Receiving the MDA 2025 trophy from Housing and Local Government Ministry secretary-general Datuk Wira M Noor Azman Taib (second from right) was Sime Darby Property Bhd property development managing director Datuk Mohd Sohimin Mohd Alayedin (second, from left) as Star Media Group chairman Tan Sri Wong Foon Meng (left) and FIABCI-Malaysia president Dr Yu Kee Su look on.
MDA 2025 unveils its most demanding selection criteria to date
The Malaysia Developer Awards (MDA) 2025 is committed to honouring outstanding property developers for their pivotal role in advancing the industry and the nation. Following a detailed post-mortem analysis, the MDA’s organising committee has significantly refined the selection process this year, zeroing in on high-performing companies that demonstrate not only financial strength but also a visionary commitment to the future. This prestigious accolade, which assesses companies based on both quantitative and qualitative metrics, is divided into two main categories: the Top-of-the-Chart (TOTC) and the Special Awards.
The TOTC category, which focuses on property companies listed on Bursa Malaysia, ensures a comprehensive and fair evaluation by automatically considering every listed entity under the property sector. For larger conglomerates, only their specific property divisions are assessed. To ensure that companies compete fairly against their true peers, the TOTC awards are stratified into two distinct tiers based on market capitalisation, finalised on August 21, 2025: the Top 10 (RM1bil and above) and the Top 10 (below RM1bil).
PTT Logistics chief executive officer Dan Then Ikh Choo (left) receiving the MDA 2025 trophy from Housing and Local Government Ministry secretary-general Datuk Wira M Noor Azman Taib.
New benchmark: A 50/50 split
For the MDA 2025, the TOTC evaluation is split equally, with 50% of the total score dedicated to quantitative performance and 50% dedicated to qualitative execution. This robust dual approach ensures a well-rounded assessment that rewards consistency and responsible development alongside pure growth.
The quantitative component is built around four key attributes: Revenue Growth, Profit Growth, Stability and Sustainability. The goal here is to emphasise long-term success over short-term gains, ensuring that only those developers with a consistent and stable financial trajectory earn the highest rankings.
To achieve this, the MDA 2025 measured companies' revenue performance across a three-year window, from 2022 to 2024, using 2021 as the foundational base year. Companies that demonstrated steady year-on-year increases and sustained growth over this period were highly rewarded. A Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) formula was employed to ensure a level playing field, effectively balancing the assessment of both absolute figures and percentage-based growth. This nuanced approach creates a more even playing field among the larger, more established players and their smaller counterparts. While all the companies trend above the RM1bil market capitalisation threshold, the bigger property developers are almost 10 times bigger than the smallest contender.
This balanced scoring system highlights why certain companies excelled: IOI Properties Bhd, for instance, secured the top spot in the RM1bil and above category due to a powerful balance of financial robustness and strategic qualitative implementation. Similarly, Avaland Bhd emerged as the top performer in the below RM1bil category, demonstrating the reliability of three consecutive years of positive revenue growth.
Best in revenue growth
For 2025, Sime Darby Property Bhd and PTT Synergy Group Bhd were recognised as the best performers in the Revenue Growth attribute for their outstanding sustained positive revenue growth across the three-year period.
On the qualitative side, the focus has dramatically shifted to forward-thinking initiatives and a commitment to responsible development. This year saw increased emphasis placed on three critical pillars: Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Initiatives, Placemaking Ingenuity and Creative Digitalisation.
This increased weighting for qualitative metrics underscores the industry’s growing recognition that sustainability and innovation are no longer optional extras but the foundation of future competitiveness. True excellence is measured by a company's commitment to building climate-resilient projects, fostering vibrant, inclusive communities and adopting smart technology to improve user experience and operational efficiency. The evaluation process for this qualitative component is holistic: companies are no longer required to submit entries. Instead, an in-depth, independent assessment of all shortlisted listed property developers is conducted by the MDA committee.
This rigorous process resulted in a tightly curated selection: A total of 24 property developers were shortlisted in the RM1bil and above category while 37 developers were shortlisted from nearly 90 companies in the below RM1bil tier, ensuring only the most exemplary and transparent developers advanced to the final stage. The MDA 2025 is thus defining a new era of developer excellence, where consistent performance and visionary purpose are the twin requirements for industry leadership.
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