Rimbun @ Embassy Row ( Business Capital Asia)

RIMBUN @ EMBASSY ROW KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA

By Mizna Doray

The Triplex Penthouse (17,000 sq. ft.) is intended to be interior-designed by the owner. The palatial lounge has a ceiling that soars to a height of 8.6m (28 ft.).

Amphil Corporation Sdn. Bhd. is a

niche Malaysian property developer of

ultra-luxurious residential real estate.

the company was formed in 2008 by

two long-time golfing buddies, both

veterans of the property industry,

with more than 60 years’ experience

between them. together, they had a

vision to build a truly exclusive boutique

condominium. the condominium had

to be of top quality, be located within

Kuala Lumpur’s top residential and

embassy enclave, and be infused with

multiple innovative green and special

features that are practical and directly

beneficial to their residents.

Today, that flagship project is

known as Rimbun@Embassy Row, and

it more than lives up to Amphil’s original

vision.

“the people who visit Rimbun fall

in love with it 99% of the time,” said

Datuk PK Poh, CEo of the company.

“That’s because of our experience. We

know what people want, and we set

out to do better than we had ever done

before.”

Datuk PK Poh has been in the

property industry since 1976 and holds a B.Sc. (Building) degree from the

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actual view during new Year’s Eve. residents get to enjoy this and other views every day and night including the surrounding lakes, parks, hills and golf course.

University of Singapore. He founded

Amphil with Mr. Alan See, a U.K trained

Chartered Professional Accountant

with more than 25 years of his own

experience in the property sector.

Poh first cut his teeth working

in a QS firm before moving on to

become a Project Manager and then

a Project Director in various property

development companies. In 1992,

he was headhunted to helm the just-

established tropicana Group with the

pioneering vision to build a 625-acre

multiple award-winning golf resort and

township in Petaling Jaya, Malaysia.

tropicana Golf and Country Resort soon

took off and garnered rave reviews.

over time, the tropicana Group became

a name that is synonymous with luxury

and innovation.

Poh also spearheaded a joint

venture in the mid-1990s with a

neighbouring landowner to turn its

250 acres into another beautiful resort.

today, this second resort has been

proudly named tropicana Indah Resort

Homes.

In 2007 and at the age of 55, Poh

opted to retire from the tropicana

Group and was looking forward to

a more relaxing pace of life. However,

Each unit comes with moveable sunscreens for extra privacy.Datuk Pk Poh – cEo

property development was still very much in his veins and it did not take long for his buddy See to re-ignite his passion for properties.

to achieve their vision for a “truly exclusive boutique condominium,” Poh and See selectively scoured the precincts surrounding Kuala Lumpur City Centre (KLCC) and found an ideal piece of land in Jalan Ampang Hilir. Located amidst many international embassies and lying within the established high-income residential zone known for its stately bungalows and beautiful leafy avenues, they found the site to build Rimbun@Embassy Row.


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besT of boTh worLds Rimbun@Embassy Row is a luxury boutique project comprising 56 units spread over 17 well-appointed floors, with floor sizes ranging from 3,500 sq. ft. to 17,000 sq. ft. According to Poh, for Amphil and its shareholders, the project is “more like a labour of love rather than a pure business venture.”

“No effort is spared to ensure that we bring our vision to fruition,” he said. “For example, we have taken the initiative to upgrade some of the finishes to our sold units. Even now, although

we have completed the project, we are still looking to upgrade some parts of the facilities.”

As a company, he said Amphil holds fast to their credo – to “under promise but over-deliver”.

“There are less than 20 staff in our boutique company and they all subscribe to our culture of excellence, service and multi-tasking,” he explained. “the same level of service and courtesy is provided to everyone, whether they are serving an individual, or a group of foreign prospects. We are proud to say that more than 95% of the visitors to our project have gone away impressed.”

Every unit in rimbun has a view of the sculptured pools.

Since its recent completion,

Rimbun@Embassy Row has attracted

many enquiries, not only from potential

buyers and tenants, but also from

nearby landowners who would like

Amphil to deliver something similar for

them. the company currently has two

more pieces of land under discussion.

Poh credits the project’s strong

reception to a number of factors

– including its accessible- but-

uncongested location, its spectacular

views, as well as its competitive pricing.

“When we first bought our land

in Jalan Ampang Hilir, we deliberately

stayed away from the centre of the

very popular KLCC area,” he explained,

in regards to the location. “this is

because we were building a luxury

condominium, and not an office building

or a commercial serviced apartment

project. That said, we are actually less

than 15 minutes away from KLCC. We

also have amazing amenities around us,

such as international-class hospitals, a

variety of international schools, trendy

restaurants and shopping malls.”

“It’s like having the best of both

worlds – having the city amenities without

the accompanying congestion,” he added.

the “stupendous views” of the

building’s units also set it apart, Poh said.

He explained that the most spectacular

are of the surrounding greenery – the

Royal Selangor Polo Club and the Royal

Selangor Golf Club, for example – and

of the iconic twin towers, which can be

seen from the building’s upper floors.

Another advantage of being in

Ampang Hilir is that Amphil can price

their units very competitively compared

to their competition within the KLCC.

they are also able to move away from

the standard unit sizes of 1,500 to 2,000

sq. ft. found in most of the apartments

in KLCC. Rimbun@Embassy Row’s

smallest unit is 3,500 sq. ft. and is

targeted at a niche market of top level

executives, professionals and business

owners. the penthouse, meanwhile, is

a triplex with 17,000 sq. ft. of palatial

space.

doIng IT beTTer

Rimbun@Embassy Row’s success

is also a credit to a myriad of other


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features, many of which are not obvious

to the eye and have to be experienced

first-hand. For example, the design

of some units has incorporated a

“separate, yet together” concept that

encourages multi-generational families

to stay together while maintaining their

individual privacy and space.

Some other examples include

their multi-tiered and unique security

system for better peace of mind, and

Smart Home System which harnesses

technology to make residents’ lives

a little easier, and which has been

incorporated into every unit.

“this system not only helps the

owner to remotely monitor the security

of his unit through motion detectors and

CCTVs, but also offers the convenience

of controlling the lighting and air

conditioning units,” Poh explained.

Every purchaser at Rimbun@

Embassy Row is given a manual and

an iPad when he collects the keys to

his unit. The iPad will be configured

for each resident to operate his Smart

Home System effectively.

rIMbUn Means “LUsh greenery”.


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The project also innovates when

it comes to sustainability, and includes

more than 20 practical green features –

which according to Poh, “must be a first

for a residential project in this part of

the world.”

“In our effort to realise our vision,

a considerable sum of money was spent

on the multiple green features that are

relevant to, and which directly benefit,

our purchasers and residents,” he said.

“the most notable of our green features

is the Solar Photo Voltaic panels. these

costly panels help to generate electricity

– not heat – that can be sold for cash

under Malaysia’s Feed-in Tariff (FiT)

scheme.”

“Although these panels cost us a

considerable sum to set up, we intend

to use the Fit proceeds to reduce our

residents’ service charge after they

have moved in.”

Poh’s interest in sustainability

began when he was working at tropicana

Group developing a golf course in a

“virgin jungle” surrounded by 100-

year old trees he wanted to preserve.

He went out of his way to seek expert

advice, and ended up with a beautiful

course that has been widely praised

for its natural beauty. Since then, he’s

made green living a priority in all his

developments. He currently sits on the

Board of Malaysia Green technology

Corporation which is a government-

funded organisation to promote

and facilitate the implementation of

Malaysia’s green agenda.

Before commencing work on

Rimbun, Poh visited many cities around

the world – including Chicago, New

York, osaka, tokyo and Singapore – to

examine the condos and see where

they stood on energy sustainability. He

decided he could do better. As a result

of that commitment, Rimbun@Embassy

Row was awarded the Provisional

Gold Plus Green Mark certification by

Singapore’s Building and Construction

Authority (BCA).

In the future, Amphil aims to keep

a lookout for even more green features

and technologies that they can infuse

into their projects.

CULTUre of eXCeLLenCe

According to Poh, Amphil’s success on Rimbun@Embassy Row wouldn’t be possible if not for the excellent relationships they formed with their project partners and suppliers. He said the selection of those partners was “of the utmost importance,” and their hard work and dedication was pivotal to the project’s end result.

“During the construction stage, we

were very careful in the sourcing

of our building materials,” he said,

by way of example. “We were very

particular about these products and in

fact, much of our finishes like marble

were imported, as were some of the

kitchen equipment and cabinetry from

Germany for selected units.”

“In the appointment of contractors

and subcontractors who work with us, we


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rimbun’s Salt water Pool, serenity, security and green living form rimbun’s theme.

do not always select the lowest bidder,”

he added. “For example, although our

main contractor’s bid was considerably

higher than that of the lowest bidder, we

nevertheless awarded the contract to

him. On top of that, we also offered him

a six-digit bonus and carrot if he was able

to meet our quality standards.”

“We want to work with people with

a similar ‘culture of excellence,’ and that

has been our guiding light in all we do.”

Additionally, Amphil fosters close

relationships with their team members

internally, which Poh said is also vital to

the company’s ongoing success.

“Being a small outfit, everyone who

works with us will have the opportunity to

multi-task and learn,” he explained. “We

provide a great learning environment,

good promotion prospects and we

reward performers based on a twice-

yearly assessment of our staff.”


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one of the more than 100 trees planted in rimbun.


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Poh said there are lots of

opportunities for a young employee to

grow in Amphil, and the things they can

learn under the personal mentorship of

the two very experienced partners will

certainly benefit them as they move up

their respective career ladders.

“Bigger companies have their

advantages, of course, but generally,

their employees tend to specialise and

have limited exposure; they have less

opportunity to acquire and accumulate

the wider experience that a future

leader would need.”

“I, myself, had personally started

my own career in small start-ups during

my early years, and I can say without

reservation that what I know today is

due in no small part to being ‘thrown into

the deep end.’ It is also very gratifying

to meet some of my ex-staff who have

moved on to higher positions, and very

often, they would invariably come over

to greet and thank me for the ‘tough’

lessons they had been taught in the

past.”

Moving forward, Poh said Amphil

will continue to grow their staff, if not

necessarily the size of the company.

“At our age, the two of us do

not intend to have too much on our

plate,” he said. “We will continue to do

what we do best – developing special,

niche projects in prime locations in an

unhurried manner.”

“on a personal level, with Rimbun@

Embassy Row completed and with the

team being set up to manage it, I now

have more time to share my expertise

with other real estate companies in

an advisory role, while still keeping an

eye on the progress of our own future

projects.”

harMonIoUs bLend of greenery and

arChITeCTUre


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Rimbun @ Embassy Row ( Business Capital Asia)