Building materials turnaround marks new direction for Hong Leong Asia

CEO Tan Eng Kwee is excited about how performance of building materials supply business is shifting HLA's bottom line.

Published Sun, Apr 5, 2020 · 09:50 PM

SIZE matters a lot in the building industry, and Hong Leong Asia (HLA), a leading supplier of ready-mixed and precast concrete to Singapore's construction industry, could strengthen its lead if Covid-19 accelerates consolidation in the market, chief executive Tan Eng Kwee believes.

Mr Tan told The Business Times last week: "Any prolonged (work) stoppages from Covid-19 or arising from Malaysia's movement control order will cause cash drain to players, so size matters."

HLA is the industrial manufacturing and distribution division of Singapore's Hong Leong Group.

The growth of any ready-mixed concrete player is also limited by the land available for batching plants. Currently, H…