Global property powerhouse to set up tech HQ in KL

Real estate technology powerhouse Juwai IQI will set up its research and development headquarters in Kuala Lumpur, in a boost to the government’s recently launched digital blueprint.

In a statement, the company said its new centre in Kuala Lumpur will eventually be staffed by some 1,000 Malaysian employees skilled in digital development platforms.

“We are excited to play a small part in the further development of Malaysia as the digital hub of the Asean region,” Juwai IQI’s group CEO Kashif Ansari said.

Meanwhile, Juwai IQI chairman Georg Chmiel said the plan was to make Malaysia a launchpad before expanding to the Asean region.

“Asia leads the world in mobile users, digital penetration, internet users and in the penetration of super-apps like WeChat, Gojek and Grab. From its position at the heart of Asean, Malaysia has what it takes to be the digital heart of Asia,” Chmiel said.

The Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC) has welcomed the announcement, saying it was in line with the MyDigital initiative.

“Our agency’s emphasis on human-centred initiatives that benefit the many, not the few, as well as Juwai IQI’s creation of jobs, takes us one step closer to achieving the goals set out in the MyDigital initiative,” said MDEC chairman Rais Hussin.

Juwai IQI is the result of a merger between Hong Kong’s Juwai and UAE’s IQI, with some six million property listings every year from 91 countries, serving 3.3 million monthly users mostly in Asia, with a combined value of US$4 trillion.

Last year, the company announced it was absorbing Rina Group, one of Malaysia’s largest real estate agencies, into its folds.