In February 2026, Nam Cheong Limited announced that it had won a new shipbuilding contract. The last time it had announced something like this was more than 10 years ago. The deal—US$64.5 million for four vessels commissioned by a UAE-based energy logistics company—was notable for its size, but it also signalled something more. The Sarawak-based offshore support vessel (OSV) builder had been through one of the most brutal downturns in the history of its industry. It had restructured its debt, let go of staff, and even had customers default and threaten legal action. Through all of this, it survived. For retail investors who have followed Nam Cheong's journey through those years, the contract announcement must have been a long-awaited sign. Yet CEO Leong Seng Keat is careful not to read too much into any single data point. This includes the surge in oil prices that has accompanied the ongoing US-Israel-Iran...
