WeWork – the platform for creators that provides space, community and services to help people make a life, not just a living – announced today its official entry into Malaysia with a first location in Equatorial Plaza, Kuala Lumpur.
At a press event in the city, WeWork’s local partner, Dato’ Douglas Cheng – Director, Daman Land, Turochas “T” Fuad, Managing – Director, WeWork Southeast Asia, and Beverly Dolor – Director of Engineering (Technology), WeWork Southeast Asia, confirmed that the new location is slated to open in early 2019 and will have the capacity to accommodate 1,900 members across 5 floors.
Situated in the heart of Kuala Lumpur’s Golden Triangle, WeWork’s Equatorial Plaza space will be the largest in Southeast Asia, and sits at the crossroads of the main shopping, entertainment and commercial district in the city. With convenient access to public transport and situated within close proximity to dining, business services and entertainment options, WeWork Equatorial Plaza will help redefine conventional norms of an office environment and further accelerate the future of work in Malaysia.
Entering Malaysia is part of WeWork’s commitment to expanding its footprint in Southeast Asia, with the company growing to 16 locations with more than 11,000 desks across the region in just one year. Other cities with WeWork locations include Singapore, Ho Chi Minh, Manila, Jakarta and Bangkok.
“With Malaysia experiencing a sustained, strong outlook amidst steady growth forecasts of Asia, its thriving environment and unique position in Southeast Asia make it a truly exciting market for us to enter. Together with our partner Daman Land, this represents the beginning of our journey in Malaysia. As a gateway into the ASEAN economy, our presence in Kuala Lumpur will broaden the potential for our members to connect, operate and grow beyond borders,” said Turochas “T” Fuad, Managing Director, WeWork Southeast Asia. “We provide a one-stop solution in terms of design, build out to management and – leveraging our brand value, global footprint and strong member base – we look forward to partnering with landlords as we further build our presence in Malaysia and beyond. What we are doing here is transforming the future of work in our continuing mission to humanize work, life and play—to create buildings with dynamic environments for creativity, focus, and connection, where companies and people can grow together—and we are committed and excited to bring that here to Malaysia.”
WeWork is home to members from diverse fields including the creative and design sector, financial services and investment tech companies, as well as advertising and marketing agencies. Companies such as StashAway from WeWork City House Singapore will also be expanding to Equatorial Plaza, becoming one of the location’s first members, a testament to WeWork’s support for enterprise companies looking to learn from the agility of startups while staying relevant in today’s age.
Integrating WeWork’s expertise across design, technology and community for empowering homegrown and regional members
Gone are the days of the traditional cubicle office spaces – WeWork’s proven model is transforming open spaces that enable small and big businesses to thrive and build a culture that is aligned with what the future workforce wants. According to a study launched by the Asian Institute of Finance (AIF) titled Tomorrow’s Professionals: Generation Z, two-thirds of the tech-savvy Generation Z in Malaysia harbor ambitions of starting their own business. Along with the generation’s natural affinity with digital technologies in redefining established notions of work fueled by a passion-driven workforce, WeWork will provide a work environment responsive to the professional needs and stylistic preferences of the future workforce – a generation empowered by education, mobile technology and the sharing economy.
Entering into a revenue share agreement with Daman Land will allow WeWork to benefit from its local insight and expertise, while Daman Land will gain from the economic upside created in the locations WeWork occupies while maintaining the same level of relationship with tenants. This is made possible by WeWork’s ability to build, design and attract tenants at rapid scale and is a model that has already been successfully entered into various markets around the world.
“Underpinned by the country’s thriving enterprise, startup and SME ecosystem, we are excited to chart Malaysia’s next phase of growth together with WeWork to innovate the local ecosystem and foster greater flow of business into the nation,” said Dato’ Douglas Cheng, Director, Daman Land. “Through this partnership, we look forward to tapping on the impact that WeWork has created on the value of the buildings and leveraging on WeWork’s celebrated approach to not only nurturing communities but also impacting the neighborhood and city. As Malaysia moves forth in a new era, I have no doubt our partnership will play an invaluable part in establishing Malaysia as the frontier in the future of work.”
With WeWork vertically integrated, a rarity in the building and design industry, this enables the company to be at forefront of the industry by being attuned to the unique needs and opportunities of each market. Placing an emphasis on understanding the local culture through due diligence conducted before entering the market, WeWork’s deployment of tech throughout the spaces and facets such as the WeWork’s Member Network (MENA) application that enables to members to better utilize their space and manage their workplace experience. More importantly, WeWork’s technology optimizes its ability to source, design, build with speed and precision.
By evolving space into experience, WeWork Equatorial Plaza will provide member companies with inspiring office spaces and a full suite of amenities including common areas, phone booths, community bars and breakout areas housed in beautiful, collaborative spaces. Integrating signature elements of natural light and glass offices to promote a sense of transparency and community between members, the location will also feature elements through a mix of materials used to arts and graphics with a unique Malaysian flavour.
On the back of incentives and initiatives outlined in the 2019 Malaysian Budget for a stronger forward-looking economy, WeWork’s ongoing growth will go one step further in supporting startups, entrepreneurs, enterprises to businesses of all sizes, where the WeWork global community will be able to greatly empower members by facilitating connections not just within Malaysia but across the region and globally.