DK Group plans RM5.5bil property projects over next two years

PETALING JAYA: DK Group, which manufactures automotive seat covers and is also in property development, has come a long way since its startup days as a leather furniture cover supplier 23 years ago.

Its 59-year-old managing director and founder Danny Koek (pic) had humble beginnings in Alor Setar, Kedah, where after finishing secondary school, an early part of his career was spent in the sales division at mattress manufacturer Dreamland Corp.

Still, Koek had always envisioned running a business and in 1997, he set up DK Leather Seats Sdn Bhd to supply leather furniture covers. The company’s product line-up was expanded to automotive seat covers after Koek saw market demand.

Today, the company has a 15,000-square-metre specialist manufacturing plant in Puchong, Selangor, and 1,500 employees.

Its leather products are used by automotive marques such as Honda, Volvo, Renault, Isuzu, Hyundai, Haval, Kia, Toyota and Peugeot.

In 2001, the company launched its own brand, DK-Schweizer, and begun marketing its automotive leather upholstery globally.

Three years later, Koek also took the holding company DK Leather Corp Bhd public in a 2004 listing and set up a property development arm, DK-MY Properties Sdn Bhd. In 2008, DK Leather Corp was privatised, and Koek spent RM165mil cash to buy back the 330 million shares from the public shareholders.

“We started buying and selling land, as well as investing in properties that generate good rental income. Later, we saw the opportunities in property development, ” he said.

Three years later, the group launched its first development project, the RM600mil DK Senza, which was the first phase of the RM3.1bil DK City leasehold serviced high-rise residences located next to Taylor’s University Lakeside Campus in Subang Jaya.

This was followed by other property projects and now, with an expected economic rebound following recent Covid-19 vaccine developments, the group has seven projects in the pipeline for 2021 and 2022.

The projects are located in the Klang Valley and have a combined gross development value (GDV) of RM5.5bil.

Koek said he remained optimistic about the property market in the next two years, provided the Covid-19 pandemic is under control.

Another development in the works is LifeCare DK Mall (formerly SStwo Mall) in Petaling Jaya, which has a RM1.2bil GDV and is planned as the country’s first one-stop lifestyle healthcare mall.

The mall plans to house clinics and over a dozen medical specialists with 20-bedded wards, operating theatres, a rehabilitation and physiotherapy hub, an aged-care centre and an advanced diagnostic imaging department.

There are also plans for a first-of-its-kind Urology and Nephrology Medical Centre (UNMC) in Malaysia.

“We want to build homes that revolve around a community which seamlessly integrates smart AIoT (artificial intelligence of things), healthcare, hospitality and co-working and co-living lifestyles under one roof, ” said Koek.