizweek in an interview.
“That's a sign of a good and stable market,” Sankey says, adding that Malaysia's resilience throughout the crisis has allowed the country to remain competitive.
“I think Malaysia has learnt a lot from its mistakes.”
Sankey started Synergy in early 2003 with just 40 people, and the company has since employed more than 600 people, with a resource pool comprising architects, engineers and project management personnel.
Synergy has offices in India (Delhi, Mumbai, Pune, Hyderabad, Trivandrum and Bangalore), Dubai and Malaysia.
On the local front, the company operates in Kelana Jaya, employing a team of 25 people.
The company offers complete project management consultancy, delivering support and design services through all phases of the development process of a real estate project. It also provides turn-key solutions.
In 2008, Blackstone Real Estate Partners, an affiliate of the Blackstone Group (a leading investment and advisory firm), acquired a 35% stake in Synergy.
“Our association with Blackstone provides us the expertise of looking at projects that are also attractive from an investment perspective,” says Sankey.
“We adopt a holistic approach that provides a single point of contact in every stage of the project, starting from inception to project close-out. This approach is practical in giving a detailed outline of the working procedures,” he adds.
Synergy also offers a management information system which is essentially a web portal that allows its customers real-time updates on projects that are being carried out.
“The portal can be accessed anywhere and at any time. Using the Internet, our clients can become aware of any issues,” Sankey says, adding that MIS is developed to create more transparency for its customers.
The company has delivered over 60 million sq ft of projects consisting developments within the retail, information technology, hotels and hospital sectors.
Its clients include Tata, IBM, Goldman Sachs and Deutsche Bank.
Having done projects for clients globally, Sankey says Synergy is constantly looking for opportunities, especially within the Asia-Pacific region to help boost its business.
“In the pipeline, we're looking at large projects. We've got associates and clients that are looking for opportunities in Asia.”
Synergy made its foray into Malaysia in 2007, when it became the project manager for MKN Embassy Techzone, a freehold information and communications technology (ICT) business park in Cyberjaya.
The project is developed by MKN Embassy Development Sdn Bhd, a joint venture between EMKAY Group of Malaysia and Embassy Group of India.
Synergy deals with the pre-construction phase of the project, keeping tabs on the development cost and ensures that it is on schedule.
On a personal note, Sankey says Cyberjaya, despite its potential, has not grown to become “what it should have been.”
“Cyberjaya has the right infrastructure and the dream ingredients but in the past four years that I have travelled to Malaysia, it has not grown as aggressively as it has been portrayed.
Perhaps there needs to be more aggressive marketing on Cyberjaya,” he says.
Sankey also says Synergy has recently been appointed project manager for the development of luxury villas at Bandar Enstek, Nilai, in Negri Sembilan.
The villas are part of a larger project being developed by a consortium that includes Enstek developer TH Properties Sdn Bhd, Ascenteus Holdings Sdn Bhd and Indian developer, Davanam Constructions.
Sankey says ground breaking for the project is expected within six months.
Synergy has also secured the right to become project consultants for the development of two international schools one each in Kuala Lumpur and Johor Baru.
“We will reveal more when the time is right,” he says.
Given Malaysia's growth opportunities, Sankey says Synergy is looking to secure “big” projects.
“We want to take on more niche projects as we also price ourselves that way. We don't do any run-of-the mill jobs.”
Asked about the challenges in Malaysia, Sankey says getting construction materials is a common issue.
“Because our jobs are pretty niche, most of the materials that we require are difficult to obtain locally and require importing.”
On the global front, Sankey says Synergy is cautious about its expansion plans, but adds that the company is looking to offer its services in Mauritius, Indonesia and the Philippines.
“We don't want to go berserk and go everywhere. We need to evaluate the market first and get the right project before we think about expanding into a new market.”
By The Star
