The acquisition of Shanghai-based interior design and construction company Muraya gives Space Matrix a new foothold in North Asia.
L-R: Love Englund, Founder and APAC Director of Muraya; Felix Jiang, Co-Founder and Director of Muraya in Shanghai; and Arsh Chaudhry, CEO, Space Matrix
Supporting its vision of expanding its footprint across Asia from its Singapore headquarters, the workplace design and build consultancy Space Matrix has expanded to China with the strategic acquisition of Muraya Shanghai – rebranded as Space Matrix China.
Space Matrix now has 14 studios: Singapore, Hong Kong, Bangkok, Manila, Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad, Mumbai, New Delhi, Pune, Melbourne, Sydney, New York and Shanghai.
Muraya, which has 45 employees, has completed over 500 projects across China. Some of the firm’s notable clients are Alibaba, Kimberley-Clark and Volvo Group. Says Felix Jiang, the Co-Founder and Director of Muraya Shanghai, “We wanted to elevate our performance to a new level… We are confident that with this alliance with Space Matrix, there will be wider knowledge-sharing and it will further reinforce our business operations in China.”
For Space Matrix CEO Arsh Chaudry, who now leads a total staff of over 400 people, entering China was a natural growth strategy off the back of the firm’s dominant position in Southeast Asia, Hong Kong and India. Revenues are on track to grow over 40 per cent and will hit S$165 million this year.
“China presents a massive growth opportunity for us,” says Chaudry. He continues:
In 2017 alone, Space Matrix designed over 6.9 million square feet of commercial real estate. In Singapore, some of its most prominent recent projects include IBM, Li & Fung, Prudential Insurance, ServiceNow, Symantec, Thebridge by Ascendas-Singbridge, and Uber.
“We plan to double our revenue in the next four years and will also separately continue to look at merger and acquisition opportunities across the globe,” says Chaudhry. He acknowledges the support and encouragement of IE Singapore (now Enterprise Singapore) in Space Matrix’s process of expansion to date.
Space Matrix was founded in Singapore in 2001 and has since built up project experience in 55 cities. The new Shanghai studio will be managed by Felix Jiang. New hire Cynthia Chan is now the Regional Managing Director for North Asia. She will also be based in the Shanghai studio and will provide strategic direction and leadership to both the China and Hong Kong offices.
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