Kenny Yap - The Fish and chips on his shoulders

THE chairman of Qian Hu, Kenny Yap, finds himself once more having to prove the doubters wrong as he guides the fish and aquarium accessories supplier to the verge of its latest transformation. "When we listed the company in 2000, I read some forums and some people criticising the Singapore Exchange for allowing a fishy, small family-run business to be listed on the stock exchange," said Mr Yap, whose nickname is The Fish. "I looked at it, I didn't agree with this kind of criticism ... I want to send the message, it's not about fishy or not fishy, family or non-family, small or big. It's about running a good company."

Research and development focused on improving export market share, growing the casual retail market and improving efficiency are the key thrusts as Qian Hu completes its shift away from an arowana-heavy portfolio, said Mr Yap. And all of that is with the goal of laying the foundation for future generations of the Qian Hu family. "I'm not a contract CEO," Mr Yap said. "I think all the CEOs, if he has a sense of duty, it's to try to build a company that lasts beyond a generation ... I still always think that what we're doing right now is still building a foundation."

For all the accolades that Qian Hu has been receiving for its governance standards, its stock has not exactly been a great investment. Qian Hu listed in 2000 with an initial public offering (IPO) price of 30 Singapore cents per share. At the latest close of 8.3 Singapore cents, Qian Hu stock today trades at a 12 per cent discount to its adjusted IPO price of 9.4 Singapore cents, according to data from Shareinvestor.com. The adjusted IPO price reflects corporate actions over the years.