China’s Horizon makes move in Malaysia

China’s largest rental company Horizon Construction Development is to acquire an 80% share of Malaysian rental firm Tong Heng Ltd (TH). The remaining shares will be held by former majority owner Chan Heng Choy.

The price for the majority shareholding was RMB299 million (€37 million).

TH will become a subsidiary of Horizon Construction Development and the deal includes options for both parties to agree a future purchase by Horizon of the remaining 20% stake.

Horizon Construction Development has a MEWP fleet of more than 160,000 units in China.

TH is one of the largest rental business in Malaysia, with a fleet spanning aerial platforms, earthmoving equipment, cranes, power generators and more.

Its fleet of 1,200 MEWPs ranked it at 71 in the Access50 listing of the world’s largest aerial platform rental companies, published by Access International.

TH is headquartered in Masai, Johor Bahru, very close to Singapore, and has further rental locations in central and northern Malaysia.

For Horizon, the deal represents a continuation of its international growth strategy which has seen it move into international markets including Indonesia, Vietnam and Saudi Arabia. Horizon’s rental fleet is dominated by aerial platforms, scaffolding and formwork.

Horizon’s parent company, Far East Horizon, said the deal represented “a strategic initiative of Horizon Construction Development Group to bolster its market presence and operational capabilities in the Southeast Asia region, and will enlarge [its] overseas asset bases and enable it to integrate an established sales and distribution network in Malaysia”.

It added that TH has an extensive customer base, which will allow Horizon to “further expand and complement its product-offering, distribution and sales networks.”

Horizon reported that TH’s net profit after tax in 2023 was MYR15.5 million (€3.2 million).