When Kong Chee Min joined Centurion as an accountant in 1996, it was a thriving company manufacturing optical disks for CDs and DVDs. It had been listed on the Singapore Exchange S68 Sesdaq just a year before and would be listed on the mainboard in 1998.
Even as he quickly rose through the ranks to become its finance director and regional CEO by 2011, the rise of the internet then was casting a shadow on its future. “We knew that the sector was going to sunset, and we needed to come up with a solution,” he says.
At the time, the firm’s controlling shareholder had a small business operating accommodation for workers and presented it as an option. Kong says: “He wanted us to look at it and see if we could take over and scale it. When we studied its potential, we realised we could take it globally. That was the turning point for us.”
In 2011, Centurion completed the reverse acquisition exercise and started its diversification into the worker accommodation business. At the same time, Kong was appointed as the firm’s CEO to oversee its operations, strategies and long-term growth objectives.
He adds: “We were beginning our journey to transform the company from just manufacturing to operating and managing another kind of business, in the real estate and service industry.”
“To steer a firm out of a sunset industry and reinvent the organisation so that it not only survives but succeeds in a completely different business, I think this is a rare challenge few companies will ever face.”
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Specialised accommodation
From the outset of Centurion’s diversification, Kong knew it had to expand beyond Singapore. He explains: “While there are growth opportunities for workers’ accommodation in Singapore, these are quite limited because land is scarce. If we wanted to grow, we had to go overseas.”
It made its foray into Malaysia in 2012 and established its Westlite Accommodation brand, opening dormitory properties for foreign and migrant workers. While the venture was successful early on, the company was eager to do more.
In 2014, it diversified again into student accommodation. “We were not doing something entirely different, so the risk was not very high,” Kong says. This lateral move broadened its geographical footprint into Australia, the UK, and the US.
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Today, Centurion is one of the largest providers of workers’ accommodation in Singapore and Malaysia, operating 17 properties in the two countries. Its student accommodation portfolio, managed under its ‘dwell’ brand, spans 17 assets in Australia, the UK and the US.
The decisions to diversify and globalise have paid off handsomely. Over the past 12 years, the firm has reported strong and sustained growth, with a 27% CAGR in revenue and a 25% CAGR in net profit.
“We are well-positioned as a multinational company with a presence in six countries, including our sales and marketing office in China. This gives our group stability and a wider scope for growth,” Kong notes.
He is also proud of how Centurion has set itself apart from other accommodation providers by focusing on the welfare of those who live in its properties. “It’s not just about giving them a place to stay. Our residents are young students and migrant workers living away from their home countries or cities. They are in more vulnerable circumstances or stages of life.”
“We care greatly to provide for their physical, mental and social well-being. This includes building a warm, caring and inclusive community at each property, with employees passionate to serve and serve these particular groups of people. We also organise regular activities so residents can live, learn and play in a safe and secure environment.”
Strategising for the future
While Centurion has laid a strong foundation for its future, it is not taking success for granted. The pandemic, in particular, was a sobering reminder of how business landscapes can change instantly. “That period was difficult for us,” Kong says.
The firm complied with government regulations and took extra precautions to keep residents and staff safe and boost their morale. It worked with supermarkets, mini-marts and canteen operators to ensure adequate food and necessities, provided free WiFi services in-room, and set up remittance service options within dormitories, among other measures.
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In 2020, it also secured a bid to be among the first to manage quick-build dormitories (QBDs) in Singapore, which pilot new specifications for migrant workers’ care and pandemic management. Centurion currently manages four QBDs.
Kong adds: “During the pandemic years, the challenge was maintaining our group’s performance and managing our different stakeholders and their expectations. We succeeded in doing both, and I’m happy with the result.”
Looking ahead, the company has numerous plans and targets in mind. Kong continues: “One of our key initiatives is our asset-light strategy for portfolio and revenue growth. We recognised several years ago that it would be challenging to scale our asset portfolio on our resources. In prudence, we don’t want to overload our balance sheet.”
“We therefore embarked on asset-light means to enlarge our portfolio of revenue-generating assets by providing investment opportunities and management services to investors keen to tap into the specialised accommodation business.”
Centurion has also stepped up its environmental, social and governance (ESG) efforts by piloting waste management programmes, rolling out Internet-of-Things devices and systems to track and manage resource usage and emissions, and more.
Kong says: “This is important to us, not just as a matter of compliance in some cases, but because we want to move towards carbon neutrality in the long term, as a responsible corporation in a global community.”
It also invests in digitalisation, automation, training, and incentive programmes to upskill and retain its workforce. The latter are especially close to Kong’s heart. He adds: “To transform the company from its former optical disk manufacturing business into the specialised accommodation business that it is today, we could not have done this without a visionary and committed team of board members, management and staff.”
“Even now, after over a decade, I am grateful and inspired that many of our talents stayed with us through the transformation and reskilled themselves to contribute to the firm’s strong performance today. I want them to continue on this journey with us.”
About Centurion Corporation OU8
Centurion Corporation develops and manages quality, purpose-built workers’ accommodation assets in Singapore and Malaysia and student accommodation assets in Australia, the UK and the US. The Group owns and manages a strong portfolio of 34 operational accommodation assets totalling approximately 66,628 beds as of 30 June 2023. Centurion’s established portfolio of workers' accommodation assets is managed under the “Westlite Accommodation” brand and comprises nine workers' accommodation assets in Singapore and eight workers' accommodation assets in Malaysia. The Group’s student accommodation assets are managed under the “dwell” brand, with ten assets in the UK, five in the US and two in Australia. The company’s website is http://www.centurioncorp.com.sg
About kopi-C: the Company brew
kopi-C is a regular column by SGX Research in collaboration with Beansprout (https://growbeansprout.com), a MAS-licensed investment advisory platform that features C-level executives of leading companies listed on SGX. These interviews are profiles of senior management aimed at helping investors better understand the individuals who run these corporations.
