Beyond property development: Far East Orchard leans on student accommodation for recurring income

[SINGAPORE] When real estate veteran Alan Tang took over as group chief executive officer of Far East Orchard (FEOR) on Jan 1, 2020, few could have foreseen how quickly the world would change with the spread of Covid-19.

Within weeks, borders closed and travel collapsed – a sudden shock for a company heavily exposed to global hospitality.

“The first year was trying,” Tang recalled in a recent interview with The Business Times, just after the group reported that its net profit had doubled year on year to S$37.6 million for the nine months ended Sep 30.