February 2017

18 APAC / February 2017 , 1701AP17 World Class Real Estate The A. J. Mason Group has been developing real estate in the APAC region for nearly 40 years. We profiled the firm to see what they offer to clients. The A. J. Mason Group was established by Mr. A.J. Sze and Mr. Mason Sze in 1978 as a private company for the family business. The founders’ origins were established in the construction industry as Mr A.J. Sze was also the co-founder of the publicly listed company ‘Paul Y. Construction Company Ltd.’ based in Hong Kong, and was a leader in the construction industry for both Hong Kong and Singapore. In the earlier years, the Group focused on the development of residential properties, and has since evolved into a developer and operator of quality projects with unique character in specialized niche markets. Today, the Group is well-established in the real estate business that includes development, investment and management. Based in Hong Kong, the Group is now operated under the leadership of Mr. Mason Sze, Group Chairman, and Mr. Jason Sze, Group Managing Director. It has also successfully extended its focus and network beyond Hong Kong too. As the managing director, Jason controls a group of privately own companies in Greater China focused primarily in the real estate industry including property development, investment, management, and leasing. He joined the group in 1990 and in 1994, he started a new management company, McGillis and Associates Ltd., that focused on the property management and leasing side of this business. In 1997, Jason initiated a new investment trend by taking over an existing three storey office podium on Nathan Road and transformed it into a trendy retail youth arcade featuring over 150 shops called ‘Chic Castle’ that catered exclusively to the young and trendy customers of Mongkok in Hong Kong. A year later, the firm continued its growth globally as Jason started to diversify the Group’s property investment objectives to overseas projects and one of the first such projects he spearheaded was the takeover of an existing marina development in Australia at Patterson Lakes, Melbourne (www.pattersonlakesmarina.com. au). This led to the successful low rise apartment development known as ‘Pier 9’ residences, which are apartments that actually float on water. He also expanded the Group’s property portfolio into North America including new investments in Vancouver, Montreal, San Francisco, and Calgary. With regards to the APAC region, Jason has focused his business attention on China over the past 12 years. To date, he has successfully completed three projects, including a hotel/apartment development known as Mayfair Hotels and Apartments in Tianjin (www. mayfairhotel.com.cn) , a retail education mall in Shenzhen known as K Plaza (www.k- plaza.cn ), and his third venture is a residential/commercial development in Wuhan called Lido Mason Residences’ that is includes 1500 apartments; 100 retail shops, and 700 parking spaces. Another project in 2014 was the completion of the Urban Post Hotel (www.urbanposthotel. com) in Foshan. Jason pioneered this using a concept of a private villa in Foshan which has begun operations in the Lingnan Tiandi area. Jason graduated from the University of British Columbia in 1987 with a degree in business administration, and in 1992 he also studied at Insead in Fountainbleu, France. He was originally recruited to Hong Kong by the Swire Group to work as an executive management trainee for Cathay Pacific Airways in 1987. Jason has been previously involved as a member of the Ningbo Residents Association, the Hubei Hong Kong Youth Exchange, and the Tianjin Youth Federation. He has also been a member of the Young Entrepreneurs Development Council (www.ydc.org.hk) in Hong Kong since its inception in 1997 and a Director until 2006. Jason’s proudest achievement to date has been his work as co-founder of the Hong Kong