By Ezyong, The Capital Journal
12 May 2026
Summary
| Timeline | Description |
|---|---|
| 1996 | SP Setia appointed Tan Sri Liew Kee Sin to lead the company when it was still a small second board listed contractor with a modest market value. |
| 1996 to 2011 | Liew transformed SP Setia through aggressive land banking and township development, turning Setia Alam into a benchmark integrated township and elevating the group into Malaysia’s largest listed property developer by market value. |
| 2011 to 2012 | Permodalan Nasional Berhad launched a takeover of SP Setia during a weak market cycle and eventually secured control with a 78.95% stake. |
| 2013 to 2014 | Eco World Development Group emerged through the takeover of Focal Aims led by Liew’s eldest son Datuk Liew Tian Xiong, marking the beginning of Liew’s second property empire. |
| 2014 | EcoWorld executed a highly leveraged expansion strategy involving RM1.78 billion in corporate exercises, rapidly enlarging its land bank and gross development value despite significant dilution to the founding family. |
| 2016 to 2022 | EcoWorld expanded into overseas markets, listed EcoWorld International, and participated in the landmark Bukit Bintang City Centre project alongside strategic institutional partners. |
| 2024 | EcoWorld entered the data centre and digital infrastructure segment through the QUANTUM high technology industrial park initiative in Johor, aligning land development with the artificial intelligence era. |
Context
In 1996, Tan Sri Liew Kee Sin formally took control of SP Setia. At the time, the company was merely a small construction outfit listed on Malaysia’s second board with a market capitalisation worth only several tens of millions of ringgit. Liew was not the founder of SP Setia, yet under his leadership the group underwent one of the most dramatic transformations in Malaysian corporate history.
Through disciplined land banking strategies and carefully timed township launches, Liew developed projects such as Setia Alam in the Klang Valley. His emphasis on balancing built environments with greenery redefined residential development standards in Malaysia. Within little more than a decade, SP Setia rose into the country’s most valuable listed property developer.
For Liew, SP Setia was never merely a business. It was an 18 year extension of his own ambitions, painstakingly built from the ground up into a national property powerhouse.
Deep Dive
In 2011, the balance of power within Malaysia’s capital markets shifted abruptly. Permodalan Nasional Berhad launched a surprise takeover offer for SP Setia at RM3.90 per share during a period of market weakness. At the time, PNB already owned 33.16% of the company. Liew attempted to resist the move and explored the possibility of securing a white knight investor. However, against the weight of state backed capital, the management’s room for manoeuvre narrowed rapidly.
In 2012, the takeover battle concluded after PNB increased its stake to 78.95%, formally securing control of SP Setia. Although Liew agreed to remain as president and chief executive until 2014 to ensure a smooth transition, the shift in corporate power had become irreversible. The company he had nurtured for nearly two decades was no longer his to lead independently.
In 2013, the market quietly detected the early signs of a new corporate structure taking shape. EcoWorld Development Group, led by Liew’s eldest son Datuk Liew Tian Xiong, successfully gained control of Focal Aims. On 26 December 2013, Focal Aims was officially renamed Eco World. While Liew remained at SP Setia in title, the broader market already understood what was unfolding behind the scenes. Through his son, the property veteran was rebuilding a second empire outside the walls of his former company.
In 2014, Liew formally stepped down from SP Setia on 30 April. There was almost no transition gap between his departure and EcoWorld’s first major expansion wave. In the same year, EcoWorld acquired two township scale land parcels in Iskandar Malaysia, Johor, from companies linked to Tan Sri Syed Mokhtar Albukhary through DRB HICOM and Tradewinds. The transaction covered 1,288 acres and carried a combined value of RM1.58 billion. From inception, EcoWorld operated not as a small challenger but as a fully scaled national developer.
In 2014, Liew also demonstrated an exceptionally aggressive approach towards capital management. EcoWorld committed RM1.78 billion in a simultaneous expansion exercise involving asset injections, share issuances and placements. The strategy effectively pulled forward a decade of growth into a compressed time frame. The cost was severe dilution. The Liew family’s combined stake fell from roughly 35% to just 11%. It was a corporate gamble that left little margin for failure.
In 2014, the scale of EcoWorld expanded almost overnight. Its land bank surged from 1,326 acres to 4,433 acres while gross development value increased from RM13.5 billion to RM43.5 billion. At that stage, EcoWorld was no longer perceived as a new entrant. By gross development value alone, it had entered the top tier of Malaysian developers within its first year under Liew’s leadership.
In 2016, Liew’s ambitions extended beyond Malaysia. EcoWorld spun off its overseas division through the listing of Eco World International on Bursa Malaysia. In the same year, the group partnered with UDA Holdings and Employees Provident Fund to develop Bukit Bintang City Centre in Kuala Lumpur. The RM8.7 billion integrated project included the LaLaport shopping centre developed together with Mitsui Fudosan. The development symbolised Liew’s return to the centre of Kuala Lumpur’s commercial property landscape.
In 2020, EcoWorld was included in the FTSE4Good Bursa Malaysia Index. The inclusion reflected how the group’s governance structure and risk management approach had aligned with the expectations of institutional capital markets. Domestically, EcoWorld had established a diversified presence across residential, commercial and integrated township developments. Internationally, projects in London and Sydney entered their delivery phases, providing geographic diversification against fluctuations in the Malaysian property cycle.
In 2022, LaLaport officially opened within Bukit Bintang City Centre. The project became another defining commercial asset under Liew’s broader legacy. In one of Kuala Lumpur’s most competitive districts, EcoWorld succeeded in integrating an internationally recognised retail concept into a mixed use urban development. By this stage, the group’s product mix had become increasingly diversified, combining township developments for recurring cash flow stability with Eco Business Park industrial projects that could better withstand economic cycles.
In 2024, Liew once again positioned EcoWorld ahead of an emerging structural trend. The group entered the data centre segment through the QUANTUM high technology industrial park initiative in Johor. EcoWorld acquired 123 acres of land for RM178.2 million to support digital infrastructure and high technology industrial activities. The move signalled a deeper strategic shift. Rather than remaining purely a traditional property developer, EcoWorld began positioning itself as a participant in the artificial intelligence and data infrastructure economy, tying long term land value directly to future technological demand.
Key Takeaway
In the corporate world, losing control of a self built company is often viewed as a tragedy. Yet Tan Sri Liew Kee Sin transformed that experience into one of Malaysia’s most remarkable business reinventions. His 18 years at SP Setia reflected discipline, endurance and acceptance of market realities. His decade at EcoWorld reflected something different entirely: speed, conviction and a willingness to wager aggressively on the future. Few corporate figures in Malaysia have demonstrated the ability to rebuild at scale after losing the empire they once created. That resilience is what gives Liew’s story its rare sense of romantic heroism within Malaysian business history.
FAQs
- Who is Tan Sri Liew Kee Sin?
Tan Sri Liew Kee Sin is a prominent Malaysian property developer best known for transforming SP Setia into Malaysia’s leading township developer before later building EcoWorld into another major industry player. - Why was the SP Setia takeover significant?
The takeover by Permodalan Nasional Berhad marked one of the most important corporate control battles in Malaysia’s property sector, ending Liew’s long leadership at SP Setia. - How did EcoWorld grow so quickly?
EcoWorld expanded aggressively through large scale land acquisitions, capital market exercises and strategic partnerships, allowing it to achieve national scale within a short period. - What is Bukit Bintang City Centre?
Bukit Bintang City Centre is a major integrated mixed use development in Kuala Lumpur that includes residences, offices, retail components and the LaLaport shopping centre. - Why is EcoWorld entering the data centre sector?
The move into high technology industrial parks and data centre related infrastructure allows EcoWorld to align its land development strategy with long term growth areas such as artificial intelligence and digital infrastructure demand.