Management team

DATO’ JAAFAR BIN ABDUL HAMID
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer

Dato’ Jaafar is the founder and principal shareholder of the Hektar Group of companies and provides leadership for the overall strategic direction of the group. Previously, he was the Managing Director of United Engineers Malaysia Berhad (“UEM”), a public-listed corporation listed on the Main Board of Bursa Malaysia Securities Berhad. During his tenure at the helm of the UEM group of companies, he was responsible for undertaking numerous privatisation projects including the North-South Expressway (Plus), the Malaysia-Singapore Second Crossing (Linkedua), Integrated Schedule Waste Management (Kualiti Alam) and the National Sports Complex. After his UEM stint, he assumed the chairmanship of an international engineering and construction group, Costain Group PLC until 2000 and was involved in its re-listing exercise on the London Stock Exchange. He holds a Bachelor of Science (Hons) in Engineering Production from the University of Birmingham, United Kingdom.

ZALILA BINTI MOHD TOON
Executive Director and Chief Financial Officer

Zalila is responsible for the financial matters of Hektar REIT and the overall financial performance.  She was instrumental in listing Hektar REIT. Her current portfolio in Hektar Asset Management includes Strategy, Finance, Legal, Investor Relations and Corporate Affairs. Prior to joining the Hektar Group in 2004, she was with the UEM Group for 23 years, out of which 20 years was with the Cement Industries of Malaysia Berhad. Her primary achievements include spearheading various programmes which include the issuance of private debt securities and the acquisition of Negri Sembilan Cement Industries Sdn Bhd. Subsequently, she was also involved in the reverse take-over exercise of Park May Berhad before leaving for a brief stint in UEM Environment Sdn Bhd, a holding company of Kualiti Alam Sdn Bhd. Zalila holds a Master of Business Administration (Finance) from the University of Nottingham.  She is also a member of the Malaysian Institute of Corporate Governance.

Y.J. LIM
General Manager, Strategy

Y.J. is responsible for Hektar REIT’s strategic planning, investor relations, business development, research and analysis. He has presented at real estate conferences and investment seminars throughout Malaysia, Singapore, Hong Kong and the Middle East. He joined Hektar in 2006 to advise and facilitate the planning of the IPO of Hektar REIT. Previously, he was Assistant Vice-President of the Investment & Business Advisory division of Henry Butcher Malaysia, consulting for real estate organisations. Prior to this, he was with Global Asset Capital LLC, a private equity firm based in San Francisco, USA, where he was responsible for investments and working with portfolio companies in North America. He was also involved in setting up their investment fund in 2000. Previously, he worked with PwC Management Consulting Services (now part of IBM), working on behalf of various entities including public-listed, private companies and government entities. He graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Finance from the Stern School of Business at New York University, New York, USA.

ZARINA HALIM
Senior Manager, Corporate Affairs

Zarina has been with the Hektar Group of Companies since 2002 and was part of the management team responsible for the listing of Hektar REIT on Bursa Malaysia in December 2006. She is responsible for the legal and secretarial portfolio of Hektar REIT which includes all areas of regulatory and secretarial compliance. She was formerly with the United Engineers Malaysia Berhad (“UEM”) Group of Companies for 9 years. She was Head of Corporate Affairs and Business Development in Prolink Development Sdn Bhd, the UEM Group’s subsidiary responsible for the development of Malaysia’s Singapore Second Crossing (MSSC) township, Bandar Nusajaya. Her notable experience at Prolink included the implementation of corporate land sales to the value of over RM1 billion and the successful restructuring of Prolink’s debt obligations under Danaharta. She then moved on to head the Business Development unit at OptixLab Sdn Bhd which was mainly responsible for the sourcing and implementation of information and communications technology related investments as well as the company’s strategic marketing initiatives. She graduated from the University of Manchester, United Kingdom with a Bachelor’s degree in Accounting and Finance.

RAZIFF SUHAIRI BIN SHAABAN
Senior Manager, Finance

Raziff is responsible for the finances of Hektar REIT and provides support in areas of accounting, taxation, corporate finance and treasury. He joined Hektar in 2005 and was extensively involved in the REIT IPO listing. Previously he served in Renong Berhad (now United Engineers Malaysia Berhad) for 5 years from 1997, mainly handling the privatisation exercise of Keretapi Tanah Melayu Berhad. Subsequent to that, he served in Park May Berhad for 2 years as the Manager of Group Finance and Corporate Affairs. In addition to his role in operational finance, he was also involved in various corporate asset divestment programmes as well as the reverse take-over exercise of a public-listed company. In 2004, he joined TIME Engineering Berhad (TIME) as the Manager of Corporate Finance. He was involved in the issuance of the world’s first RM2.5 billion Sukuk Musyarakah Asset-Backed Securities Programme. He also initiated the refinancing exercise of TIME’s RM550 million term loan, as well as overseeing RM400 million worth of trade finance activities with regard to TIME’s project with the Ministry of Education. He holds a Bachelor of Commerce (Accounting and Finance) degree from the University of Queensland, Australia. Raziff also holds a Certificate of Investor Relations from the IR Society (UK).

MARTIN CHEN
Manager, Legal

Martin provides support in the areas of legal and secretarial compliance in relation to the portfolio of Hektar REIT. He was formerly in legal practice as a legal associate with the firms Jeyaratnam & Chong for 2 ½ years, and then Zul Rafique & Partners for a further 3 years. While in legal practice, he was responsible for handling and providing advice in sale & purchase, tenancy and lease transactions involving various types of properties (residential, commercial, agricultural, office units and buildings) within Peninsular Malaysia. He also handled consumer loan documentation work (retail banking) from numerous banks and financial institutions in Malaysia and provided advisory services for housing developers in relation to housing development projects within the Klang Valley. Martin graduated from the University of Sheffield, United Kingdom with a Bachelor of Laws (LLB) degree and holds a Certificate in Legal Practice (CLP) from the Legal Qualifying Board, Malaysia. He was called to the Malaysian Bar as an advocate and solicitor in November 2002.