‘We don’t want to stay as we are’: CEO Patrick Ng builds a more resilient Huationg

[SINGAPORE] Long before Patrick Ng took the helm of Huationg Global, the foundations of his career were already being laid at construction sites he visited with his father while growing up.

Those early experiences sparked an interest in construction. Ng went on to study civil engineering at the University of London and joined the family business as an engineer in 1999.

He later became a director before taking the helm as chief executive officer when Huationg listed on the Singapore Exchange in 2014.

Back then, Huationg’s biggest projects were worth around S$8 million to S$10 million. Today, the Catalist-listed company takes on projects exceeding S$100 million, underpinned by upgraded construction licences and a broader set of capabilities built up over the years.

Huationg has also moved up the construction value chain. Once primarily a subcontractor specialising in earthworks and civil works, it is now a main contractor undertaking more projects across multiple trades, while expanding into new segments such as workers’ accommodation.

“It is the progression that we want for the company. We don’t want to stay as we are. We have to continue to grow and expand our business,” Ng told The Business Times.

Ng was named the Best CEO in the small-cap category at this year’s Singapore Corporate Awards.

“Relying on just one trade will not be enough to bring us through difficult, challenging times like Covid-19 or a financial downturn. We need to be in multiple industries, so that the company is able to sustain itself and be more resilient.”

Diversifying for resilience

That need for resilience was thrown into sharp relief during the pandemic, which Ng described as the greatest challenge of his tenure.

Construction work ground to a halt for about four months, leaving Huationg without project income even as repayments on heavy equipment continued to fall due. Employees, including Ng himself, took pay cuts.

Yet the pandemic also opened the door to a new business for Huationg.

In 2020, amid an urgent need for workers’ accommodation, Huationg bagged a contract from Changi Airport Group to build and operate the Changi East Workers Dormitory Village that houses up to 10,400 workers.

Huationg’s first foray into the sector was no small undertaking. The company had to deliver 30 dormitory blocks within just 18 months.

Having built up the necessary capabilities, Ng saw an opportunity to turn what began as a pandemic-era project into a longer-term business for the group.

Huationg subsequently secured a tenancy agreement with the Housing & Development Board to operate three dormitories at Lorong Bistari and Tengah. The tenancies commenced in January 2026 and run for about a year.

In July, it announced a S$58 million investment to acquire a 4,385-square-metre site in Changi South, where it plans to develop a purpose-built workers’ dormitory. Ng expects the development to come online in about 18 months and begin contributing to the group’s revenue.

Today, the group operates 4,000 dormitory beds, with the facilities operating at near-full capacity. For the first half ended June, the segment generated about S$10 million in revenue, making up around 5 per cent of the group’s top line.

Ng believes the workers’ accommodation business has legs to grow over the next five years, supported by demand for beds as Singapore’s construction pipeline ramps up.

Major projects in the pipeline include Changi Airport Terminal 5 and the Marina Bay Sands expansion. Singapore’s total construction demand is projected to average between S$39 billion and S$46 billion a year from 2027 to 2030.

Riding the construction boom

For all its diversification, however, civil engineering remains Huationg’s mainstay.

The segment continued to drive the group’s top-line growth in H1 FY2026, with contributions rising 58 per cent year on year and accounting for about 90 per cent of overall revenue.

Overall, Huationg’s revenue jumped 64 per cent on year to S$197.8 million in the half-year period, although net profit fell 10.8 per cent to S$7.7 million as higher fuel and supply-chain costs squeezed margins.

Huationg’s other businesses, including the sale of construction materials and inland logistics support, also help cushion the pressure on margins.

The group currently has an order book of about S$553 million, with projects expected to be completed over the next four years.

“We are in the second half of this super construction cycle. We believe there will be more jobs for us to secure,” said Ng.

He expects the group’s revenue growth to continue over the next three years as it takes on more projects.

Beyond riding the construction boom, Ng is also looking to shore up recurring income streams through construction maintenance and related businesses such as security systems and auxiliary works.

Manpower, however, remains a constraint on Huationg’s growth. Ng said the industry continues to struggle to attract and retain local talent. To plug the gap, the group has built up a multinational workforce and provides training for employees.

Building for the next gen

Huationg’s leadership remains a family affair, with Ng’s father and founder Ng Hai Liong as executive chairman, and his younger brother Vincent Ng as chief operating officer. Ng said major decisions, including the move into workers’ accommodation, are made collectively by the three.

Receiving the Best CEO award came as a surprise to Ng, but he sees the accolade as an affirmation that Huationg is heading in the right direction under his stewardship.

Looking ahead, succession is also on his mind. The group has been training younger engineers and other employees to take on more senior roles, while Ng has also been grooming the next generation of leaders by exposing them to different aspects of the business and preparing them to eventually understand and run the broader operation.

“We need more people to make sure that the business can run smoothly on auto mode and in the right direction.”