BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN, Brunei - Three new boats made by a local company will be shipped to Singapore within the next three months, marking an extension of the company's business reach beyond Brunei and East Malaysia.
Tan Soo Yong, managing director of Ken and Tan Sdn Bhd, yesterday said that the company has received orders from Singaporean shipping and marine supplier YMC Marine Singapore Pte Ltd for two 19-foot and a 23-foot boat, all of which are worth over $24,000 (S$30,982.32)
"The 23-foot boat, which can carry 12 passengers, will be transported to Singapore by this Thursday," he told The Brunei Times in an interview at the company's factory in Kg Salar.
On the other hand, the 19-foot boats with a capacity of seven passengers, is still under construction with the mould expected to be ready by this month, according to Tan.
He said that the boats, which are made with hulls that are designed to cut through waves, will be used mostly for transportation purposes in rivers and seas closer inland.
"It is generally used for transporting people but the boat is multipurpose and its use can vary depending on the customers' need for it," he said.
According to Tan, the price of the boats was one of the major factors that attracted the Singaporean buyer. This is because production costs are lower in Brunei than in Singapore.
"We are in a good position to compete by being in Brunei because we have the price factor working for us. If we were to expand to Singapore, it would be much harder to compete," he said.
He said that the company must also maintain their prices due to competitors in regional countries such as Malaysia which can make the boats at even lower prices.
"However, the Singaporeans were looking for something of a higher quality and we were able to do that at a reasonable price," Tan said.
Tan previously made the intention to extend is market reach to the city state in July after having met representatives from Singapore earlier this year.
Apart from Singapore, Ken and Tan Sdn Bhd has been maintaining a presence in neighbouring Malausian states of Sabah and Sarawak and Labuan island since the year 2000.
Tan said that the company intends to keep a strong focus on the East Malaysian markets as they are doing "very well" there.