Maritime Signature
Bionic Land’s pursuit of perfection amidst challenges
Overlooking the tranquil Penang Strait, Karpal Singh Drive has been a hive of property action lately. The promenade in Georgetown, Penang, features upscale residential and commercial developments, drawing investors and home buyers alike to claim their luxurious slice of seafront views and contemporary comforts – contributing to Georgetown emerging as one of Penang’s top transacted areas in recent years.
Adding to the buzz is the upcoming Maritime Signature, a 45-storey commercial tower complete with a rooftop pool and a Michelin-grade sky bar that offers a 360-degree view of the island. Each of its 232 suites also boasts of sea view and flexible unit space. Constructed on the last available plot along the sought-after Karpal Singh Drive, Maritime Signature is developed by Bionic Land, which is the Malaysian arm of acclaimed Taiwanese developer Bionic Group. The company calls the development “the last puzzle piece of Karpal Singh Drive”.
Ian Chen, executive director and general manager of Bionic Group, tells Asia Connects that the company sees Malaysia as “one of the best countries in Southeast Asia” for its foreign investment prospects.
One main draw is that Malaysia has a relatively more relaxed policy for foreigners to own land and property compared to its neighbouring countries – Maritime Signature will be marketed and sold in Taiwan as well. On top of that, he sees massive opportunities in Malaysia as more former sand quarries are opening up for development, and the country’s booming high-tech industries also bode well for real estate demand.
Property feats in prime postcodes like Maritime Signature fit squarely into the playbook of the Bionic Group, which has lofty ambition and is matched by the high-rise construction it is known for. Indeed, the 57-year-old company embodies what it means to ‘rise up’ – our theme for this issue of Asia Connects – above the odds, including expanding beyond its home turf of Taiwan for greener property pastures in Malaysia.
Half a century of solid foundation
Bionic Group’s history dates back to 1966. At the time, land reform in the country stimulated agricultural and rural prosperity, and contributed to a sterling national growth that was dubbed an ‘economic miracle’. Ian Chen [a] ’s grandfather, who was a farmer, seized the opportunity to buy up small plots of land for property development. Under his leadership, the company grew slowly, but it was when his son, Chen Mei-Long [b] – also Ian Chen’s father – came on board that business truly flourished. As the company’s CEO, Chen Mei-Long focused on branding. Firstly, he attached the company’s Chinese name ‘겟쾨’ (translated as ‘Hundred Years’) to its property projects in Taiwan – his son, Ian Chen, would later come up with an English version of the name, ‘Bionic’, as part as the company’s overseas expansion plan.
Aiming to take the brand to the next level, Chen Mei-Long led the company to construct the first 15-storey condominium, Bionic Palace, with shared amenities and recreational spaces in Taoyuan City, is a municipality in Northern Taiwan. This was around the late 1980s. At the time, Ian Chen explains, high-rise residential buildings did exist in the capital city of Taipei, but these were rare. Around the country, such buildings were usually only four to five floors of basic residential units that may have elevators and amenities.
“Bionic Palace was actually one of the very first high-rise buildings in Taoyuan – consisting of four towers, each 15-stories high,” says Ian Chen. “It was a risky move. Our company reputation was on the line. There was much scepticism on whether we could complete such an ambitious project because a project of that scale was unheard of in Taoyuan.”
The cost of raw materials like steel and cement to construct a 15-storey condominium was also much higher compared to the usual five-storey residential buildings, thus adding to the risk.
“But my father, who is also my boss, is a perfectionist and strives to achieve his vision at all cost. At the time, residential projects all looked alike. So he aimed to build an iconic high-rise in Taoyuan, which will make a strong branding statement for the company. Today, after 34 years since it was constructed, Bionic Palace is still a landmark in Taoyuan’s CBD (central business district).”
Since then, Bionic Group has completed a number of notable projects, totalling over 25,000 units in Taiwan. This includes the award-winning Bionic Grand Town, a large-scale township with green landscaping, which was Taiwan’s first private urbanisation project and cost a total investment of NT$15 billion (approximately RM2 billion). Other high-rise projects that the company has built-in Taiwan include the Bionic Zhongli Tulip Villa, Bionic Eternal Love, and so on.
Following the Covid-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine, the cost of construction materials has skyrocketed. Ian Chen points out that this has driven Bionic Group to play it safer. The company has shifted its focus to develop properties in the big cities where demand is higher, such as in Taipei, instead of the countryside.
But other developers have the same idea – ‘location, location, location’ is the mantra of the property sector, after all. This intensifies competition in Taiwanese metropolises, where land available for development has already been rapidly shrinking, and in turn, ballooning in price.
Due to the land scarcity, developers in Taipei have been rebuilding old low-rise buildings and converting them into high-rise developments instead. That means having to negotiate and work with the existing tenants who will be affected.
“This is a huge challenge. If there are 50 existing units in the building, we have to negotiate with 50 different people, each with their unique demands and interests. Convincing all of them to agree to the project can take ten years! If it is truly a prime location, sometimes it is worth it. But usually, if we cannot reach an agreement in two to three years, we would have to cut our losses and walk away,” says Ian Chen.
According to him, property development activity in Taipei has slowed down significantly, as developers need to secure available land consistently. “Taipei is overdeveloped. But in Malaysia, we are seeing much more opportunities.”
A strategic move
In the face of such restrictions, expanding operations beyond Taiwan is inevitable. Malaysia is Bionic Group’s first stop overseas. Ian Chen explains that, other than the country’s friendly policies for foreign investors and abundance of land resources, Malaysia is attractive to the Bionic Group because it is like “a second home” to his family. Penang, especially, has a large community of Mandarin and Hokkien speakers – similar to the main tongues spoken in Taiwan.
In 2017, Bionic Land unveiled its first iconic residential high-rise, Prominence, at Bukit Mertajam in Penang. The 33-floor project consists of 412 condominium units spread across two towers, which are connected via a double-level sky bridge that not only provides a panoramic view of the city, but also houses an indoor gym, a scenic dining pad, a lounge, a karaoke room, a yoga deck and a reading patio.
Buoyed by the success of its maiden development, Bionic Land is beginning work on its second mega project – the 45-storey Maritime Signature on Karpal Singh Drive in Penang. Expected to be completed by 2026, the commercial tower’s soft launch in the fourth quarter of 2022 saw 70% of the units booked.
Priced at about RM500,000 per [g] suite, location is its shiniest selling point. Maritime Signature is within walking distance to the beach and the hip new Maritime Automall, while various amenities and commercial hotspots – such as the Penang Heritage Zone, Komtar, and E-Gate – are only a short drive away. Each unit also overlooks the ocean, lending the interior both a majestic and tranquil vibe.
“We could actually build a lower tower, perhaps about 20 to 30 floors high, which will speed up the construction period and save costs. But our emphasis is that every unit should have a sea view because that is our idea of perfection for Maritime Signature, and we want to achieve it the best we can. A lower tower would mean that the view of certain units would be facing other surrounding buildings. So, we decided to go ahead with 45 floors to ensure every unit gets a beautiful view, even though that means more construction costs – which we have to absorb as we cannot price the property too high in the midst of the current economic downturn,” says Ian Chen.
Like most enterprises, Bionic Land had to make some tough choices during the pandemic. Due to the rising costs, Ian Chen had to decide whether to hold off on the Maritime Signatures project for a few more years with the hope that prices of construction materials would drop, or stay on schedule.
“Postponing may incur more cost as well, and there is no guarantee that the price of materials would drop in a few years. In such uncertain times, it was hard to tell what was the right or wrong call. I did get many suggestions on what to do then, but I would only consider the ones that could be backed up with evidence,” he notes. After consulting a few trusted contacts in the industry, he decided to commence work according to plan. Since then, Ian Chen’s optimism on the property market in Penang has been growing. Despite global inflation pummelling financial security, the enthusiastic response towards Maritime Signature showed that appetite for properties remains high. “Buying properties has always been regarded as a more reliable way to keep the value of one’s money because property prices usually appreciate. With the current inflation, people would be even keener to protect their wealth by investing in real estate.”
Built by a group that has spent over half a century pursuing perfection in construction, Maritime Signature is set to rise above the turbulent times – bringing along the Bionic brand to new heights.
