Our History
Timeline
The start of a Singapore pioneer’s remarkable journey
Hong Leong Group Founder, Mr Kwek Hong Png left his native China at age sixteen to build a better life. He worked hard in his brother- in-law’s hardware business for 10 years and took English classes with the dream to start his own business.
Uniting family to seed ambition
With a decade of savings, our Founder started his own business in a red, two-storey shophouse along Beach Road trading building materials and paint among other things. He invited his three brothers to join him from China and named the business after one of his brothers, “Hong Leong”, which connotes how majestic mountains and oceans all have modest beginnings in the form of rocks and streams.
Opportunity knocks during tumultuous times
During the Japanese occupation, as other businesses crumbled, Hong Leong used its large warehouse and resources to buy and house building materials for sale, allowing more capital to be generated to expand the business further. Hong Leong was hence, able to diversify and grow much faster than others.
Cementing long-lasting partnerships, riding on economic growth
In the 50s, Hong Leong partnered with Onoda Cement and Mitsui & Co., who were pioneers in Asia for building materials, and leveraged the partnerships to offer superior products, further growing the business through Singapore Cement Manufacturing Company (“SCMC”). This also led to new opportunities amidst a developing Singapore – acquiring land and expanding into consumer financing. During this period, Hong Leong also entered the Malaysia market, first establishing Tasek Cement Berhad, followed by setting up a Hong Leong Malaysia branch to expand its real estate and banking activities.
Era of urbanisation during Singapore’s first decade
Island Concrete (Private) Limited was established, being the first ready- mix concrete supplier in Singapore. It’s first commercial project was Tanglin Shopping Centre, followed by well-known infrastructure projects such as Singapore’s Mass Rapid Transit System and Changi Airport Terminal 1 in the years to come.
After acquiring part of Hume Far East Group and renaming it Hong Leong Industries Manufacturing Limited (“HLIM”), in anticipation of the Housing Development Board’s policy to incorporate more precast elements in Singapore’s buildings, HLIM began to focus on precast production and was also successful in helping the construction industry with labour saving measures during a time of rising labour costs.
Hong Leong Group undergoes Singapore’s Transition
In a major restructuring exercise of the Group, Hong Leong Asia (“HLA”) consolidated all the Building Materials businesses of Hong Leong Group and is listed on the Singapore Stock Exchange.
HLA became a substantial stakeholder of Tasek Corporation Berhad (“Tasek”) (formally known as Tasek Cement Limited), a pioneer and major player of cement in Malaysia.
First Foray into China Mr Kwek Leng Peck led the group to acquire majority stake in Guangxi Yuchai Machinery Co., Ltd. (“GYMCL”), a Chinese diesel engine manufacturer listing it under China Yuchai International (“CYI”) on the New York Stock Exchange.
Singapore modernises into an iconic island-city state beyond economic success
Island Concrete secured a contract to supply 1.2 million cubic metre of ready-mix concrete for the iconic Marina Bay Sands Integrated Resort.
HLA expanded Tasek’s cement production capacity in Ipoh and soon after, established a ready-mix concrete business in Central Malaysia.
SCMC expanded its cement terminal operations with an added 24,000 tonne capacity to enable the storage of Portland Flyash Cement from its Japanese partners to provide the Singapore market with lower-carbon cement.
MOBILITY SECTOR REMAINS CORE TO HLA AS CHINA EXPERIENCES EXPONENTIAL GROWTH
GYMCL set up its first research and development centre in Nanning, Guangxi, to develop and test new prototypes to manage national emission standards and deliver energy efficient solutions.
Embedding sustainability and innovation to transform
The Building Materials business under Singapore launched two state-of- the-art facilities under its precast and ready-mix concrete arms to enable greener, automated operations while Malaysia created a new subsidiary to co-process waste materials to be recycled and used in its products and operations.
GYMCL set up its second research and development centre in Wuxi High Tech Zone to develop and test new prototypes to manage emission standards and deliver energy efficient products and fuel cell solutions.
#TheHLAStory
Awards & Accolades
Awards 2024
Named one of “Singapore’s Best Employer” for the second consecutive year by The Straits Times Singapore’s Best Employers 2024
Named Asia’s top 350 Asia-Pacific Climate Leaders 2024 for the third consecutive year by Financial Times and Statista for transparency in reporting and achieving greatest reduction in Scope I and Scope II Greenhouse Gas emissions intensity from 2017 to 2022
Ranked 14th amongst public-listed companies on the Singapore Governance and Transparency Index 2024
Ranked 118th in the inaugural Fortune Southeast Asia 500 companies in 2024
Awarded “Best Managed Board” (Gold Award, S$300 million to less than S$1 billion market capitalisation category) by Singapore Corporate Awards 2024
Awarded “Best Annual Report” (Silver Award, S$300 million to less than S$1 billion market capitalisation category) by Singapore Corporate Awards 2024
Awarded Silver Standard in Employee Experience & Well-being by Singapore Human Resources Institute (SHRI) at the 17th Singapore HR Awards 2024
Awards 2023
Named one of “Singapore’s Best Employer” by The Straits Times Singapore’s Best Employers 2023
Named Asia’s 275 leading public-listed companies by Financial Times and Statista for transparency in reporting and achieving greatest reduction in Scope I and Scope II Greenhouse Gas emissions intensity from 2016 to 2021
Ranked 16th amongst public-listed companies on the Singapore Governance and Transparency Index 2023
Awarded “Best Managed Board” (Silver Award, S$300 million to less than S$1 billion market capitalisation category) by Singapore Corporate Awards 2023
Awarded “Best Annual Report” (Bronze Award, S$300 million to less than S$1 billion market capitalisation category) by Singapore Corporate Awards 2023
Awards 2022
Named Asia’s 200 leading public-listed companies on the inaugural Nikkei-FT Statista Asia Pacific Climate Leaders list for transparency in reporting and the greatest reduction in Scope 1 and Scope 2 greenhouse gas emissions intensity from 2015 to 2020
Ranked 21st amongst 489 companies on the Singapore Governance and Transparency Index 2022
Awarded “Best Managed Board” (Silver Award, S$300 million to less than S$1 billion market capitalisation category) by Singapore Corporate Awards 2022
Awarded “Best Annual Report” (Bronze Award, S$300 million to less than S$1 billion market capitalisation category) by Singapore Corporate Awards 2022
Awarded “Best Traditional Annual Report” (Gold, Manufacturing & Distributing Category) at 2022 International Annual Report Competition Awards
Named “Grand Award Winner” (Best in Singapore), 2022 International Annual Report Competition Awards
Awards 2021
Ranked 21st amongst public-listed companies on the Singapore Governance and Transparency Index 2021