The Edge has a 2-page article on Tat Hong and Mr. Roland Ng. I shall not reproduce the full article here due to copyright issues, but I will do a summary as follows. For more details get a copy of The Edge at $3.80. Tat hong faces weaker demand and currency volatility, analyst opinion divided 1) Roland Ng says Tat Hong has "the right business model", and he believes the pace of building activity won't slow due to massive stimulus spending packages unleashed by many Governments as a result of the economic downturn. 2) In Singapore, over S$18 billion worth of public sector infrastructure projects are up for grabs. 3) Tutt Bryant is expanding its fleet of crawler cranes for LNG projects in Sydney and Melbourne. Roland Ng says although there is news of delays and stoppages of projects due to funding problems, there is still a big part of the business which is ongoing. 4) Tat Hong's associate, Yongmao, will benefit from China's RMB 4 Trillion stimulus package. Tat Hong itself has done a "roaring business" renting tower cranes in China. 5) Analysts add that renting equipment helps construction companies stay flexible and adapt quickly to changing demand. 6) Roland Ng concedes that even if rental demand remains firm, rental rates are likely to dip 5-10%. 7) Tat Hong imports cranes from Japan and earns most of its revenue in Australia and Singapore. In 3Q 2009, JPY strengthened against SGD by 19%, and against AUD by 41%. Though the Company has usually been able to adjust selling prices to factor in unfavourable exchange differences, Ong Tiew Siam (Exec Director at Tat Hong) says that this time around, the JPY was really volatile and that's why Tat Hong got "hit so bad". Comment: This makes the exchange loss seem like a one-time problem which is unlikely to occur with such magnitude in future periods. Read more...