Qian Hu Corporation

Qian Hu Corporation Limited (Chinese: 仟湖集团 ) is a Singapore-based ornamental fish service provider, with services ranging from the farming, importing, exporting and distribution of ornamental fish, to their specialty of breeding Dragon Fish (aka Arowana). [“Company Profile.” "Qian Hu Corporation Limited Official Website". 12 Apr. 2008 ] Qian Hu exports more than 500 species and varieties of ornamental fish. [“General Information on Our Group.” "Qian Hu Corporation Limited - Prospectus dated 28 October 2000". 28 Oct. 2000: 36-49. National University of Singapore. ] Other services they offer also include the manufacturing and distribution of more than 5000 types of aquarium and pet accessories locally, as well as worldwide. ["Ibid".] Singapore exports one-third of the world’s ornamental fish and Qian Hu has been a major contributor to this massive trade. [Geow, Teresa. “INTERVIEW – Singapore fish breeder Qian Hu eyes China pond.” "Reuters News". 28 July 2005: 15.] It exports fish to more than 45 countries across the globe, with primary markets in Japan, China, Taiwan, the United Kingdom, Germany, France, as well as the rest of Europe and North Asia. [“General Information on Our Group.” 36.] Qian Hu has offices and outlets in three other countries: Malaysia, China and Thailand, and hopes to eventually expand its reach even further across the Asian region. [“Company Profile.”]

History

The humble beginnings of Qian Hu go back to the 1980s when Yap Tik Huay, father of current Managing Director Kenny Yap, and Yap Tik Huay’s brother, Yap Hey Cha ran a pig farm, rearing pigs as a family business. [“History of Qian Hu.” "Qian Hu Corporation Limited Official Website". 12 Apr. 2008 ]

During that time, however, the Singapore government was in the midst of making efforts to relocate and eventually wipe out all pig farms in the country not only because of the pollution they were causing, but also to make room for other urban and residential developments. ["Ibid".]

The Yap family’s pig farm was no exception to the government’s actions and in 1985, they had no choice but to convert their pig farm into a fish farm. [“At Home with Kenny Yap.” "At Home with Lisa Ang". Channel NewsAsia. Singapore. 12 Feb. 2002.] By this time, three of Yap Tik Huay’s sons, Yap Peng Heng, Yap Hock Huat and Yap Kim Choon, had begun working in the family business to lend a helping hand. [“History of Qian Hu.”] The cubicles that originally penned in pigs were converted to concrete ponds for breeding guppies meant to be sold to local ornamental fish exporters. [“At Home with Kenny Yap.”]

Tragically, in the Great Singapore Flood of 1989, the family’s entire stock of over 4000 fish was washed away in a heavy thunderstorm. ["Ibid".] Left with nothing, the Yaps had to start anew, renaming their family business to hallmark their new beginning. [“History of Qian Hu.”] The family business became known as Qian Hu (meaning ‘Thousand Lakes’ in Mandarin) and Kenny Yap, together with his two cousins Andy and Alvin Yap, joined the business in hopes of helping to pull it back up on its feet. ["Ibid".]

Thus, in 1990, Qian Hu ventured into wholesale, island-wide distribution and began to increase the range and variety of ornamental fish they sold. ["Ibid".] Aside from the guppies, Koi and Goldfish they sold at that time, fishes from the Chiclid (Discus included) and Gourami families were some of the new varieties introduced. [“General Information on Our Group.” 36.] Besides that, Qian Hu also began to manufacture its own accessories in an attempt to branch out its business. [“History of Qian Hu.”]

Then, in 1992, Qian Hu eventually began importing ornamental fish and exporting them worldwide, making a name for itself as one of the world’s leading exporters of ornamental fish. ["Ibid".] At the same time, Qian Hu took the opportunity to begin exporting its manufactured aquarium accessories. [“General Information on Our Group.” 36.]

On December 12, 1998, the company was incorporated under the Act as Qian Hu Fish Farm Pte Ltd to take over the partnership of Qian Hu Trading and Yi Hu, respectively established in 1988 and 1989. ["Ibid".]

Qian Hu Corporation Limited was listed on the Singapore Exchange’s (SGX) Stock Exchange of Singapore Dealing and Automated Quotation system (SESDAQ) in the year 2000. [“History of Qian Hu.”] By November 2002, it was moved to the Main Board of the Singapore Exchange. ["Ibid".]

Mission and Vision

Mission

Qian Hu’s mission is “to create shareholders' value by becoming a world class ornamental fish and accessories company through innovative and quality products and services”. [“Our Missions, Public Responsibility, Philosophy and Vision.” "Qian Hu Corporation Limited Official Website". 12 Apr. 2008 < http://203.116.88.76/default.asp?id=43&mnu=43>]

Vision

Qian Hu’s vision is “to be the World's Biggest Ornamental Fish and Aquarium & Pet Accessories Service Provider”. ["Ibid".]

Their objectives for this vision include:

* Becoming the world’s number one ornamental fish exporter
* Escalating export of aquarium and pet accessories and to make "Ocean Free" one of the most recognized aquarium accessories brand
* Being the most innovative and profitable Dragon Fish breeder
* Being one of the top 3 manufacturers of aquarium accessories in China
* Expanding distribution capabilities from owning the business to owning the customers

Key People

Kenny Yap

Qian Hu’s current Managing Director and Executive Chairman, Kenny Yap, is often credited for the Group’s success, as his many innovative ideas have brought the company much acclaim.

The youngest of the seven sons in the Yap family, Yap was allowed the privilege of being educated overseas, unlike his elder brothers who had to remain in Singapore in order to help put at the farm. [“Kenny Yap.” "First Fortune". Channel NewsAsia. Singapore. 10 Mar. 2000.] Yap graduated from Ohio State University with first class honours in Business Administration and returned home to the dwindling guppy farm. [“At Home with Kenny Yap.”] Seeing its condition, he, his brothers and two cousins banded together to revive the family business.

Since then, Yap has been working closely with his cousins and relatives to bring the company success. He was an active member of the Young Entrepreneur’s Organisation and was conferred the Singapore Youth Award in 1998. ["Ibid".]

Branding

Qian Hu’s corporate logo is that of a Chinese high fin banded shark ("Myxocyprinus asiaticus"), or what the company commonly refers to as a high-fin loach.

The story behind their use of the high-fin loach as their mascot comes not long after the Yap family faced the major setback of having lost their entire crop of guppies to the massive flood in 1989. In an attempt to get the business going again, Qian Hu invested its money in raising high-fin loaches. These fishes, at the time, cost SGD 100 to 200 each for a small specimen and the Yap family had been trying to bring the fish up to the desirable market size in order to sell them at a premium. [“Kenny Yap.”] However, tragedy struck whilst they expanded their premises. The move had caused a ‘shocking wave’ that travelled through the tanks of fish, subsequently killing all the high-fin loaches over a mere span of two to three days. ["Ibid".] This ‘shocking wave’, was in fact the vibrations given off by the power tools used to install new fish tanks. [“Qian Hu swims in profit after foolish start with fish.” "South China Morning Post". 26 Jul. 2002: 3.] The family had not known that he fish happened to be highly sensitive to these vibrations. [“At Home with Kenny Yap.”] Once again, they were left with nothing but two grim lessons. As Kenny Yap recites time and again in his interviews, the lessons learnt were to not “put all your eggs in one basket” and to remember the importance of knowing a product well before investing in it. [“Kenny Yap.”] Hence, their mascot serves as a reminder to them of the mistakes they had made and to never make the same ones again. [“History of Qian Hu.”]

Regional Expansion

Qian Hu has been distributing aquarium and pet accessories to China, Malaysia and Thailand since 1999. [“History of Qian Hu.”]

In 2004, Qian Hu launched its retail store strategy, “Qian Hu – The Pet Family”, all across Asia, with outlets in major cities like Shanghai, Nanjing, Kuala Lumpur, Batu Pahat, Bangkok and Bandung. ["Ibid".] Each of these retail chain stores sells ornamental fish as well as aquarium and pet accessories, some even providing grooming services for pets.

China

Qian Hu was involved in a joint-venture and later incorporated with The China Aquaculture Society to form Beijing Qian Hu Aquarium and Pets Co., Ltd (also known as Qian Yang) in 1993. ["General Information on Our Group." 36.] The company, based in Beijing, supplied cold-water ornamental fish and aquarium accessories to the northern areas of China. ["Ibid".] Two years passed and Qian Hu had acquired full control and ownership of the joint-venture company in 1995. ["Ibid".]

Together with a Taiwanese partner, another joint-venture company was set up in Guangzhou, China, in 2001. [“History of Qian Hu.”] Known as Wan Jiang Technology Co Ltd, the joint-venture company produces aquarium and pet accessories of the Group’s propriety brands, as well as other third party brands and distributes them to Qian Hu’s regional subsidiaries in other countries such as Japan, Germany and the United Kingdom. ["Ibid".] Wan Jiang eventually became a subsidiary of Qian Hu when it was decided that Qian Hu would increase its stake in Wan Jiang. ["Ibid".]

Malaysia

2002 saw the setting up of a new fish division of Qian Hu in Malaysia. ["Ibid".] In an attempt to ensure a reliable and stable source of Dragon Fish for Qian Hu’s overseas subsidiaries and markets in Taiwan and Japan, the Group acquired one of the top Dragon Fish breeders in Batu Pahat, Malaysia in 2003—Kim Kang Aquaculture Sdn Bhd. ["Ibid".]

Thailand

Besides the joint-venture in China in 2001, Qian Hu also successfully set up a new subsidiary in Thailand that year. ["Ibid".] Thai Qian Hu Company Ltd, as it was later named, was 66% owned by Qian Hu in 2000. ["General Information on Our Group." 36.] During that year, distribution and export of aquarium and pet accessories had to be put on hold for a period of time as Qian Hu awaited the approval of its license by Thailand’s Ministry of Commerce (MOC) for the commencement of business in Thailand. ["Ibid".] The application of the license was part of the procedure as directed by Thailand’s Foreign Business Act (FBA). ["Ibid".]

However, it was reported in the "Singapore Business Times" that Qian Hu failed to get the license approved. [“Qian Hu fails to get distribution licence in Thailand.” "Business Times Singapore". 13 Feb. 2001.] Thus the company attempted to restructure such that it could maintain control of the company but still operate in Thailand without a foreign business license. ["Ibid".]

When Qian Hu finally gained the approval of Thailand’s Board of Investments to export and distribute ornamental tropical fish, in 2002 it entered a twenty joint venture with a pair of Thai nationals: Mrs. Somchit Purananant and Mr. Surajit Maneechote. [“Singapore’s Qian Hu in Thai fish farming venture.” "Asia Pulse". 29 Jan. 2002: 43.]

Awards and Achievements

Being awarded three ISO 9002s and an ISO 14001 were major achievements for Qian Hu as such awards were firsts for fish farms in Singapore and around the world. ["At Home with Kenny Yap."]

The ISO 9002 certification is given to companies that have outstanding quality management systems. Qian Hu’s first ISO 9002 was awarded to Qian Hu Trading in 1996 by SGS Yarsley for their conditioning and packing of their ornamental fish for export. ["General Information on Our Group." 36.] The second came just a year after that, where Wan Hu division was awarded the ISO 9002 by Bureau Vertitas Quality International for their import and export, breeding, raising and quarantine procedures for the company’s prided Dragon Fish. ["Ibid".] Then, in 2000, Yi Hu division was awarded the ISO 9002 certification by SGS Yarley for the retail and wholesale of aquarium and pet accessories locally and abroad. ["Ibid".]

Having learnt from the guppy stock disaster in 1989, Qian Hu had their 42-hectare premises landscaped to avoid the overflowing of ponds and tanks that held their valuable stocks of fish. ["History of Qian Hu."] Runoffs of rainwater are collected and recycled for use in the ponds, tanks and even toilets. ["At Home with Kenny Yap."] This one-of-a-kind system that reuses and recycles water was what earned Qian Hu the ISO 14001 certification. ["General Information on Our Group." 37.] The ISO 14001 is awarded to companies that have excellent environmental management systems. ["Ibid".]

Some of Qian Hu’s many titles, awards and achievements include being the “first small-cap company in Singapore to win a best managed board award” [Cheam, Jessica. “Banyan Tree, StarHub clinch top corporate awards.” "The Straits Times". 21 Feb. 2008: H24.] and two Singapore corporate awards: Best Investor Relationship and Gold Medal in Annual Report. [“Our Achievements.” "Qian Hu Corporation Limited Official Website". 12 Apr. 2008 ]

References

External links

* [http://investing.businessweek.com/research/stocks/snapshot/snapshot.asp?capId=7653103 investing.businessweek.com]
* [http://finance.google.com/finance?q=SIN:552 finance.google.com]