The Westlite Accommodation Bukit Minyak in Batu Kawan. Pic by: Zhafaran Nasib / The Star/ 29 January 2019.
PETALING JAYA: Westlite Accommodation Malaysia, the owner and operator of purpose-built workers’ accommodation (PBWA), plans to increase its PBWA capacity in Malaysia to cater to the growing needs of multinational companies, small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and human resource agents.
In a statement, Westlite said all its PBWA assets in Malaysia were currently in compliance with the new regulatory specifications set out in the Workers’ Minimum Standards of Housing and Amenities (Amendment) Act 2019 (Act 446).
“All the dormitories in Westlite’s portfolio in Malaysia have received the certificate of accommodation from the Department of Labour Peninsular Malaysia.”
Westlite is owned by Singapore’s Centurion Corp Ltd, which is dual-listed on the Singapore Exchange and Hong Kong Stock Exchange.
At a media briefing yesterday, Centurion Corp Ltd chief executive officer Kong Chee Min said that the group was always exploring ways to grow organically by reconfiguring spaces to increase its capacity.
As an example, Kong pointed out that the group had completed a project in Tebrau, Johor in the second quarter of its financial year ending Dec 31, 2022, which added 688 beds to its portfolio.
“With more employers including SMEs striving to comply with Act 446, we expect to see a growth in demand for high-quality, thoughtfully constructed and professionally-managed worker accommodations.
“This would also benefit the human resource agents who now need to ensure that they are adequately housing the foreign workers who they bring into Malaysia,” Kong said.
Owing to the reconfiguration works for Act 446, the group’s bed count capacity in Malaysia had reduced to 25,099 beds as at June 30, 2022.
The group’s Malaysian portfolio, comprising eight accommodation properties scattered across Johor, Penang and Selangor, contributes almost 8% to its total revenue or S$7mil (RM22.6mil) for the first half of its financial year 2022 (1H22).
According to the group, these states have the highest number of foreign workers in the manufacturing sector, contributing about 35% of the country’s estimated two million foreign workforce.
“The company serves organisations from diverse industries and possesses more than 1,490 customers in both Singapore and Malaysia, ranging from construction, oil and gas, manufacturing, marine, engineering, commercial, service and others,” it said in the statement.
A huge chunk of the group’s revenue comes from Singapore itself, making up a total of 67% of the group’s total revenue or S$61mil (RM197.3mil) for 1H22. In Singapore, the group manages a portfolio of about 33,898 beds across nine operating PBWA assets.
Centurion Corp Ltd head of corporate communications David Phey said 70% of the group’s revenue was derived from workers’ accommodation, while the remaining 30% came from student accommodation in 1H22.
He noted that the occupancy rate of its accommodation in Malaysia and Singapore was about 70% and 95%, respectively.
