"𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐀𝐫𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐑𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐏𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐞."
That's what the neon sign in the pantry said. Quite an interesting welcome at an industrial property developer's office, isn't it? 😄
Last Friday, I joined a group of fellow market professionals for a visit to $Soon Hock(SHE.SI) Enterprise at its Jalan Papan headquarters
Now, when you think of an industrial property developer, you probably picture warehouses, factories and lots of concrete.
But walking around Soon Hock's office was quite a different experience!
Paintings, artistic touches, a cosy pantry, and even a karaoke room with another interesting motto: "Work Hard, Play Hard and Party Even Harder." Haha.
The place had a rather warm, family-like feel. Not quite what I expected!
Of course, I wasn't there just to admire the office. 😄
Soon Hock has an interesting journey, evolving from its logistics roots into industrial property development. With Stellar@Tampines recently completed and Skye@Tuas targeting completion in 1H2027, there's certainly more to watch as its development pipeline takes shape.
One thing I was curious about was whether Soon Hock would eventually build up more recurring income, rather than relying mainly on property development.
So I put that question to CEO Walter Tan.
Walter shared that they are always keeping an eye out for opportunities, although recurring income currently makes up less than 10% of the business.
I think that's something worth watching. Property development can be rewarding, but earnings can also be quite uneven, depending on when projects are completed. Having more rental income could help smooth things out over time.
Another thing I wanted to know was how Walter hoped retail investors would view Soon Hock.
His answer? 𝐀 𝐠𝐫𝐨𝐰𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐧𝐲.
Walter also pointed out that management are shareholders themselves, so they have a vested interest in growing the business. And if the company can grow its dividends along the way, both management and minority shareholders stand to benefit.
Quite a sensible way of looking at it, I thought.
Of course, there's still work to be done.
Like any newly listed developer, there are things investors will be watching. Trading liquidity, earnings visibility and, importantly, how well the company delivers on its projects and builds up its future pipeline.
A big thank you to Walter, CFO Veron Heng, Director of Project Execution, Christine Loo, and the Soon Hock management team for the warm hospitality and open sharing. Also, thanks to Gwendalyn Sim from SGListCos and Darren Lee from SGX for putting together this visit. Really appreciate the opportunity!
Coming back to that pantry sign.
"𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐀𝐫𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐑𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐏𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐞."
For the people working there, perhaps it's about belonging.
For investors, being in the right place is only half the story.
𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥 𝐪𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐢𝐬 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐠𝐫𝐨𝐰 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐛𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐨𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐫𝐨𝐰.
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