Centurion Corp eyes Middle East expansion while shoring up domestic presence

[SINGAPORE] 2025 was a landmark year for property player Centurion Corp , marked by the listing of its accommodation trust in one of Singapore’s largest initial public offerings of the year.

The group is now laying the groundwork for its next growth phase, with its first foray into the Middle East. 

Speaking to The Business Times, Centurion Corp chief executive officer Kong Chee Min said the Middle East is ripe with opportunity, given its heavy reliance on migrant labour and largely expatriate workforce. 

Currently, the group has a dedicated team of two based in the region, which will grow with the business.

The plan is to assess potential sites – mainly completed assets – and identify joint venture partners, focusing on around three key countries before gradually scaling operations, said Kong.  

Some markets may require joint ventures with local partners, while in others, Centurion could operate independently, depending on local conditions and the level of expertise needed. 

The company is targeting blue- and grey-collar workers – those whose jobs involve a blend of physical labour and technical expertise. 

“At the moment, the accommodations (in the region) are not the best,” said Kong. “We intend, based on our experience in Singapore of what is good worker accommodation, to use that template… and do the same thing in the Middle East.” 

This goes beyond the buildings to management practices, training and activities to support workers’ well-being, in line with Centurion’s Westlite model in Singapore. 

Development costs in the Middle East are broadly similar to Malaysia. Rents are also similar to Malaysia at RM200 (S$64.61) to RM240 per bed per month, said Kong. But margins could be higher, and the region’s larger workforce makes the market far bigger than Singapore and Malaysia. 

The expansion will be done in “baby steps”, with the group carefully navigating local regulations, geopolitical risks and differing operating environments, said Kong. “Other than that, these are workers we know well… which is why we are more optimistic that we should do pretty well.” 

At the same time, Centurion remains focused on its core markets closer to home. 

“Singapore is still my bread and butter,” said Kong. “We want to grow much, much bigger in the worker accommodation space.” 

The group has been working with the government to identify suitable land for purpose-built workers accommodation “so that we are not so passive”, he said.

It recently announced a joint venture with a local company that owns a plot of freehold land in Tai Seng, which is zoned for Business 2 use. Centurion aims to develop and operate a purpose-built workers accommodation on the site, subject to various approvals.

Malaysia is also on the radar. 

Although not part of (CAReit) portfolio due to its emerging market risks, Kong said the group remains optimistic about Malaysia, with plans to grow its Malaysian portfolio to around RM$1 billion. 

On a potential real estate investment trust (Reit) in Malaysia, Kong said: “I don’t over-promise anything, but of course, a Malaysia Reit is something we would definitely look at.” This could help with capital recycling and its expansion in Malaysia, in the same way as CAReit. 

Growth strategy

Beyond geographic expansion, CAReit supports Centurion’s growth strategy. 

“(It) allows us to scale our portfolio and assets under management faster and better, with lower costs,” said Kong, noting the platform is “more efficient for raising debt”. Equity fund-raising also supports capital recycling, allowing the Reit to grow its asset base.

In the shorter term, he acknowledged there may be a reduction in income, after spinning off around 60 per cent of its assets into the Reit. This would also weigh on near-term earnings per share. 

But over the longer term, Kong said the successful spin-off of the Reit enables Centurion to grow sustainably and pursue new opportunities without relying solely on its balance sheet, which it had done for the past 15 years.  

The chief executive added that housing the assets in CAReit makes it easier for investors and analysts to distinguish between the asset-owning Reit and the operating sponsor, and better value each entity. “Workers’ accommodation as an asset class was not well recognised, and valuations (were) below where we think they should be.” 

Over the past year, the group’s share price has increased nearly 50 per cent, from just under a dollar in early February 2025, to S$1.52 on Feb 13, 2026. 

Still, some analysts view Centurion as undervalued relative to its fundamentals. 

RHB analyst Alfie Teo reiterated a “buy” call last month, noting a 34 per cent upside with a forecasted yield of around 3 per cent for FY2026. 

Investment advisory platform Beansprout also placed Centurion’s share price target at S$1.815 as at Feb 13. Based on its current share price of S$1.52, this represents an upside potential of 19.4 per cent. 

Going forward, Kong said investor education, including tapping into SGX initiatives, will be a key focus.

With CAReit now stable, he added that Centurion plans to be bolder in pursuing developments. “We have a pipeline of assets, and as a sponsor, we will develop, stabilise and then inject (them) into the Reit, recycling capital.”  

The group’s consolidated gearing of around 10 per cent also leaves ample headroom to fund pipelines in markets such as the Middle East and Malaysia. 

“The growth trajectory (of the whole group) over the next few years is going to be exciting,” Kong said. “We are very busy this year with different challenges, in terms of how we deploy the funds… and patch the gap of future growth and the shorter term reduction of income (that) will be paid off in the next few years.”

Asked about Centurion’s full-year performance, Kong declined to comment. “But based on what you can see from the half-year results, our growth is not that modest… We believe that, based on our asset class, there must be a reason why we are able to grow so well.”

For the nine months ended Sep 2025, Centurion’s revenue was up 12 per cent to S$208.3 million, driven by strong demand for purpose-built workers accommodation and robust construction activity. Its full-year results will be published after trading hours on Feb 26.