When we spoke to Shaun Di Gregorio from IPGA’s head office in Kula Lumpur (or KL as the locals call it), a tropical storm was about to break over the city and the new IPGA chief was forced to close the door to his office just so we could hear each other. The Malaysian capital is famous for its rain. The city’s name translates into English as “muddy estuary”, a result of the flash flooding that often accompanies a deluge.

The other thing KL is famous for is its cosmopolitanism. With five main languages that include English, commonly used in business, and Mandarin, as well as the official language, Malaysian, and an ethnic makeup that includes Chinese, Malays and Indians, it really is a true cultural melting pot. It’s also right at the centre of one of the most dynamic regions in the world – just 300km (187 miles) from Singapore and 1191km (740 miles) from Bangkok. And with Malaysia’s own economy tipped to grow by as much as 8% a year over the next decade, KL really is a city of the future.  

So KL is the perfect place for a company like IPGA, which owns seven online real estate portals operating throughout the Asia Pacific – from GoHome.hk and House18.com in Hong Kong to RealAcres.com in India and iProperty.com.my in its home country.

Operating across cultures is something Di Gregorio got used to in his former role as General Manager – International Business at REA Group. REA’s portfolio of companies includes Hong Kong site squarefoot.com.hk and the Australian was brought in to run IPGA partly because of his knowledge of the region.

“I was lucky to have spent quite a period of time around Asia, and I became very familiar with Hong Kong in particular,” he told us. “When it comes to managing a business across borders you have to make sure you have local teams who understand the local cultures, so your teams need to be different. But, at the end of the day, real estate isn’t that different wherever you go and the internet is playing an increasing role in the way people look for houses everywhere.”

Di Gregorio says that IPGA’s Hong Kong business is one of its three core businesses, the others being iProperty.com.my and Singapore’s iProperty.com.sg, and that these three brands are where he will be focusing most of his attention.

“In Hong Kong we’re just south of a billion people [in China] so it’s a good place to be,” he told us. “In Malaysia we’re already number one in the market and advertisers and consumers increasingly see us as a one stop shop for real estate. Singapore is a high growth market for us and there’s a lot of cross-over for our brand between Singapore and Malaysia.”

Di Gregorio says that while his immediate goal is for IPGA to be a clear number one in each of its three core markets, he doesn’t necessarily rule out the possibility of expanding into other markets in the region. “The race for emerging markets is on,” he told us. “You’re still seeing the battle to be number one raging.”

Rapid expansion was something fellow REA Group alumnus and new IPGA chairman, Simon Baker, made a name for in his time as CEO of the Australian real estate classifieds giant. Under Baker’s tenure, REA grew its revenues from $4m (US$3.5m) to $155m (US$135m) in the period between 2001 and 2008. In that time Baker acquired no less than 15 businesses around the globe and Di Gregorio says Baker will play a key role in setting the strategy for the company. “Simon’s first role with IPGA is to fulfill his duties as director,” Di Gregorio told us. “The board obviously plays a role in the strategic direction of the business and Simon will be making sure the strategic direction is right. He brings a wealth of experience to the board.”

Although IPGA is listed on the Australian Stock Exchange, one thing Di Gregorio says he won’t be doing is looking to take on his former employer in the Australian market. “That’s a blanket ‘no’,” he said when we put the idea to him.

It will be interesting to see whether or not the two former REA executives can combine to turn IPGA into another REA-like success story.