Former JobsDB General Manager Joins iProperty.com Malaysia
IPGA Ltd (ASX: IPP), the owner of Asia’s No. 1 network of property portal sites under the iProperty umbrella brand (www.iproperty.com), today announced that Timothy Hor has joined as Country Manager for the Malaysia business iProperty.com Malaysia (www.iproperty.com.my). Prior to joining, Timothy was General Manager of JobsDB Malaysia, the Malaysian arm of the largest recruitment portal in Asia Pacific. As Country Manager, Timothy brings a wealth of online experience to the iProperty.com Malaysia business.
“Timothy is an experienced and proven operator of an online business and has the skills and capabilities to take the business through the next stage of its growth. iProperty is a clear market leader in Malaysia and we look forward to Timothy’s input and leadership as we expand upon that market leadership position and provide our customers with great levels of service and our website users with an outstanding experience,” said Shaun Di Gregorio, Chief Executive Officer of IPGA Ltd.
“The iProperty.com network has established leading positions in Malaysia, Hong Kong and Singapore. With the recent acquisition of Thinkproperty.com.my in Malaysia, I am confident Timothy will drive further growth in both these businesses,” commented Di Gregorio.
Timothy adds, “I am thrilled to be joining IPGA. There are only a handful of local online businesses one looks forward to working with and iProperty.com Malaysia is by far, the best.”
The appointment of Timothy Hor follows the appointment of former Fairfax Media Commercial Strategy Director, Glenn Thompson as Country Manager of iProperty.com Singapore in June 2010.
iProperty acquires Malaysia’s #2 ranked property portal, thinkproperty.com.my
IPGA Ltd the owner of Asia’s No. 1 network of property portal sites under the iProperty umbrella brand (www.iproperty.com), today announced that it has acquired Think Media Sdn Bhd, owner and operator of Malaysia’s number two ranked property portal ‘thinkproperty.com.my’. IPGA Ltd currently operates Malaysia’s number one ranked property portal iProperty.com.my.
“Malaysia is one of our core markets alongside Singapore and Hong Kong. At the beginning of the year we stated clearly that our strategy will be focused on building on the market leading positions we’ve established in our three core markets. The acquisition of thinkproperty.com.my further consolidates our leadership position in Malaysia and builds an even better platform for future growth in that market and across the region” said IPGA CEO, Shaun Di Gregorio.
“We’ll continue to run thinkproperty.com.my as a standalone website in Malaysia as it offers consumers a different user experience and allows advertisers to reach a unique audience of property buyers and sellers. We’ve identified a number of improvements we can make to the website and ultimately deliver an even better result for consumers and advertisers in the Malaysian market.” commented Di Gregorio.
IPGA Ltd has acquired Think Media Sdn Bhd for AUD2.08 million. The website thinkproperty.com.my currently has more than 4,500 Agents advertising approximately 80,000 properties for sale and for rent. It received 178,000 Unique Visitors in May 2010* making it the clear number two property portal in Malaysia. Thinkproperty.com.my also accepts display advertising and has an active property forum and blogging community.
“Following the successful acquisition of SG-house.com in Singapore in June, the acquisition of thinkproperty.com.my in Malaysia further illustrates our commitment to be clear market leaders in Malaysia, Singapore and Hong Kong” commented Di Gregorio
IPGA Reports Record Sign Ups in June
IPGA Ltd (ASX: IPP), the owner of Asia’s No. 1 network of property portal sites under the iProperty umbrella brand (www.iproperty.com), today released its 4C statement with the result underlying the continued investment in the growth of the business. In June 2010, the company recorded its largest number of new customer sign ups and record consumer traffic to its network of property portals.
“It’s been a tremendous first half of the calendar year with the business achieving a record number of new agent sign ups and a record number of consumers viewing our websites. Each of our core markets of Malaysia, Singapore and Hong Kong have grown strongly and we continue to develop a platform for future growth as we build on our market leading positions in these three countries” said IPGA CEO, Shaun Di Gregorio.
“With our continued investment in the business, we’ve seen a marked improvement in the productivity of our sales force which has driven the great result in new customers sign ups. At the same time our ability to drive consumer traffic to our websites has become more sophisticated as we focus on being more innovative and dynamic in everything we do. We’ve also significantly improved the quality and experience of our Senior Management team with a number of new appointments over recent months” commented Di
Gregorio
“With a clear strategy in place and the right team to lead us into the future, we are a very optimistic business. Continued growth in new Agent sign ups combined with a focus on providing consumers with the best possible user experience when searching for properties are the fundamentals of our business. We intend to continue to excel in these areas and build on our market leading positions in Malaysia, Singapore and Hong Kong” added Di Gregorio
“It’s a very exciting time to be the CEO of such a passionate and committed group of people who are all intently focused on ensuring the business succeeds ” said Di Gregorio.
Former REA Group General Manager, Shaun Di Gregorio, was appointed as CEO of IPGA Ltd in January 2010.
IProperty Malaysia Announces Record Breaking Results In Visitors
iProperty.com Malaysia experienced a record-breaking 75 per cent year-on-year growth to 1.1 million in visits in June 2010.
This growth was attributed to iProperty.com’s aggressive marketing efforts to increase traffic to the site via advertising, online marketing and strategic partnership.
“We have broken records in all key metrics as we continue to dominate as Malaysia’s No 1 property website,” said country manager Ken Tsurumaru in a statement Monday.
According to iProperty.com, the website also hit a significant milestone of having over 100 thousand registered members, a 155 per cent increase in members since June 2009.
The company said as it continued to gain in popularity among consumers, more real estate agents were turning to the property portal as a means to advertise their properties.
In June this year, the website signed on 452 new property agent advertisers, totalling a 51 per cent growth in agent subscriptions between January and June 2010.
To date, it has over 4,300 real estate agents paying to advertise on the website.
iProperty.com Singapore Acquires SG?House.com
iProperty.com Singapore acquires SG?House.com – the leading Singapore property forum famed for its vibrant community and devoted following – and shoots up to number one spot among Singapore’s property websites with an estimated monthly average of
more than 400,000* unique visitors, overtaking its nearest rival. The acquisition of SG?House.com signals the iProperty.com Group’s resolve and determination to achieve clear market leadership in Singapore, along with its market?leading operations in Malaysia and Hong Kong.
With the acquisition of this online forum, iProperty.com Singapore adds the element of community and discussion to its powerful property search engine and comprehensive database, thereby boosting its product offerings considerably for property hunters and agents.
Mr Shaun Di Gregorio, Chief Executive Officer of the iProperty.com Group said, “We are very excited about this acquisition. Not only does it clearly define our position as the market leader in Singapore, but is also in line with our commitment to focus on the needs of our customers, to continue to expand our product offerings, and to empower the people using our website with practical tools for
their property searches.”
Added Mr Gregorio, “Property buyers and sellers behave differently in this time and age, and are increasingly using the internet to have conversations, conduct research and gather information before a transaction takes place. We have to stay relevant in this landscape and provide a robust channel for our users and customers. With this acquisition, what it translates to for our customers is
a massive boost in traffic to their listings, that is more people looking at their advertised properties, which of course means more leads for our customers.”
iProperty.com Singapore has plans to incorporate an iProperty.com’s search box into SG?House.com, so that users of SG?House.com can conveniently search for properties as well as participate in informative forum discussions. The latest real estate news from iProperty.com Singapore will also be posted on the SG?House.com to spark more topics for discussion, resulting in further insights for property buyers and enthusiasts, and increased viral marketing for property sellers and agents.
REA Group Senior IT Manager Joins IPGA as CIO
IPGA Ltd (ASX: IPP), the owner of Asia’s No. 1 network of property portal sites under the iProperty umbrella brand (www.iproperty.com), today announced that Andrew Kelk will join the group as Chief Information Officer (CIO). Andrew is currently a member of the Senior Leadership Team at the REA Group and was recently made responsible for the delivery of customer products for the REA Group flagship site ‘realestate.com.au’. Prior to that Andrew was the REA Group Lead Software Developer. Andrew will bring significant experience in the development of online businesses in the real estate segment and will add knowledge and innovation to IPGA’s current IT operations.
“To have Andrew join as CIO is a real win for the business. I have worked with Andrew before and was thrilled when he agreed to make the move. He has a fantastic track record of delivering innovative IT solutions to Real Estate agents and people using real estate websites. Andrew has also worked in Asia so we could not have hoped for a better fit as our business continues to grow in our core markets of Singapore, Hong Kong and Malaysia. Along with a number of other recent appointments, Andrew further strengthens our senior management team’s skills, capabilities and leadership” said Shaun Di Gregorio, Chief Executive Officer of IPGA Ltd.
“We have a commitment to innovation right across the business and Andrew will provide that focus in our IT operations as we grow our market leading positions in Malaysia, Hong Kong and Singapore. Andrew’s experience will certainly aid IPGA in achieving our goals” commented Di Gregorio
Andrew Kelk commented, “I am thrilled to be joining IPGA as Chief Information Officer. The business has a very clear strategy and I look forward to supporting that with the IT operations. There is a real commitment to innovation so it’s exciting to be joining a business that is growing rapidly and is focused on such a dynamic region”
The appointment of Andrew Kelk follows the appointment of the former REA Group General Manager, Shaun Di Gregorio, as CEO of IPGA Ltd in January 2009.
Former Fairfax Media Commercial Strategy Director Joins IPGA
IPGA Ltd (ASX: IPP), the owner of Asia’s No. 1 network of property portal sites under the iProperty umbrella brand (www.iproperty.com), today announced that Glenn Thompson has joined as Country Manager for the Singapore business ‘iProperty.com.sg’. Glenn was most recently the Commercial Strategy Director at Fairfax Media (ASX: FXJ) from 2008 until 2010 and also held the roles of Classified Advertising Director and General Manager of Employment and Government while at Fairfax Media. Glenn will bring significant experience in sales, marketing and strategy within a media business and adds significant leadership and expertise to iProperty.com.sg.
“We are very excited that Glenn has agreed to join as Country Manager for our Singapore business ‘iProperty.com.sg’. Glenn is very highly regarded in the Media industry and has had vast experience in the online arena. Glenn is further evidence of our commitment to developing our Senior Management team and his appointment will be a tremendous boost for the Singapore business. Glenn was an integral part of the team at Fairfax Media and we look forward to him providing a real boost to the growth of our Singapore business.” said Shaun Di Gregorio, Chief Executive Officer of IPGA Ltd.
“iProperty has established leading positions in Malaysia, Hong Kong and Singapore. We believe that these markets are poised to replicate the tremendous growth experienced in the more mature Australian and UK markets. Glenn’s experience will certainly aid IPGA in achieving our goals” commented Di Gregorio
Glenn Thompson commented, “I am delighted to be joining IPGA as Country Manager of the Singapore business ‘iProperty.com.sg’. Singapore is an exciting market and we have a great opportunity to further develop and grow our market leadership position. The team has done a great job and I am determined to build on that platform and deliver a clear market leader”
The appointment of Glenn Thompson follows the appointment of the former REA Group General Manager, Shaun Di Gregorio, as CEO of IPGA Ltd in January 2009.
iProperty Gets Good Coverage on CNBC
iProperty (ASX:IPP) received good coverage on CNBC. Simon Bond, private client advisor at RBS Morgans, mentioned IPGA and Origin Energy as two stocks to watch. Check it out on this link at the 3:20 min mark.
IPGA has strong start to 2010 with record number of Agents joining
IPGA Ltd (ASX: IPP), the owner of Asia’s No. 1 network of property portal sites under the iProperty umbrella brand (www.iproperty.com), today released its 4C statement with the result underlying the continued investment in the growth of the business. In March 2010, the Company recorded its largest number of new customer sign ups and is on track to better this record in April.
“We have had a very strong start to the year with excellent growth in the number of new agents subscribing to our websites in Singapore, Hong Kong and Malaysia. These are our three core markets. The record we set for new customer growth in March looks like being bettered again in April and this has coincided with a record number of consumers visiting our websites” said IPGA CEO, Shaun Di Gregorio.
“We are continuing to invest in the growth of our business particularly in the area of sales and marketing where we have doubled the size of our sales force and launched consumer marketing campaigns in each country. To support this growth we are very focused on improving the skills and capabilities of our people, becoming more innovative in the products we are developing and improving our IT infrastructure. This is all focused on building upon the market leading positions that we have established in Hong Kong, Malaysia and Singapore” commented Di Gregorio
“We recently raised AU$2.5 million in a rights issue to fund our further growth. We have a very clear strategy and the business is very focused on executing the plan we have in place. Over the last three months we have improved our ability to sign new customers, become more proactive in our marketing and increased our innovation levels with product releases like the iPhone app in Malaysia and the revamp of our site in Hong Kong; gohome.com.hk” added Di Gregorio
“It’s a very exciting time for the business” said Di Gregorio.
Former REA Group General Manager, Shaun Di Gregorio, was appointed as CEO of IPGA Ltd in January 2010.
IPGA Successfully Completes Rights Issue
IPGA (ASX: IPP), the owner and operator of the iProperty sites throughout Asia, has successully closed its rights issue. The company raised approximately $2.53 million before costs. These new funds will be used to rapidly drive sales and marketing in its three core markets of Malaysia, Singapore and Hong Kong.
