Harrison White
Architecture firm Swan & Maclaren have announced the establishment of two offices based in Cambodia signing a Memorandum of Understanding last week.
The signing was attended by guest of honor Singapore’s Minister of State for the Ministry of Trade and Industry and Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth, Low Yen Ling.
The two offices are part of an overall international expansion plan. According to the company the entire project will be valued at approximately $1 billion and includes additional offices also in China, Bangladesh, and the Philippines.
The firm is already established in Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, and Vietnam, and is considered the oldest architecture firm in Singapore established under British Colonial rule in 1887.
Swan & Maclaren told Cambodia Investment Review the two offices will be separated between the business development arm and the other focused on local operations.
“Swan & Maclaren Cambodia office will be strategic in nature, focusing on business development, networking on a national level and potentially starting offices in other major cities. We are privileged to have Stella Toh as our country director,” the firm said.
Swan & Maclaren selects Stella Toh as its country director
The firm explained that Toh was chosen as its country director because they were looking for like-minded visionaries who are passionate about the entire build environment and want to transform Cambodia positively.
“Swan & Maclaren Phnom Penh office will play a crucial supporting role in the delivery of projects undertaken led by Pheng Chanvisal and Kim Puthkiry who bring a local understanding of business practices, cultural knowledge, and local networks,” it added.
“Stella Toh is the perfect choice as our partner, given her two decades of knowledge, experience, and networks in Cambodia. As a fellow Singaporean, she carries our ethos and values,” the firm said.
Stella Toh told Cambodia Investment Review that she was honored to be part of the Swan and Maclaren family.
“I congratulate them and look forward to combining efforts to deliver milestones in Cambodia and change the built landscape positively,” Toh said.
“We [Swan & Maclaren Cambodia] will also work with NGOs to do our part for Corporate Social Responsibility and support Royal Chartered Institute (which currently delivers an Associate Degree program in construction) to supplement their curriculum and engage Singapore and international professionals as trainers,” she added.
Toh has a long-standing reputation in Cambodia and has established her credentials as an entrepreneurial interior designer with an environmentally friendly focus in China, Vietnam, Singapore and Myanmar.
Real estate & Construction is considered one of Cambodia’s four economic pillars that have driven the Kingdom since free-market economics was re-established in the 1990s.
It was this strong focus on both local and international investors that enabled Cambodia to achieve one of the world fastest-growing economies in the world achieving on average a growth of 7% year-on-year from the 1990s to 2019.
