Working in a Japanese company in Malaysia proved to be no challenge for Frankie. He quickly found that despite the different working culture there were many similarities. The language proved to be a barrier at first, but according to him, there is always a way to communicate. With so many opportunities in front of him, Frankie is always ready to give his best effort.
Frankie’s current position is that of General Manager of Mitsui Outlet Park KLIA Sepang (He is also taking the position as Deputy General Manager of Mitsui Fudosan (Asia) Malaysia Sdn Bhd in operation department). He is responsible for the upkeep of the building, advertisement and promotion, business relations and shopping mall management in general. Besides the mall in Sepang, he also supports the Mitsui Lalaport BBCC project and Mitsui Outlet Park Penang project. In the future, he hopes to further excel in his career at Mitsui Fudosan with a globally recognized position, while also making time for his family. Frankie has three children he loves dearly, so he works to ensure time spent at home and at the company are balanced.

Mutual respect, continuous growth and abundant opportunities are what make working at Mitsui Fudosan special. Equal chances and equal work between Japanese and Malaysian staff are the best balance according to Frankie. He enjoys seeing his own growth within the company and is looking forward to his upward journey within the company. Frankie’s colleagues are equally motivated thanks to the management’s ‘grow together’ philosophy. When mistakes are made or tough challenges are faced, everyone learns from each other so they are better prepared in the future. For Frankie, this philosophy extends to the tenants and landlords they manage as well. According to him, growing together with the company can only bring benefits to both parties.
While Mitsui Fudosan expands globally, the knowledge between international offices gets shared to the betterment of everyone. Frankie says he is grateful to have the opportunity to gain experience from such a well-established and experienced project development company. He hopes that the company will maintain its policies for taking care of its employees while maintaining good results and a focus on the environment. According to Frankie, these goals should be no problem as long as the company maintains its ‘grow together’ philosophy for future generations.
His wish for his team is that all members continue to be independent and responsible, while constantly considering alternative options and solutions to any and all problems. So far, the Covid-19 pandemic has proven to be a significant challenge, as it introduced a new business environment to navigate in. Frankie said he encountered many obstacles on operational matters, but he found it an interesting opportunity to think outside of the box. With Mitsui Fudosan’s trust, empowerment and respect for every employee, productivity quickly returned to normal. He recounts that the pandemic directly affected business at the Mitsui Outlet Park with sales dropping for all tenants. Discovering and using new technologies opened up doors to alternative methods of business and marketing Frankie had never considered before.
Frankie has realised that a new era of doing business has arrived. How to grow within these new normalities is the question indeed, but he says that Mitsui Fudosan is prepared. The company has provided a healthy and safe environment and is supporting new ideas as the world keeps changing. Live streams, online shopping and fast delivery have become a staple of retail services, and Frankie is using all means to adapt. He thinks that today’s changing world will not shake the strong culture within Mitsui Fudosan because of its strong company policy and clear goals it has set. For Frankie, changes within this framework will ensure the profitability of all company operations.

Cheng Wei had experience with a few Japanese companies before joining Mitsui Fudosan. Once she started working at MFA, she found it to be a unique environment that was both hardworking and disciplined, yet playful and friendly at the same time. Because of her Japanese knowledge, Cheng Wei chose to work for Mitsui Fudosan knowing it to be a leading company within Japan. She now hopes to learn and grow while contributing to the company’s transformative goals. Although Mitsui Fudosan is well-known within Japan, it’s only just beginning to develop its mark overseas. Cheng Wei is ready to help Mitsui Fudosan become an internationally recognized brand with partners and customers all over the world.
Currently, she is an active member of the leasing team, managing some of the company’s retail properties in Southeast Asia. She assists the head management with concept planning, leasing strategies, negotiations with tenants and maintaining good tenant relations. One of the joys of her job is meeting new people from different industries and learning about what they do. But the most interesting aspect for her is bringing new brands and concepts to the market and seeing consumers interact with them.

For Cheng Wei, she places importance on improving her negotiation and communication skills. She thinks establishing and maintaining strong relationships with the partners is the most important thing for the retail department in a real estate company.She has also noticed that only hard working is not enough in order to get the imagined results things may not always go according to the plan. She has learned to be more innovative and trained a stronger mentality over the past seven years.
The management listens to the staff, encourages communication and innovation, and Cheng Wei is always thinking about new ideas to share with the team. Nationality is no barrier, as Japanese and locals are treated and rewarded equally for their contributions. She truly feels that employees are viewed as the company’s greatest asset. For her, this is where Mitsui Fudosan stands out from other employers.
In response to the spread of Covid-19, some shopping malls she manages had to close down several times due to regulations within Malaysia. And even though the company was impacted by the pandemic, Cheng Wei appreciates management’s effort to put every employee’s safety and health first. Cheng Wei is waiting to see what the new era after Covid-19 will bring, but she is certain that Mitsui Fudosan will adapt to any new challenges or changes in lifestyle. The company’s working style may be transformed, but Mitsui Fudosan’s culture and spirit will always stay the same.

Mitsui Fudosan originated in Japan, which is what initially attracted P to join the Serviced Apartment and Logistics Properties department at the Thailand office. P wanted to be able to experience the perspective of a Japanese developer and utilize his skills in a multinational environment. The joy for P is that he gets to learn something new every day, be it from his colleagues or from his clients.
According to P, the real estate industry in Thailand is ready for new projects and challenges. He believes Mitsui Fudosan is the perfect candidate to contribute to the development of the city in a positive way. The company encourages P to be open-minded, and share his thoughts with the constructive discussion with his colleagues. This natural synergy encourages everyone to work hard and improve themselves in order to achieve successful projects and business relations. What is more, this knowledge sharing happens not only in Thailand but between all international offices. P finds this very systematic and inspiring, and looks forward to tackling new challenges based on this foundation.

P’s responsibilities aren’t limited to his current position. Depending on the project, he works to be flexible in order to help out colleagues whenever he feels he can make a difference. This way of working pushes him to be innovative and successful. He believes that when an employee is given the opportunity to try and manage many new things themselves, this encourages them to take an open-minded and logical approach. That said, he sees Mitsui Fudosan as a fast-moving company but he would love for Mitsui Fudosan to be a bit more aggressive when it comes to business.
His department is currently facing some new challenges due to Covid-19. P’s serviced apartment projects have been greatly impacted by the pandemic, but there is hope that the situation will clear up in the near future. He feels safe knowing that the company has provided the necessary health checks and precautions in order for everyone to continue working. Overall, P is very satisfied with the way the company is adapting to the pandemic, and he is positive about the future. Moreso, he believes that the current challenges will transform Mitsui Fudosan’s work culture for the better, by helping it become more innovative and flexible.