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“ Melaka has emerged as an
investment hotspot and a
UNESCO World Heritage City.”
acres. He also oversees sales and marketing,
asset and land acquisition, business
development, and construction. But the
property industry now is not the stable one
he used to know. “It used to be a more
relaxed market with less competition and
units were easier to sell. Now, it’s saturated
with competitors and continuous new project
launches. Globalisation has allowed people to
have the option of buying properties in other
countries as well,” he says. “Adding to that is
the availability of more public investment
avenues and financial instruments such as
stocks and bonds. It is a tough market to
succeed in.”
Colin is not afraid to admit that he used
to be motivated by money – eagerly wanting
to create a billion-dollar portfolio so he
could sit back and watch it grow. But afterwith a career move he’s now famous for.
Together, the brothers boldly took on an
abandoned building site in the heart of
Melaka and transformed it into Dataran
Pahlawan Melaka Megamall, the largest and
most profitable retail empire in the state,
covering more than two million square feet.
“Melaka was a sleepy historical town, but
we foresaw it blooming into a high-potential
location because of its important national
relics and strategic position along the Melaka
Straits, with a history as a major maritime
port on the ancient Silk Route,” Colin
explains. “We faced many critics at the start,
but our foresight proved right. Now, Melaka
has emerged as an investment hotspot and
a UNESCO World Heritage City. It also
showed great potential in terms of
population, within a 200-kilometre radius
of Melaka are 15 million people throughout
Indonesia, Kuala Lumpur and Singapore.”
Thirteen years on, Hatten Group’s
developments now include the largest hotel
in Melaka, Hatten Hotel, with 704 deluxe
suites; Hatten City, a 25-acre integrated
mixed development valued at more than
RM2 billion; and Harbour City, which brings
together a theme park, shopping mall and
three hotels in a tropical-themed location.
“Hatten was built on innovation: it is
the defining point of each project. We have
always been pioneers of iconic design,
introducing large-scale projects into
small-town Melaka. In the beginning,
we encountered many critics and naysayers
but we held onto our vision – because it
was based on extensive market research and
gut instinct. And now, here we are, at the
forefront of Melaka’s ascent as one of
Malaysia’s top investment hotspots,” he says
proudly. “Our projects have won more than
50 international property awards for
architecture, concept and design. We were
also the first to bring international brands to
Melaka such as H&M, Victoria’s Secret and
Melaka’s first Hilton Hotel – DoubleTree by
Hilton, Melaka.”
At just 35 years old, Colin is responsible
for the overall management and strategic
direction of Hatten Group and its extensive
development portfolio of more than 215