“There may be an opportunity although the market may see it as a negative thing and there’s a knee-jerk reaction,” he says. “But we think we can price in the higher costs and go in conservatively – there may still be a chance.”

The construction-cum-property player already bought Toho Mansions along Holland Road en bloc in March for S$120.4 million. It is also developing Hollandia and The Estoril which it will develop in a 20:80 joint venture with Far East Consortium.

That means Mr Koh is not overly concerned even if he does not win any tenders. He is confident that the “upmarket yet vibrant” feel of Holland Village plus the company’s track record of creative development concepts, such as the cycling-themed Westwood Residences executive condominium (EC), will help sell units quickly.

At Toho Mansions, which Koh Brothers will launch in the first quarter of next year, he plans to complement the weekend markets and outdoor performances being planned at a Holland Road government land sale site with a concept that will “attract foreigners and tourists”.

The homegrown company’s real estate business, which it established in 1993, is also making its largest real estate play in overseas markets in over a decade.

The goal is to eventually increase real estate’s contributions to the topline, which stood at 2 per cent last year, as well as increase overseas contributions to revenue, which stood last financial year at 6 per cent of his topline.

Currently, the company has property projects in Malaysia and South Korea, and is on the hunt for more in South Korea and possibly, Vietnam. Asia’s growth, fuelled by the China Belt and Road Initiative, is attractive, plus spreading out geographically will help minimise risk, Mr Koh says.

The company broke into South Korea last year by buying a plot in Seoul’s upmarket Gangnam district for 95.8 billion Korean won (S$115.7 million) in a joint venture with a local developer to develop the mixed-use development Nonhyeon I’PARK. The project sold 96 per cent of its units within three months of its March 2018 launch.

He is looking to Seoul and Busan for more opportunities, excited by South Korea’s large population and what he calls a vibrant and dynamic economy.

Demand will continue to be robust in the capital, particularly due to the high rental demand from office workers who move from other parts of the country to work there. Another draw will be a 1.3 trillion won project to build an underground public transit terminal in Gangnam slated to be completed by 2023.

In Malaysia, the company entered into a joint venture with local partners in February to buy a plot at RM7.5 million (S$2.5 million) to develop into a mixed-use property. The seller is in the process of transferring the titles to the joint venture company.

In FY2017, 97 per cent of Koh Brothers’ S$369.4 million revenue came from its construction and building materials segment with leisure and hospitality making up one per cent.

That year, net profit rose 49 per cent to S$19.8 million, mostly thanks to the higher share of profit of joint ventures due to earnings recognised on completion of Westwood Residences. Things are looking up in the construction sector as well: its order book also hit a record S$915.9 million, helped by projects such as the Woodlands Health Campus (S$192 million), Deep Tunnel Sewerage System Phase 2 (S$182 million) and Circle Line 6 (S$225.4 million).

Mr Koh believes that the construction is on the upturn already thanks to more building demand in the public infrastructure sector.

Koh Brothers has plans to tender for the Tuas Water Reclamation Plant, Rapid Transit System and logistics and infrastructure at Changi Airport.

Mr Koh also credits his current order book size, which is up from S$600 million in March 2016, to the injection of Koh Brothers’ construction arm into its listed subsidiary Koh Brothers Eco Engineering for some S$19 million.

That put various parts of its business from construction to civil engineering to environmental engineering under one roof, resulting in “greater synergy which helped us get better and bigger projects”, he says.

“Construction is very competitive, but we’re in a leadership position locally,” he says, citing the company’s wide-ranging experience in projects such as desalination plants and tunnelling and high-profile projects like the Marina Barrage.

In the company’s leisure and hospitality segment where it has Oxford Hotel and Alocassia Apartments, Mr Koh says that the team might look further afield from Singapore for expansion, including in Vietnam, where “the land cost is cheaper”.

One of Mr Koh’s sons is working at Koh Brothers – in its construction business. He has two other children. His daughter is a lawyer, and another son is working in the financial industry. All are in their twenties.

Regarding the question of succession – his father is the group’s founding chairman Koh Tiat Meng – Mr Koh says that there was no firm plan in motion yet. “I’m not planning anything as of yet . . . I just want to teach them what I know and the rest depends on their interests.”

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The group said the decline in net profit was due to a 16 per cent fall in gross profit, resulting from reduced profit margins from the group’s Building Materials subsidiaries.

Managing Director and Group CEO of Koh Brothers, Francis Koh, said the firm remains optimistic of good growth opportunities, in line with the upbeat economy and positive sentiments for both the construction and property segments.

The outlook for the hospitality division has also improved, with an increase in occupancy rates.

Source : Channel NewsAsia – 11 Aug 2010

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Revenue increased 39 per cent to S$84.8 million compared to the same period last year.

The group says this was on the back of improved performance from its Construction and Building Materials divisions.

Looking ahead, group managing director Francis Koh says with general market sentiment picking up, the firm expects the residential property market to continue being active this year.

Koh Brothers says it will time the release of residential units for sale in line with market demand.

As for the Construction and Building Materials division, Mr Koh adds that the firm has a healthy order book over the next two years.

Meanwhile, the group says the outlook for its Hospitality division has improved, with occupancy rates, and it is cautiously optimistic that this trend will continue.

Source : Channel NewsAsia – 12 May 2010

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The fall was mainly due to the absence of revaluation gains which it had booked in the previous financial year.

Revenue for the 12 months ended December dropped 24 per cent to S$216 million.

CEO Francis Koh said the company is in the midst of a challenging period and will continue to monitor the market for its real estate division.

The company said it will launch projects on hand at the appropriate time.

Mr Koh said the company has over S$600 million of contracts in hand for its construction and building materials segments.

He said these will contribute positively to Koh Brothers’ earnings in the current financial year and the years ahead.

Source : Channel NewsAsia – 25 Feb 2009

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The contract, which is awarded by the Housing and Development Board (HDB), is worth S$144.6 million.

Under the deal, Koh Brothers will build a 2.4-kilometre waterway and its related engineering works in Punggol Town.

The waterway, which will have a promenade on both banks, will be connected to Sungei Punggol.

The Punggol Waterway is part of a larger project by HDB towards making Punggol a vibrant people-centred township.

With the latest deal, Koh Brothers said it would have total contracts-in-hand of over S$690 million.

Work on the project will start next month and is expected to be completed by fourth quarter 2010.

Koh Brothers expects the contact to have a positive material impact on its financial performance for the year ending December 31, 2009.

Source : Channel NewsAsia – 28 Jan 2009

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Plans to revamp Punggol were announced by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong at the National Day Rally in August 2007. They include the construction of a 4.2-kilometre waterway which will be connected to Sungei Punggol.

Construction of the waterway is scheduled to start in February and complete by the fourth quarter of 2010.

Residents in Punggol can look forward to various recreational activities that range from water sports to walks on landscaped promenades along the banks of the waterway.

More than 4,000 public flats have already been launched in Punggol. By end-2011, there will be about 23,000 completed flats in the estate.

In the longer term, another 21,000 units of public and private housing will be built along the waterway for residents to enjoy waterfront housing in Singapore’s latest town.

Source : Channel NewsAsia – 28 Jan 2009

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Koh Brothers said this is the single largest contract it has ever clinched.

The 4.3-kilometre section of the Downtown Line 1 runs from Bugis station on the East-West Line to Chinatown station on the Northeast Line. It will serve the upcoming developments in the Marina Bay area.

The Downtown Line 1 has six stations – Bugis, Promenade, Bayfront, Landmark, Cross Street and Chinatown. Construction is scheduled to start in the first quarter of next year and complete by 2013.

Koh Brothers said the latest contract is not expected to have any material impact on its earnings for the current financial year ending December 31.

Source : Channel NewsAsia – 2 Dec 2008

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The sharp spike in the bottomline was due mainly to fair value gains on investment properties. There was also an exceptional gain of S$5.6 million after the company sold three units in Shantou, China.

Sales rose 10 percent to S$285.5 million and Koh Brothers remains bullish about its outlook.

It expects construction demand in Singapore to continue to be vibrant, reaching between S$23 billion and S$27 billion this year.

The company said it would bid for more large-scale public sector projects such as the 5-kilometre long Marina Coastal Expressway, a new MRT line and the Seletar Reservoir Water Treatment Works.

Although rising costs will be a key challenge for the construction industry, the firm believes demand for building material products will remain strong, benefiting its building materials division.

Given the positive outlook for the private residential market, Koh Brothers said it would continue to focus on premium real estate developments.

Barring unforeseen circumstances, the group expects to remain profitable in FY2008.

Source : Channel NewsAsia – 26 Feb 2008

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