Asia Outlook Issue 10

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edge tHe cuttiNg

mhwirth delivers word-class solutions, lifecycle services and advanced drilling systems

singAPoRe gRAnD PRiX 10 asia outlook takes an in-depth look at the history of f1 in singapore

APt showFReight 72 aPt showfreight specialises in niche logistics services for the mice industries

RAiMon

LAnD 78 2014 has been a ‘golden year’ for raimon land’s luxury real estate developments

PAn AsiA LogistiCs 50 Pan asia logistics is dedicated to innovation and expanding their global logistics network

AsiA outook issue 10 A L s o t h i s i s s u e : P e t R o t R A D e | D A R C o w A t e R | M t Q P e M A C | t g D e v e L o P M e n t

W E l c o M E Asian innovation, global Recognition

eDitoRiAL

after the global success seen by alibaba during its record breaking new York Stock exchange (nySe) flotation in september, western countries have begun to take note of asian businesses and just how much they have to offer across the global markets. asia has built up industry leading companies across the various key sectors including logistics, manufacturing, construction and resources. the companies we feature in this issue place great emphasis on innovation and creativity through their products and services, in the hope of global recognition. our front cover feature is mhwirth, who for over a century has been providing the oil and gas industry with world leading drilling technologies and lifecycle services. we spoke with the managing director of mhwirth’s singapore operations, Johannes eikland, about how the company has built on its legacy and continues to be at the forefront of cutting edge innovation, product design, drilling and engineering technologies.

On page 50 we interview Pan Asia Logistics’ CeO Christian Bischoff, who since 2002 has overseen the company’s growth from a small outfit with just six workers in one office with a turnover of SG$20 million, to a company with 50 offices and a turnover of SG$200 million recorded in 2013.

Jimmy chua, general manager of huationg holdings, who are one of the leading companies in Singapore offering heavy lifting and logistical services, spoke with us on page 64. The company operates on a simple and effective ethos that has served them well; treating their clients as if they were colleagues. in the front of the magazine, we have a post-race look at the singapore grand Prix and how it could be the turning point for the drivers in the race for the championship title. additionally, we take a look back at the history of the race and singapore race circuits and why f1 is such a large tourist attraction in the country.

The investment profile in this issue takes a look at asia’s most powerful country china. with a population of over 1.3 billion and the second highest gdP in the world, the country offers a myriad of investment and economic opportunities. with its worldleading industries such as technology and agriculture, foreign businesses have begun to invest directly into these markets.

Matt Bone “You should learn from your competitor, Editor, Outlook Publishing but never copy. Copy and you die.” Jack ma founder and former ceo of alibaba

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In this issue of Asia Outlook...

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MHWirtH Your Preferred Partner for Drilling Solutions

MHWirth is a worldwide provider of drilling equipment and systems for the oil and gas industry

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NeWs

All the latest top stories across the month from Asia

siNgaPore graND PriX From Thomson Road to Marina Bay Circuit

Asia Outlook takes an in-depth look at the history of F1 in Singapore, and reports on a remarkable win for Lewis Hamilton at the 2014 event

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sPort, HeaLtH aND LiFestyLe Living Life the Asian Way

With so much emphasis on health and wellbeing, we take a look at how the Asian lifestyle sets a precedent for the western world

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www.asiaoutlookmag.com

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iNvestMeNt ProFiLe China

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sHoWcasiNg LeaDiNg coMPaNies Tell us your story and we’ll tell the world

Asia Outlook takes an inside look at China’s investment and business potential

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PetrotraDe Fuelling the Philippines

Petrotrade offers round the clock on-demand bunkering services to any point in the archipelago

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tg DeveLoPMeNt Redefining Urban Luxury Housing in Singapore TG Development is an integral player in shaping the country’s exclusive housing landscape

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HuatioNg HoLDiNgs Treating Staff and Customers as Equals Huationg Holdings Pte Ltd Asia is one of the leading heavy lift and haulage service companies in Singapore

MtQ PeMac Singapore’s One-Stop API Workshop

MTQ PEMAC are ranked as the top oilfield equipment manufacturer in the region

L O G I S T I C S

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aPt sHoWFreigHt Working Behind the Scenes

E N G I N E E R I N G

APT Showfreight specialises in niche logistics services for the MICE industries

C O N S T R U C T I O N

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PaN asia Logistics Logistical Leviathans

Pan Asia Logistics is dedicated to innovation and expanding their global logistics network

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raiMoN LaND Thailand’s Leader in Luxury

2014 has been a ‘golden year’ for Raimon Land’s luxury real estate developments

Darco Water tecHNoLogies Southeast Asia’s Solution to Water and Waste Management

Darco Water provide end-to-end services for the water and waste management sectors

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eveNts

Asia Outlook highlights upcoming events on the continent

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China’s Oil Producers up Capital Spending Flagship Chinese oil producers are preparing to ramp up multibillion dollar capital spending plans squeezed amid a Beijing probe into industry graft, offering a lift for oil service firms that suffered from belttightening in the first half of the year.

State-controlled majors PetroChina and Sinopec delayed investing in project launches in the first half as China’s government deepened its corruption investigation in the state sector. Project tendering in China has been riddled with graft amid a culture of officials at state firms accepting bribes to award contracts to companies run by relatives or friends.

Oil industry executives say the probe hasn’t ended but may have peaked, having ensnared at least 11 former senior executives at PetroChina and its parent company L o g i s t i c s

China and Russia in New Seaport Talks China and Russia will build one of the largest ports in northeast Asia on Russia’s Sea off Japan’s coast, reports said, in a further sign of the powerhouses’ growing alliance.

The seaport is expected to be able to handle some 60 million tonnes of cargo a year, China’s state-run People’s Daily Online reported that it would be comparable to Britain’s busiest port Immingham or Le Havre in France, according to European Commission statistics. The new facility will be located in far eastern Russia, just 18 kilometres (11 miles) away from the Chinese border. The region is also close to North Korea. The move represents the latest step by Beijing

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China National Petroleum (CNPC). That’s enough to trigger new spending at the majors as they switch focus to meeting operational targets.

The oil services business is one of many sectors roiled by President Xi Jinping’s anti-corruption drive.

While the clampdown may hurt state spending in certain areas in the short term, analysts say it would help the economy in the long run, boosting transparency in tendering

and boosting major independent service providers’ chances of winning projects.

“The crackdown bodes well for mid- to long-term development of the economy as it would undermine state monopolies and improve investment efficiency,” said Zhu Jianfang, an economist with CITIC Securities in Beijing.

Over the past 12 months, PetroChina, the country’s dominant oil and gas producer, and CNPC were at the centre of one of the biggest corruption investigations into the Chinese state sector in years. PetroChina’s first-half spending fell 16 percent year on year to 91 billion yuan ($15 billion).

It attributed the drop to its efforts to “optimise its investment structure and reasonably adjusted the pace of construction of projects”, but reiterated its target is to spend 297 billion yuan this year - down 7 percent from 2013.

Last week, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese Vice Premier Zhang Gaoli attended the groundbreaking of a gas pipeline that will help Russia supply China under a huge energy deal. After a decade of tough negotiations, Chinese and Russian leaders inked a 30-year deal; a US$400 billion agreement that will eventually involve 38 billion cubic metres of gas annually. “We are today starting the biggest construction project in the world,” Putin said at the ceremony outside the Siberian city of Yakutsk. and Moscow to boost their energy and Zhang said that he hoped the pipeline infrastructure ties. would be completed within four Resource-hungry China is seeking years. “China is to devote consistent to diversify its sources of energy amid and unswerving effort to establishing booming domestic consumption, while a strategic partnership of energy Russia - at odds with the West over cooperation with Russia as agreed its annexation of Ukraine’s Crimea upon by the heads of state of the two peninsula - is seeking to refocus its gas countries,” he said, according to China’s and oil exports towards Asia. official Xinhua news agency.

go to www.asiAoutlookmag.com/news for all of the latest news from asia

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R e ta i l

China to Become Largest Economy by 2024 China is set to overtake the US as the world’s largest economy in US dollar terms over the next decade, according to a report by IHS Economics.

IHS measured the size of China’s economy in US dollar terms, rather than using purchasing power parity - a technique used to determine the relative value of different currencies - which other research houses have used in the past.

Last month, the International Comparison Program - backed by the World Bank and the United Nations - forecast China could overtake the US as soon as this year, based on the PPP measure.

The research puts China’s gross domestic product (GDP) at 87 percent of the US in 2011, compared to 43 percent in 2005.

Those who use the PPP measure argue that it is a more accurate measure of the cost of living. IHS told CNBC it chose to evaluate the size of China’s economy in dollar terms because it was a more definitive measure.

“Over the next 10 years, China’s economy is expected to re-balance towards more rapid growth in consumption, which will help the structure of the domestic economy as well as growth for the Asia Pacific (APAC) as a region,” said Rajiv Biswas, Chief Asia Economist for IHS Economics.

This surge in consumer spending will see China’s nominal gross domestic product hit $28.25 trillion by 2024 from its current $10 trillion, larger than the $27.31 trillion projected for the US, the research firm said. US nominal GDP currently stands at $17.4 trillion.

Topshop and Miss Selfridge to Push into China

“In 2025, if we were to take a global economic snapshot, China’s economy will play an even bigger role as a key driver of global trade and investment flows,” Biswas said, adding that China’s share of world GDP is forecast to rise from around 12 percent in 2013 to 20 percent by 2025.

Rapid consumer growth will likely see the Chinese consumer market grow to $10.5 trillion by 2023, around three times larger than Japan, which will sit at $3.7 trillion, IHS said.

While many other research houses agree that China will eventually overtake the US economy they do differ on the timing. Londonheadquartered news publication The Economist forecasts China will become the largest economy in 2021, while London based consultancy centre for Economic and Business Research forecasts a later date of 2028.

The impact of China’s rapidly expanding consumption is being felt across Asia Pacific. One key sector is tourism; Chinese tourism spending rose 26 percent in 2013 on the previous year to $129 billion, making China the largest source of tourism in spending globally, according to United Nations data.

Thailand, in particular, has benefited, with Chinese tourism visits up 68.8 percent in 2013 compared to 2012 to 4.7 million visitors.

Sir Philip Green’s Topshop and Miss Selfridge brands are to push into China with an agreement launched on the ShangPin.com fashion retail website in September.

Sir Philip has long held the ambition of taking Topshop into China and already has two stores in Hong Kong. The retail billionaire said: “As we continue to grow our global expansion, this will be a step forward using the power of China’s online reach and therefore selling into one of the world’s most exciting consumer markets.”

The deal with local Chinese online retailer ShangPin.com is Sir Philip’s second foray into new areas of online retail this year. In May, he took a 25 percent stake in MySale, an Australian fashion sales site, and also struck a merchandising agreement with MySale to supply the company with excess inventory in fashion and homeware from his high street empire.

ShangPin.com is an online multibrand retailer of designer and contemporary fashion, and said it had more than 5 million customers. David Zhao, Chief Executive, said: “In the last two years, we have been building China’s most ‘fashionable’ online customer database, and being online means we have our finger on the pulse of what the consumer needs.

China’s new fashion consumers are in their 20s-30s and are moving away from big logos to being fashion forward, and wanting to express their individuality through mixing and matching styles and brands.”

ShangPin said China’s generation born in the 1980s and 1990s could spend up to 30 percent of their day online or on mobiles.

go to www.asiaoutlookmag.com/news for all of the latest news from asia

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Singapore Manufacturing Output up 3.3% on-year in July Manufacturing output in the Republic rose 3.3 per cent on-year in July, boosted by a spike in the biomedical sector, says the Economic Development Board (EDB).

Excluding biomedical manufacturing, output decreased 2.2 per cent from a year ago, the EDB said. On a seasonally adjusted monthon-month basis, manufacturing output rose 2.7 per cent, but declined 0.8 per cent when biomedical manufacturing was excluded.

On a year-on-year basis, the biomedical manufacturing cluster’s output increased 28.5 per cent in July. Robust export demand for medical instruments and supplies led the medical technology segment to record output growth of 30.8 per cent. The pharmaceuticals segment expanded 28 per cent, mainly due to a different mix of T e c h n o l o g y

Philips to Build Regional HQ in Singapore Philips has announced that it will build a new regional headquarters in Singapore. The facility, scheduled to be completed in the first half of 2016, will be built in Toa Payoh.

Within the facility will be a telehealthcare centre that will enable hospitals to remotely monitor and treat patients at home, Philips announced in a media release Monday of this week.

“Singapore is a vital innovation hub in the region for Philips,” said Royal Philips CEO Frans van

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active pharmaceutical ingredients being produced.

Output for the chemicals cluster rose 9.2 per cent, propped up by the petrochemicals segment which grew 12.1 per cent, partly due to maintenance shut down in some plants a year ago. The specialties segment expanded 11.7 per cent on the back of higher output in additives and industrial gases.

The precision engineering cluster’s output grew 4.4 per cent year-on-year in July, supported by the machinery and systems segment which expanded 10.9 per cent with higher demand for

semiconductor-related equipment and mechanical engineering work.

Output for the electronics cluster fell 2.9 per cent year-onyear, with the other electronic modules and components segment and computer peripherals segment growing 20.2 per cent and 1.4 per cent, respectively. However, this was outweighed by declines in other segments, such as the semiconductor segment which saw its output fall 1.6 per cent.

The general manufacturing industries cluster’s output fell 5.9 per cent in July, with all segments registering declines. The food, beverages and tobacco segment fell 1.8 per cent, while the miscellaneous industries segment contracted 7.7 per cent.

Output for the transport engineering cluster fell 9.9 per cent, dragged down by the marine and offshore engineering segment and the aerospace segment, which contracted 9 per cent and 16.2 per cent, respectively.

Houten. “This new headquarters will drive our innovation particularly in healthcare.With the new telehealth centre, for example, we aim to improve patient health and lower treatment costs by monitoring patient conditions and reducing the need to hospitalise patients.”

The building will also contain new research and development facilities, a co-creation centre with rapid prototyping capabilities, and a digital command centre for monitoring global and local consumer trends on top of managing content.

Philips will also set up a new lighting experience centre to showcase their latest innovations in lighting.

go to www.asiAoutlookmag.com/news for all of the latest news from asia

B u s i n e s s

Singapore Ranked 8th in Creative Productivity in Asia The Republic has been ranked 8th out of 22 Asian economies on a new Creative Productivity Index developed by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU).

The index, launched midSeptember, measures the innovative and creative capacity of economies by relating creative input to output.

The index included a total of 24 economies, with the United States and Finland included for comparative purposes, according to the ADB. Japan was rated as most effective at turning creative input into output, followed by Finland and South Korea. Laos is 7th, ahead of Singapore, which is 8th. Pakistan and Cambodia were ranked as the least efficient innovators at 23rd and 24th, respectively.

The index uses 36 input indicators to measure the capacity and incentives for innovation.

These include the number of global top 500 universities an economy has, the rate of urbanisation, R&D spending, protection of intellectual property rights, and corruption and bureaucracy.

Meanwhile, the eight output indicators include the number of patents filed, export sophistication, value added to agriculture and the number of books and films produced.

According to the report, Singapore topped the rankings on innovation input alone. However, it was ranked sixth in the level of creative output.

ADB and EIU said in the report that given its level of creative input, Singapore could be achieving more creative output. For instance, Japan,

Hong Kong, China and New Zealand all have a lower level of creative input than Singapore, yet garnering a higher level of creative output.

The report found that Singapore scored highly in the area of creative input on its strong political institution, intellectual property protections, investment protection and contract enforcement.

Corruption is also rare in the city state, and Singapore has a very flexible labour market, it said. But it fared relatively poorly in terms of mean years of schooling and enrolment of students in technical and vocational programmes.

On measures of output, Singapore produced fewer patents than Japan, Taipei, China and South Korea, and lagged behind other economies when it came to production of books and movies.

The EIU said: “The reasons behind Singapore’s lagging score on outputs are complex, but the EIU believes that democracy and free debate are critical for innovation and in the 2013 edition of our democracy index, we ranked Singapore lower than Japan, Hong Kong, China, Taipei, China, Korea, Australia and New Zealand on this measure.”

The ADB and EIU add that the index aims to give policymakers a unique tool to measure progress in fostering creativity and innovation.

Ec o n o m y

Over 1.3 Million Foreigners Working in Singapore It is estimated that as of December 2013, there were 1,331,600 foreigners working in Singapore, says Manpower Minister Tan Chuan-Jin. In a written response, Mr Tan said that excluding about 224,500 foreign domestic workers, there were 1,107,100 foreigners employed across different sectors in Singapore. He added that the breakdown by nationality is not publicly available.

In addition, the minister said the construction and food and beverage industries are on the list of the top 10 sectors employing the most number of foreigners as of December 2013.

See the full list below: Construction Building and Repairing of Ships and Boats (Marine) Wholesale Trade Food & Beverage Services Professional Services Transportation & Storage Fabricated Metal Products, Machinery & Equipment Petroleum, Chemical & Pharmaceutical Products Administrative & Supportive Services Electronic, Computer & Optical Products

go to www.asiaoutlookmag.com/news for all of the latest news from asia

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froM thoMSoN road to MariNa Bay circuit asia outlook takes an in-depth look at the history of formula one in singapore, and reports on a remarkable win for lewis hamilton at the 2014 event Writer Emily Jarvis source eresources.nlb.gov.sg

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is the highest class of automobile racing that is approved by the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile (fia), the governing body for world motor sport and the federation of the world’s leading motoring organisations. Based in Paris, FIA is a non-profit organisation under whose umbrella are more than 220 national motoring and sporting organisations from 132 countries. fia administers the rules and regulations

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© Navjit Bhamra

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© Navjit Bhamra

Despite being teammates, Hamilton (pictured above) and Rosberg (pictured left) have been locked in a seasonlong battle, with the intense rivalry growing with every lap”

for all international four-wheel motor sport, including the fia formula one world championship. the term ‘formula’ in f1 refers to a set of rules that all participants and cars have to adhere to. the f1 season is made up of a series of races called grand Prix, which are usually contested on purpose-built circuits. with a potential massive global television audience of some 600 million people each season, the f1 event enables singapore to leverage on the glamour of the world’s most-

watched motor race to raise its profile as a global city.

Besides putting singapore in the global spotlight for a weekend, the event can have long-term spin-offs such as attracting more tourists, conferences, and sporting and business activities. the event’s worldwide publicity also helps to brand singapore as a ‘liveable’ city and attract foreign talent to it. in the same vein, the f1 president, Bernie ecclestone, thinks the event will make singapore a destination instead of a stopover.

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singapore’s successful bid to host the F1 race over five years from 2008, with an option for a five-year extension after 2012, came at a cost of $150 million. with co-funding from the government, singapore telecommunications sponsored the event entitled formula 1 singtel singapore grand Prix. the race organiser and promoter is singapore gP Pte ltd. the event was unique as it was the first F1 night race in the history of the sport. a night race in singapore also means that more television viewers in europe can watch the event ‘live’ as it will be around noon time in europe.

Being the tourism event of the year, the singapore tourism Board (stB) markets the f1 night race overseas through trade shows, consumer roadshows, advertisements, marketing brochures and its website. stB also organises a programme of activities for f1 fans so that they have a positive and enriching visitor experience and increase their tourist spending in singapore. in addition, stB encourages businesses in the vicinity of the racing circuit at the marina Bay to attract singaporeans by being innovative in their promotional campaigns.

The Orient Year Grand Prix at Thomson Road Circuit

Over 84,454 patrons attended the night race, with a total of 253,362 visitors to the circuit over the sold out 3-day weekend”

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The inaugural Grand Prix in Singapore was held in mid-September 1961 at the thomson road circuit. it was called the singapore grand Prix, but was sometimes referred to as the orient Year grand Prix because the event was staged in connection with the Visit the Orient Year, a tourist promotion campaign. the name of the motor racing event was changed to malaysia Grand Prix in 1962, and was re-named Singapore Grand Prix in 1966, after Singapore’s independence in 1965. The annual race was organised for about 12 years before they were discontinued, owing to various reasons, among which were the deaths that occurred over the years of the event. The 1973 Singapore Grand Prix, a Formula Libre event, was the final race held before the ban, which was due to concerns that the event promoted reckless driving. after a lapse of about 35 years, the motor racing event in singapore was resumed in 2008 as one of the rounds of the fia formula one world championship (popularly known as formula one or f1).

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singapore’s inaugural formula one (f1) race, called 2008 formula 1 singtel singapore grand Prix was held on 28th september 2008, at Marina Bay. It was the first and only race to be held at night in f1’s history, and the first F1 street race in asia. the inaugural f1 night race in singapore was the 15th of 18 rounds of the 2008 fia formula one world championship. it was held over the weekend of 26th-28th september, with the practice sessions, qualifying

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sessions and the proper race held on the three nights respectively. lighting up the marina Bay Street Circuit for the first night race required up to 10,000 lamps, with a system comprising more than 1,500 projectors, 134km of power and optic cables, and 240 steel pylons. safety concerns for racing at night were a key consideration of the organisers in the lead up to the race. organisers held a blessing ceremony on the race track on 11th september, with representatives of 10 religious groups in singapore conducting prayers for a successful and safe race. the race was contested by 10 teams with speeds of more than 300km/ hour over 61 laps, on a 5.067km long circuit around the marina Bay street circuit and a total race length of © Navjit Bhamra 309.087km. Victory went to Spanish driver, fernando alonso, driving for the renault team. renault’s victory, however, had been tarnished by what was termed the crashgate scandal. its top two bosses, flavio Briatore and Pat symonds, had to resign over charges that they had asked former driver nelson Piquet to crash at Turn 17 early during the race to allow fernando alonso to clinch victory. the matter was brought before the fia. a programme of events that were organised in conjunction with the inaugural race. in addition to the singapore river festival was a President’s challenge f1 charity luncheon at the istana where 30 tables were available at either $30,000 or $50,000 sgd. Parties were held at Zouk at the Padang, which featured international dJs at the three-day party, amber lounge (exclusively for formula 1 celebrities), and the mercedes Benz centre (an invite-only fashion extravaganza called stylo fashion grand Prix). around 300,000 onsite spectators and more than 100 million television viewers around the globe watched the inaugural 2008 singapore grand Prix.

The 2008 F1 SingTel Grand Prix was the first and only race to be held at night in F1’s history”

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© Navjit Bhamra

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2011

onwards

as a result of the race organisers signing a contract extension with formula one management on the eve of the 2012 event, it was arranged that the singapore grand Prix will remain on the f1 calendar through at least 2017.

2014

singapore Airlines Replaces singtel as title sponsor

in a press release in april 2014, it was announced that singapore airlines had signed an agreement with the formula one group to be the title sponsor of the f1 singapore grand Prix.

SIA (Singapore Airlines) Sponsored “we are thrilled to be taking up the the 2014 F1 race at Marina Bay Sands. title sponsorship of one of the most Source: singaporeair.com exciting races on the f1®calendar, and we are especially pleased to be doing so in the lead-up to singapore’s 50th birthday F1 Race next year,” said Singapore Airlines CeO, Mr Goh Choon Phong. the second fi night race in singapore was held on “singapore airlines has always supported the development of 27th september with the practice and qualifying both sports and tourism. through our involvement with the sessions held two days prior. it was won by Briton, world’s first F1® night race we will be able to enhance both for the lewis hamilton for mclaren-mercedes. benefit of Singaporeans and visitors alike.” drawing on the experience of the 2008 race, the this year’s event was named the 2014 formula 1 singapore STB improved on the 2009 programme, such as Airlines Singapore Grand Prix and took place 19th – 21st september shortening the gP season from three weeks to 10 at the marina Bay street circuit. days and packing it with ‘quality’ events. More effort was put into attracting non-f1 fans who may visit singapore for the electric atmosphere in addition lewis hamilton won the singapore grand Prix but it was not all to shopping and sightseeing. Provisions were made plain sailing for mercedes who were once again thwarted by for the ‘man in the street’ to watch the race ‘live’ by reliability issues. nico rosberg had electronic issues on the grid making the general walkabout tickets affordable, and the german was forced to start in the pit lane, and his race at as low as $28. hotel rates, which was a major was over just 14 laps later as the problems went unresolved. complaint of f1 2008, for race fans were lower than this left hamilton to charge to victory, and he did so in style. the previous year, with no requirement to book a after leading the race and maintaining a comfortable gap between minimum number of nights. himself and Vettel in 2nd place, a coming together between adrian a three-night inaugural music festival f1 rocks sutil and sergio Perez brought out the familiar sight of the safety car singapore, was held at fort canning Park with at the Marina Bay circuit. As the teams made differing calls on tyre high profile performers, such as Beyonce, Jacky strategy it became apparent that the chasing red Bulls were cheung and a*mei, providing the glitz and glamour. going to the end whereas hamilton would have to change the festival was for a ‘live’ audience, with various onto the option tyre. hamilton would need to build a lead of performances subsequently sold as television 27 seconds in 12 laps in order to come out ahead after the pit programmes worldwide. stop and he went about doing so in extraordinary fashion, increasing his lead by over 2 seconds per lap. when he came F1 Race out of the pits with 7 laps to go he slotted in between Vettel and the 2010 f1 race was held from 24th-26th september. ricciardo and promptly got past the 2013 world champion within It was a sell-out event - more than 98 percent of the a lap and crossed the line 13 seconds clear of the chasing pack.

87,000 tickets released per day were sold. The race hamilton was joined on the podium by the two red Bull drivers was won by ferrari’s fernando alonso. with fernando alonso coming home in a deserved 4th position.

2009

the Final Result

2010

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with hamilton securing the 25 points for victory and rosberg failing to finish, Hamilton took the lead in the drivers world championship for the first time since Barcelona. following his victory at the recent rain-affected Suzuka grand Prix in Japan and his dominant win at the inaugural russian gP, hamilton has now extended his lead in the championship even further to 17 points with 3 races to go. in Japan however, the celebrations were muted following an accident involving Jules Bianchi and the JcB recovering sutil’s sauber. Bianchi remains in a critical condition following surgery to what was described as a serious head trauma.

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F1 2014 Results table Pos.

Nat. Name

Lewis Hamilton

No.

Grand Prix positions finished

Pts.

AUS

MAL BHR

CHN ESP

MON CAN AUT

GBR GER

HUN BEL

ITA

SIN

JPN

RUS

USA

BRA

ABU

1

UK

44

Ret

1

1

1

1

2

Ret

2

1

3

3

Ret

1

1

1

1

291

2

GER Nico Rosberg

6

1

2

2

2

2

1

2

1

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Winner Second Place Third Place Retired/Did Not Start/Disqualified/Not Qualified

Watermarked images © Navjit Bhamra flickr.com/darkcloud154

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Source: Wikipedia

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living life with obesity and health issues on the rise in many countries, we take a look at how Asian lifestyle has influenced an increase in life expectancy and a decrease in corpulence across southern and eastern asia

tHe asiaN Way

Writer Matt Bone

alf of the world’s population live in asia and their traditional foods vary from country to country in many respects. Yet asian diets also hold several key staples in common. rice is a common staple, and diets overall are largely plant-based. fish is commonly eaten across the continent and meat is fairly rare; usually enjoyed in small amounts as flavouring in dishes and not as the centre piece of a meal. Various regional spices, herbs, fermented and raw vegetables, bean sprouts/shoots and healthy fats are also widely consumed, making for a flavourful and creative diet.

A Culinary Art Form cooking has been a part of human activities for millennia. in ancient times, cooking was a very straightforward practice; kill an animal, cook it on the fire along with whatever plants, vegetables and fruits were nearby and eat. cooking equipment was very basic and rather simple at that time and there was little in the way of

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Cooking has not only become an art form in Asia, but still remains a fundamental part of our everyday lives�

variety for the average diet. however, it began the tradition of incorporating fresh ingredients into cooking practice. since those times, cooking has not only become an art form in asia, but still remains a fundamental part of our everyday lives.

With 6 countries making up east asia including china, Japan, north Korea and South Korea, the different cultures of asia each developed their own culinary fare through the interactions of history, trade, environment and culture.

Culinary authorities have indentified the Asian Diet Pyramid classification system as the general dietary range across the continent. as with virtually all classification systems, there is some overlap, but they roughly represent to the main groups or types of traditional asian cooking in order of consumption. the oldways pyramid was created as a model for healthy eating because of the historically low incidence of chronic diseases in asian countries. the traditional diet in many asian countries is also often closely tied to both religious practices and long-

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Sweets Eggs, Poulty Fish & Shellfish or Dairy Vegetable oils

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Fruits Legumes, Seeds & Nuts, Vegetables Rice, Noodles, Breads, Millet, Corn & other Whole Grains

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Daily Physical Activity

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The Asian Diet Pyramid - developed by Oldways in conjunction with the Cornell-China-Oxford Project on Nutrition, Health and Environment and the Harvard School of Public Health. It was released at the International Conference on the Diets of Asia in San Francisco and has been widely regarded as the closest representation of the general Asian diet.

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standing cultural and social customs, and the record of these eating habits is an excellent source of information and culinary inspiration. for centuries, the Japanese have been eating fermented or pickled vegetables. the vegetables are predigested by bacteria, which make their nutrients easier for the body to absorb, and stimulate the growth of ‘good’ bacteria in the gut. research shows this healthy gut bacterium is linked to the immune system - 80 percent of our immune cells are in the gut. fermented vegetables provide a rich source of lactic acid bacteria which are thought to be the most useful for gut health. everyone in Japan is strongly encouraged to attend a free annual health check. employers are charged with ensuring that their workers do not gain weight, stemming from legislation from the Japanese government, who now take an active role in combating any hint of a growing trend in obesity. in 2008, Japan passed a law designed to fight ‘metabolic syndrome’, known in the west as ‘pre-diabetes’. the law

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The Oldways pyramid was created as a model for healthy eating because of the historical low incidence of chronic diseases in Asian countries”

requires overweight individuals, or those who show signs of weight-related illnesses, to go on dieting courses. if the person fails to attend the course, the company that employs them and/or the local governments of the areas in which they live must pay fines to the federal government. in addition, companies with a higher proportion of overweight employees are fined directly. gerontologists (a scientist studying the biological, psychological, and sociological occurrences that are associated with old age and aging) agree that Japanese people are encouraged to be health-conscious, to eat well, take regular exercise and listen to the body. there’s a sense of responsibility to take care of yourself as you get older - you don’t want to be a nuisance so you stay healthy. a study in the lancet concluded that a major reason for Japan’s excellent life expectancy was heavy government investment in the public healthcare system, free annual health checks, and a sense of health-consciousness among its citizens.

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THE GOOD LIFE

Data released by the Office for national Statistics (OnS) on the life expectancy of women showed that Japanese females have the highest life expectancy of women in selected countries, living for an average of 86.4 years, surpassing their english counterparts, who can expect to live to 82.8 years. women in northern ireland and wales have a life expectancy of 82.1 years, while in Scotland the same figure is 80.7 years. But the OnS said there is nothing stopping British women living longer if they adopt a Japanese lifestyle, with the figures indicating the “potential for further increases� in life expectancy for women in the uk. residents of Okinawa, an island off the coast of Japan, have traditionally been one of the longest-living populations on earth. incidence of heart disease, cancer, and obesity are much rarer in most asian societies than in western countries. cardiovascular death rates in Japan, are less than half those in the us, many attribute this longevity to the strict diet that is adhered to in the east and the active lifestyle led by many on the island.

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FITNESS AND WELLNESS

Sport and fitness are two of the fastest growing industries in Asia today. There are several global sports including football, cricket, baseball and rugby that are played in Asia. However, there is a very big following for mind-body exercises such as yoga and Tai Chi. While a session in the gym or a long run might leave us tired and worn out, ancient mind-body practices such as yoga and Tai Chi have the ability to do just the opposite - they produce more energy than they consume. When people practice yoga or Tai Chi, they feel calm, refreshed and composed.

TAI CHI

Tai Chi, also known as Tai Chi Chuan, combines deep breathing and relaxation with slow and gentle movements. Originally developed as a martial art in 13th-century China, Tai Chi is practised around the world as a body and mind harmonisation exercise. In Japan, it is common to see groups of adults practising Tai Chi in parks at all times of the day. While there is no official answer to the health benefits of the practice, studies have shown that it can help people aged 65 and over to reduce stress, improve balance and general mobility. Tai Chi movements have been adapted for people with a disability, including wheelchair users and those who have reduced limb functionality, to help increase mind and body vitality.

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YOGA

the word yoga comes from the ancient indian language sanskrit, and is a derivation of the word yuj, which means yoking, as in a team of oxen. in contemporary practice, this is often interpreted as meaning ‘union’.

Yoga is said to be the practice of uniting the mind, body and spirit. many people think that yoga is just about stretching your body. while stretching is undoubtedly involved, yoga is predominantly about creating a strong balance in the body through developing both strength and flexibility. This is done through the performance of poses or postures, each of which has precise bodily benefits. There are different styles of yoga, where the poses can be done in quick succession, creating heat in the body through movement, or more slowly to increase stamina and perfect the alignment of the pose. the poses are the same but the approach to them varies depending on which yoga is being taught.

WALKING YOUR WAY TO FITNESS

for those who do not wish to join a gym or start a new fitness regime, one of the biggest health secrets of the Japanese lifestyle is walking. in Japan and several other countries such as malaysia and singapore, driving is too expensive; so many people rely on public transport and walking. this means having to walk to the train station in the morning, stand on crowded platforms and then stand on the train, walk between transfer points and then a remaining walk to your destination once you get to the correct station has become the norm. with people walking to their destination two or three times per day on average, the general health of the population has remained excellent. harvard university researchers reported in 2012, that walking for two-and-a-half hours a week or just 20 minutes a day, could add seven years to your life. the study reviewed six long-term studies and found that even 75 minutes of brisk walking could extend life by almost two years.

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china asia outlook takes a closer look at china’s business and investment potential Writer Matt Bone

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hina has been at the forefront of many new technologies and practices adopted and used by the global community, with their ancient civilization stretching back from c.2100 to modern day. The country is a hub for economic activity and is always in the limelight when it comes to manufacturing and resources in particular. It was the first to produce many items that are used daily; including writing paper, paper currency, printing and fireworks. Technology, agriculture, travel and tourism and natural resources have all flourished over the last 20 years to push China’s GDP (in millions) from US $613,223 in 1993, to US $9,184,997 in 2013. Cities including Beijing, Shanghai, Tianjin and Shenzhen have grown in size and stature to become the country’s industry hubs, with Beijing alone having over 23,000 industrial enterprises alone including car manufacturing, machinery, chemical and technological sectors as well.

Geography

China’s first and foremost asset is her sheer size. The country’s landmass spans across an impressive 9,706,960 km2, stretching from Pakistan to Korea, making it the 4th largest country by area size in the world.

On the south-eastern borders of the country China meets the sea, which offers a plethora of shipping and marine sector activity. To the north of the country is Mongolia and Russia, both of which offer huge reserves of natural resources and to the south and west, China is flanked by 12 different countries.

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china has a diverse countryside ranging from mountain ranges and massifs in the north and west, to the lush lowlands and foothills in the eastern and southern half of the country, which is home to the largest areas of agriculture and highest population density per miles squared. the western and northern area of china is home to the gobi desert which is made up of several individual regions which are affected by varying climates, including snow in winter thanks to strong winds from the siberian steppes. the temperature can range from -40°c in winter to +50°c in summer, making it one of the biggest temperature extremes in the world. due to the nature of this vast expanse of land, the area is very sparsely populated and relatively untouched by modern man.

Agriculture

in china, agriculture plays a vital role in the country’s gdP, with an estimated 300 million people working in agricultural jobs. the country is number one in the world for total farming output including rice, wheat, potatoes, peanuts, tea and cotton. although the farming industry is mostly in the east and south due to china’s topography, china accounts for 20% of the world’s food production.

RiCe

rice is one of the most important grains and food sources in asian culture, with the crop being used in nearly every home across the continent. China accounts for 26% of global rice production and nearly 50% of the total grain output in the country. rice growing is a very labour intensive process and requires the paddy fields to be flooded in order to keep a constant supply of water during the growing phase of the crop. once the seedlings are ready, they

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In China, agriculture plays a vital role in the country’s GDP, with an estimated 300 million people working in agricultural jobs”

are then picked and replanted in the field in order to give the seedlings more space for growth and upon the crop being ready for picking, they are then harvested by hand, which is considered to be the most demanding and intensive part of the cycle. the total length of the rice crop cycle is around 5 months, but with consumer consumption having risen in the south over the last 10 years, as many as four rice crops can be produced in a year thanks to double crop plantation in fields along the yangtze river.

PotAtoes

china has now become the biggest grower of potatoes in the world, with the chinese potato industry now four times the size of the same sector in the united states. chinese farms produce 73 metric tonnes per annum (1.6 billion cwt). The average crop yield can range from 15 to 45 metric tonnes per hectare (130 to 400 cwt. per acre). most of the potatoes produced in china are grown in the arid northern

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country, but the lack of water in that region has been a constant and difficult problem. Massive irrigation projects have been undertaken in the past by governments looking to move water north, but with the exception of the grand canal, which stretches from Beijing in the north and to hangzhou in the south, water remains incredibly scarce. new variants of potatoes have been developed including the kuxin 1, which is a particularly drought-tolerant potato, and as such has become the most popular tuber in the region.

technology

for the last few years, the fastest growing industry in china has been the technology sector. china has always been renowned for its ability to turn out cheaper, mass produced tech for leading global brands, but in the past it has never been a strong advocate of home-grown innovation. however, during the last 15 years, companies such as Alibaba, Huawei,

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Xiaomi and Lenovo have begun to buck the trend, becoming globally recognised and successful brands. the technology sector in china has grown considerably due to the money the chinese government has pumped into creating a strong and versatile telecommunications infrastructure in the country. companies looking at investing in china’s hottest commodity – technology - will see that global brands such as Intel are already looking to get the inside track in a country which boasts the biggest number of internet users in the world. Intel, who recently invested us $1.5 billion for a 20% stake in one of the holding company’s subsidiaries in order to promote Intel’s mobile system in the country, will become one of the few us companies to be present in china due to the tensions between the two countries. china’s technology industry is quickly becoming a strong contender in the global tech market. high end technology, materials and electronics exports to the us from china peaked at US$129 billion in 2013, a rise of 25% on 2012. when you compare this to the US$47 billion made from clothing exports last year, you can see just how big the technology industry is in china right now.

Manufacturing In 1980, China was ranked 7th in the world for total production of manufactured goods, but by 2010, they overtook the usa to become the number one manufacturing country in the world. as of december 2013, china remained number one, but the usa has closed the divide, thanks in part to its formidable automobile market. manufacturing helped double the gdP of china in just 10 years and raised the standard of living for millions of workers. strong investment in china’s roads, rail and port facilities, and cheap

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labour, technical and engineering prowess gave the country a strong base for exportation of their goods into the global market. however, the manufacturing industry in china has been challenged over the last few years with a change in consumer needs and rising costs, which has forced the industry to rethink their strategies. the rise of the middle class in china and the purchasing power they now hold has forced manufacturers to come up with more innovative products with higher design quality, something that many local manufacturers do not have the ability to do; this is due to the fact that in order to maintain the levels of production needed for the market, quality was not prioritised. the local manufacturers have found ways around this problem by working on joint ventures with international businesses, who can offer new approaches in quality control and manufacturing leadership and knowhow, which will in turn benefit the workers, who with the right training and management, can help to maintain industry standard quality levels. the manufacturing industry in the country is strong and has the potential to not only offer foreign companies a cost effective outlet for producing their goods, but also a chance to enter into a market that is buying up western products by the cargo load. with china occupying such a diverse landscape, getting around the major cities and regions is not always straightforward. in order to combat this for both commercial and tourism needs, the chinese government have ploughed millions of Yuan into updating and creating brand new travel links, including new expressways, rail links as well as expanding their civil air fleet. China has already built over 31,000 miles of new expressway in the last ten years, which is the equivalent of two-thirds of the interstate highways in the united states.

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China has become the third most visited country in the world with an estimated 55 million tourists visiting the country each year.

China has some of the most beautiful and awe inspiring places to visit in the world”

china’s aspiration of creating a fully connected country is not just centred on over ground links. there are ambitious plans being considered to create the world’s longest underwater tunnel between the city of dalian and Yantai, which are currently separated by the Bohai Bay in northern china. the tunnel would be situated underwater and span 122km, which would more than double the current longest undersea tunnel record - the channel tunnel between the uk and france - which has a 37.9km undersea section. It is not just the chance to have the world’s longest undersea tunnel that is prompting this impressive project, but when completed, it would reduce the journey between the two cities by approximately 1,287km.

natural Resources

china has a huge array of natural resources ranging from industrial metals - both ferrous and non-ferrous - to precious metals including gold, silver and platinum. out of the 150

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minerals found so far in the natural world, china can boast that they have deposits of every single one; however, only 135 of those have proven deposits. out of those 135, china has the largest deposits in the world for 12 minerals: tungsten, antimony, titanium, vanadium, zinc, rare earth, magnetite, pyrite, fluorite, barite, plaster stone and graphite. china’s deposits of coal are truly impressive. it is estimated that the country has 13% of the world’s proven coal reserves, but with the country primarily relying on coal-generated electricity (over 68% of electricity in China is from coal-fired power stations); the current levels of coal production may not be enough. with production reaching an approximate 3561 million tonnes in 2013, China dwarfs the 756 million tonnes produced by the usa. hydroelectricity production in china has increased since 2012 thanks to the three gorges dam. this mighty construction spanning the Yangtze river is the world’s largest hydro power station in terms of installed capacity, with a maximum capacity of 22.5gw. hydropower now accounts for around 22% of china’s total energy production, with 10% of that coming from the three gorges dam.

The Chinese government have ploughed millions of Yuan into updating and creating brand new travel links, including new expressways, rail links as well as expanding their civil air fleet” travel and tourism

with better transport links in place, there has been a rise in the number of foreign tourists travelling over to marvel at china’s astounding ancient artefacts and landscape. china has become the third most visited country in the world with an estimated 55 million tourists visiting the country each year. china has some of the most beautiful and awe inspiring places to visit in the world. the Yellow mountains are one such example of china’s natural beauty. they were listed as a unesco World Heritage Site in 1990 and could easily be considered to be one of the best features to visit in winter as location is a spectacle when covered in snow.

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The mighty yangtze river flows for 3,915 miles through china and is the third largest river in the world after the nile in africa and the amazon in south america. weaving its way through 11 provinces starting from the glaciers on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and finishing up in the east China sea at shanghai, the waterway plays an increasingly crucial role in the river valley’s economic growth and has become a fundamental link for international shipping to the inland provinces. the river is a major transportation artery for china, connecting the interior with the coast.

GREAT WALL OF CHINA

widely considered to be the single biggest manmade relic in the world, the great wall of china spans an astonishing 13,171 miles including all of its branches and trenches, with some sections of it dating back to the 7th century BC. The wall itself is made up of several sections built across the northern borders of china and was originally built to stop invading mongols and nomadic clans venturing south. the smaller sections of the wall were joined together, added to and partially rebuilt again throughout history. the majority of the wall, a section reaching 5,500 miles, was built during the Ming Dynasty (1368–1644) and this is the most prominent section of the wall left standing today.

FORBIDDEN CITY

Between 1406 and 1420, during the fabled Ming dynasty, the forbidden city was built. it became the chinese imperial palace and housed emperors and their houses for over 500 years and was the centre for both ceremonial and political functions of the chinese government. the complex contains a staggering 980 buildings and covers an area just over 180 Acres.

Surrounding the city is a 26ft high wall and a 2ft deep by 171ft wide moat making it an impressive defensive fortification. Tourists have the chance to view some of the 1.8 million pieces of artwork that are housed in the museums now occupying the Palace buildings.

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M H W i r t H

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mhwirth goes beyond the conventional drilling solution to provide its customers with the safer, more efficient and reliable alternative. mhwirth delivers world-class solutions, lifecycle services and advanced drilling systems for onshore and offshore drilling units, worldwide

Dual Derrick

Writer Emily Jarvis Project Manager Arron Rampling

n september 2014, aker solutions drilling technologies was introduced as an independent company operating under the mhwirth corporate brand, following the demerger from aker solutions. aker solutions have officially split into two companies, the new aker solutions, comprising the engineering, subsea, umbilical’s and mmo business areas and, akastor, an oil-service investment company encompassing the former drilling technologies, Process systems, aker Oilfield Services and Surface products. “all portfolio businesses owned by akastor are operating as stand-alone companies and have launched their new names and brands, including mhwirth, the largest subsidiary of akastor and a worldwide provider of drilling equipment and systems for the oil and gas industry,” explains Johannes eikland, managing director for mhwirth singapore.

The launch of our DDM is also an example of the importance of always driving towards innovation and our focus on developing the right technologies that can bring game changing solutions to the industry”

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M H W i r t h

Oil & Gas Experts

Founded more than a century ago, MHWirth has a long-standing legacy in the oil and gas industry and has a history of being at the forefront of developing innovative technologies for the offshore drilling market. “The Derrick Drilling Machine (DDM) is a great example of MHWirth’s drive towards cutting edge technology, launched as the worlds’ first top drive back in the early 80s, offering our customers and the oil and gas industry with a product providing remarkable cost savings during

All portfolio businesses owned by Akastor are operating as stand-alone companies and have launched their new names and brands, including MHWirth, the largest subsidiary of Akastor and a worldwide provider of drilling equipment and systems for the oil and gas industry” operations. The launch of our DDM is also an example of the importance of always driving towards innovation and our focus on developing the right technologies that can bring gamechanging solutions to the industry,” cites Eikland. “Several other products in our drilling equipment portfolio have facilitated efficient and safe operations for our customers since then,” he adds. Today, MHWirth is a global organisation with approximately 4,300 employees and provides complete topside drilling equipment as well as well control packages to the global oil and gas industry.

With their Asia Pacific main hub located in Singapore and several other local hubs around the Asia Pacific region, MHWirth has had a footprint in the region since the early 90s. In Asia, MHWirth has more than 600 people working in sales, projects, manufacturing, installation and commission and lifecycle

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Richform Offshore LTD

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ichform Offshore Limited (hereinafter called Richform), headquartered in Hong Kong, was established in 2002 and whollyowns five subsidiaries/branches.

Richform has two operation centres located in Shenzhen and Tianjin.

Richform, with its main business covering design & engineering, manufacture, OEM contract services, offshore Brownfield maintenance services and drilling equipment installation /commissioning services, has been engaged in the oil & gas industry for more than 10 years.

Through its experienced professional team over 500 staff which includes 110 experienced design engineers, and with its best understanding of both domestic and international code/standard, Richform bridges the local quality resources supply and global high spec. demand and strive to provide clients with the most reliable, quality and competitive services to those companies with international marketing and global sourcing strategy.

Richform has provided the manufacture and site services for MHWirth from 2007, with excellent performance in terms of quality, HSE and delivery. Richform has keep the long term relationship with MHWirth in P tank manufacture and derrick installation services, as well as with Fjords Processing and Aker Cool Sorption in offshore separator and process packages.

Sticking to the concept of “value connecting future”, Richform aims to deliver complete solutions and value-added services to the ultimate satisfaction of the clients with valueadded services and solutions.

www.richform.com.cn

M H W i r t h

The Bertling Group Bertling was founded in 1865, initially as a ship owning and operating company. Today Bertling still actively pursues this but it now forms only one of the many services the company provides worldwide.

With its network of 90 offices and 1,500 highly motivated professionals, Bertling is also uniquely positioned to provide full range of logistics services executed to the highest technical standards.

Johannes Eikland Managing Director

services. “The MHWirth organisation is unique because we demonstrate our competencies in technology and innovation, product design, engineering, project execution and lifecycle services,” says Eikland. Furthermore, the company was at the forefront in developing enhanced products for the oil and gas industry throughout the 80s and 90s. “Indeed, even well into the 2000’s when we introduced the sixth generation drilling packages with complete integrated systems and a higher degree of automation services in order to better meet the changing customer requirements to run safer, more efficient reliable operations,” he adds. This foundation is now being used to further enhance MHWirth’s technologies and integrate well control and high quality drilling riser systems into their service offering.

To enhance the MHWirth Clip Riser products, the company has established a new drilling riser manufacturing plant in Malaysia. The plant opened in 2008 and acts as a global manufacturing hub.

The company has also invested in their manufacturing and training facilities in Korea, China and Taiwan.

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Bertling uses robust systems, experienced personnel and puts together teams dedicated to your business and for almost 150 years Bertling’s innovation has delivered operational excellence.

www.bertling.com

MTQ PEMAC PTE LTD

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EMAC is a reputable precision engineering company focused on the manufacture and repair of equipment and components for oil & gas (O&G) producers, drilling contractors and oilfield service companies in the industry.

Investing in Drilling Lifecycle Services (DLS) Since 2005, MHWirth has delivered complete drilling topside packages to more than 45 rigs built at Asian shipyards, including Singapore, Korea and China.

To provide drilling lifecycle services close to their customers operations in Asia, MHWirth opened its first Asia office in Singapore in 1991 and has seen a steady growth within the DLS sector of their business. Eikland comments: “DLS has become an essential part of our business and brings with it customer satisfaction when we deliver as expected

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We are committed to delivering top-notch quality products. Currently, we are proud holders of five official API Monogram licenses.

We understand that in the frenzy paced O&G environment, where delivery speed is of essence, we continuously emphasise on punctual delivery. With an experienced team at PEMAC, we are able to provide clients with a quick turnaround and with over 20 years of operational experience, PEMAC has established an excellent track record in meeting delivery datelines.

We pride ourselves in partnering MHWirth in providing our quality products and services to meet all their specific requirements.

Tel +65 6542 5611 Email sidi@mtqpemac.com.sg

www.mtqpemac.com.sg

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M H W i r t h

or beyond customer’s expectations.

It is a big contributor to our desire to become a preferred supplier of drilling systems in the market. We constantly measure our customer satisfaction level and keep a process running to improve our services and products.”

MHWirth’s local presence also gives them the opportunity to introduce new technologies and tools to the local market. “This is a trend in the local market, and the new technology applied on the advanced drilling units is also now being gradually implemented on local projects and will improve local operations on safety, working environments and performance,“ says Eikland.

MHWirth’s Singapore presence reflects investments in facilities for service and overhaul as well as training. The training facilities include state of the art drilling simulators that are used for education and training of our customers’ rig personnel as well

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The MHWirth organisation is unique because we demonstrate our competencies in technology and innovation, product design, engineering, project execution and lifecycle services”

as their own employees. Additionally, the company has ensured that training hubs are strategically located in close proximity to drilling rig construction and operational sites, such as in Korea where MHWirth is involved in many new build projects. China has already become a major rig builder on the global arena and MHWirth is planning further investments in facilities and people to strengthen their position and support all the upcoming new build projects and operations over there. “Training facilities close to the yards have proven to be of great value for our customers. They offer convenience and efficient delivery of education combined with other tasks the crews are involved in during the construction of a rig. There will be training across the full spectrum of the driller’s daily business, with offshore simulators in place able to create a similar environment to the real rig environment,” says Eikland.

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Maintenance of rigs in operation is another area where MHWirth sees growth opportunities for the future. “Knowing the influence maintenance has on the performance of the rig, we see a great potential to develop new technology to make maintenance more efficient and proactive, while reducing costs and improving operational efficiency. Traditionally, maintenance has been more controlled by the calendar rather than the true condition of the equipment.

Developing smart, condition-based maintenance systems will contribute to huge cost and time savings for our customers and their operations,�

Eikland comments.

Rig performance is another area where the industry is focusing its efforts. The end users and the oil companies, tend not to focus solely on uptime anymore but rather also how efficiently rigs are able to operate and how quickly they can

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Drill Floor Equipment

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M H W i r t h Top Compensator

drill the well without compromising safety or the working environment.

“We are developing advanced technology which collects real time data of all operating parameters on a rig. With our analysing models, we can identify improvements and ensure best practice is applied by all operation crews while getting as close as possible to the technical limits of the drilling system,” says Eikland. MHWirth has been running pilots in close cooperation with their customers and has proved great savings and improved efficiency using this technology.

“By collaborating with our customers and becoming more involved in their operations, we can ensure optimal maintenance and rig performance in the future,” Eikland emphasises.

Remaining at the Top

After almost ten years of consistent new build construction, the oil and gas industry is ready to take on the challenges of a changing market.

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We deliver on time and on budget, meeting customer expectations every time. It is the most important element to our business; delivering quality and cost efficient solutions”

“This can be seen throughout the entire industry, and we are now focusing on enhanced efficiency and development of new products and services to further strengthen our offering to our customers,” emphasises Eikland.

One of the biggest challenges in a booming market is ensuring that the competency and capacity are in place to deliver. “By operating as a stand-alone company, we now have the opportunity to focus on our core business and our employees while investing in future growth and innovation. We are constantly striving for development and aim to exceed customer expectations in everything we do,” Eikland adds. “As competition grows in the deepwater drilling market, we are well prepared to ensure that MHWirth remains a world class supplier of drilling products, systems and services.”

Delivering quality on time is everything in the oil and gas industry and MHWirth’s Singapore logistics system is strategically aligned to function as a major hub for activities in Asia. “Thanks to the logistics system built up by the Singapore government, our own logistical capabilities can be become more efficient and enable us to cover the whole Asia Pacific supply chain. We have a mixed source of suppliers globally and many of these are located in Asia.

Competitive supply chain and efficient logistics are key elements of our business,” Eikland highlights.

Building Strong Service Hubs, Locally

Eikland is “proud of the company’s achievements over the last rig boom decade, in terms of both delivery of new projects and building up a service function to meet the big increase in demand for after sales support. When it comes to project deliveries, we know, from our past successes, that our worldclass engineering and project management team can deliver complete, integrated drilling systems.

When it comes to after sales service and customer support arm of the business, we knew at the start of the rig boom that with the new rig deliveries it

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would be an enormous challenge to provide support to our customers. But we have built up the competency, capacity and the tools to deliver efficient support to our customers. To help our customers to succeed in their operations and meeting their ambiguous targets, we know that we need to continue to build a strong local presence in the region which they can call upon at any time. MHWirth does this by creating a sense of autonomy by building local competency and capacity with the reassurance of support from product and engineering centre of excellence teams; traditionally located in Norway and Germany.�

With a vision to be a preferred partner in the drilling oil and gas industry in Asia Pacific, MHWirth strives to be a reliable partner for safe, efficient and reliable operations. “We shall deliver on time and on budget, meeting customer expectations every time and constantly look for improvements. It is the most important element to our business; delivering quality and cost efficient solutions by constantly focusing on our customers and improving our technology, products and services,� says Eikland. With the recent rebranding, comes an increased level of efficiency and structural integrity which has been implemented throughout the entire organisation and helps the company vision shine through.

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P e t r o t r a D e

fuelling

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ith shipping and sea-freight business in the Pacific Ocean increasing year on year, the need for a greater array of high quality services has risen. one company in the Philippines has stepped up and offered a new approach to marine and bunkering services in Asia: on-demand, 24/7 bunkering services. the herma group was formed more than twenty years ago by herminio s. esguerra who started a petroleum hauling business with one rented barge - The Herma I. the herma corporation, then with only ten employees, started operations in 1985. The company provided hauling services, ferrying refined petroleum products from a refinery in Bataan to wherever it was needed. with demand for the herma group services growing year on year, a new facility was added to the roster.

Petrotrade Philippines inc began offering round the clock on-demand bunkering services to any point in the archipelago and have remained the only company in the Philippines to currently offer such a service.

identifying the need

Petrotrade remain the only company in the Philippines to offer 24/7 bunkering services Writer Matt Bone Project Manager Arron Rampling

Benedict ibuyan, managing director of Petrotrade Philippines inc (PPi), explains that the company was formed when the need for a dedicated provider of bunkering facilities was identified in the asia petro-services market: “the bunkering services industry in the Philippines in the 1980’s were owned and operated by oil companies in the region, who offered bunkering as a side business as opposed to a main revenue stream. the biggest problem was that the service was only available between 8am and 5pm and would only be delivered if the company could spare a vessel to send the product out to you.�

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P e t r o t r a d e

Inkote Philippines

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nkote Philippines, Inc., an affiliate of PT Inkote Indonesia, is regarded as one of the major suppliers of Metal Closure and Can Coatings; Tin, Flexographic, and Rotogravure Printing Inks in the Philippines.

In 2005, Inkote was awarded exclusive distributorship of HEMPEL in the Philippines; strengthening their foothold on the marine and protective industry.

For 32 years, Inkote earned the trust of their customers with their commitment to excellence. They work closely with HERMA Group in meeting their stringent standards, which Inkote continues to meet for more than 7 years as their paint supplier for their vessel dry-docking and maintenance requirements.

Tel +63 2 7064501 Email inkote@rodelgroup.com

www.inkote.com

With the shipping industry running 24/7, many vessel captains began to turn to Petrotrade as their new supplier for fuel. With the Philippines situated between the shipping routes for Japan, Australia, Indonesia and Korea, Petrotrade quickly became the go-to company for bunkering services, as it served as a perfect midway point between many of the routes. Since 1991, the bunkering services offered by Petrotrade have grown significantly.

From just one single barge offering support to the shipping industry, the company now have a dedicated fleet of vessels all of which are doublehulled, SIRE-compliant, ISPS certified and ISM classed by the Philippine Maritime Industry (MARINA).

Fuelling the Market With the shipping market seeing strong throughput in the Philippines, Petrotrade have been quick to work

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Benedict Ibuyan, Managing Director

with their sister companies in the Herma Group to ensure that they maintain a strong grip on the fuel market. Herma Shipyard Inc (HSI) located in Mariveles, Bataan - have recently finished building a new tanker for their sister company Herma Shipping Transport Company (HSTC) named the M/T Matapat, the third such tanker built in the shipyard.

Herma Shipping has 17 tankers and barges, which Petrotrade can also use when needed. The M/T Matapat will be initially used by Chevron to transport its fuel from its terminal in Batangas to the various oil depots in the country. Having new tankers built by a sister company is keeping Petrotrade ahead of the competition.

Due to current legislation and regulations, companies cannot buy a new tanker and ship it to the Philippines without the consent of the other companies operating in that area. However, you can build a new

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P E t r o t r a d E

vessel or utilise one from your parent company in the country and use it right away. “By utilising both the hsi and hstc, we have a strong advantage over our competitors, as we still abide by the laws governing new vessels in the Philippines and can still have new vessels. the vessels built for hstc are tested to the highest international standards and will be a welcome addition to the fleet,” explains Ibuyan.

Rocking the boat a leading local oil company recently decided to upgrade their refinery. This upgrade enables them to further refine their intermediate fuel oil (ifo) to lighter ends such as diesel and gasoline. since the bunkering market mainly uses intermediate fuel oil in its original form, availability for the bunkering market is therefore compromised. with this development, prices for the ifo for

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The vessels built for HSTC are tested to the highest international standards and will be a welcome addition to the fleet”

the use of foreign ships, is expected to sky-rocket, as fewer avails are expected from here on.

Being a long term change in availability of fuel oil, bunkering players in the Philippines are expected to take a hit, given that prices in the country would sharply increase. these players, such as Petrotrade, run the risk of losing its customers to other cheaper ports in the asian region. the challenge therefore lies in addressing this sourcing problem within this year.

An integrated supply Chain in the early days of Petrotrade’s operations, the company predominantly bought their fuel from different oil companies in the Philippines and then sold it on to the various vessels from the back of their barges. this proved to be both costly and time consuming and

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as mentioned earlier, the supply was limited to oil company working 8am-5pm hours only. Petrotrade then found themselves being squeezed out of the market by the oil companies limiting the amount of the fuel available to the company as there were bigger and more valuable commodities to be sold than marine fuel. with the dwindling amount of fuel on offer, Petrotrade made the bold move to source their own fuel from singapore oil companies as it was cheaper and they could buy it in larger quantities. “with our main product being offered in lower quantities from filipino oil companies, we made the decision to work with singapore-based oil companies and source our fuel from them. sometimes it does pay to make a bold move in the market and that can be the difference between a company

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We have strived to listen to what the market needs and then deliver that need before our competitors do. It is not a secret or some magic action; it is simply knowing your market”

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failing and a company making a profit,” cites Ibuyan. success is put often down to a single reason or action that moved the company forward during tougher times. for Petrotrade, it was always clear from the outset that the factors that would make them a success were simple: understanding what the market wants, and delivering that requirement. “from the outset, we have strived to listen to what the market needs and then deliver that need before our competitors do. it is not a secret or some magic action; it is simply knowing your market. our industry is very much based on strong relationships between clients and suppliers, so by giving the clients what they need when they need it, we maintain a good relationship that will serve us well for many years to come,” concludes ibuyan.

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M t Q

P e M a c

Q&A

siNgaPore’s

ONE-STOP aPi WorKsHoP sumardi Bin sidi, general manager of mtQ Pemac says that there are no secrets to the company’s success; it is simply down to working hard and attending to all types of customer needs Writer Emily Jarvis Project Manager Arron Rampling

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Mr Sidi, please tell me about MtQ PeMAC in your own words Pemac is a one-stop aPi workshop for all your oil and gas needs. our name stands for Precision Engineering Machining and Consultancy and is part of the mtQ group of companies. we manufacture oil and gas products to API specifications, specialising in full-scale, global pressure control equipment and we offer an extensive suite of aftermarket services, including authorised workshop repairs and a well stocked inventory of over 100 types of pressure control equipment. our team possesses over 30 years of industry knowledge, experience and network to handle all your requests and efficiently secure the right equipment at the most cost effective price. Plus, our key executives hold more than 150 years worth of accumulated experiences in the oil and gas industry. Pemac’s unique selling point is its quick turnaround and ability to do all types of jobs, no matter the size. we understand our clients need for ease of purchase and efficiency.

Hence at PeMAC, we offer a broad spectrum of products and services from our 31,000 square feet factory, fulfilling multiple orders with various different parties, not to mention the hassle of co-ordination. we open our doors to orders of all sizes. while we are well equipped to handle large established companies, we always welcome the patronage of smallmedium enterprises. having grown from humble beginnings, no order is too small for us. as a small organisation established since 1993 and now consisting of 98 employees, we allow customers to go directly to the general manager in the event of urgent orders that require immediate attention and quick delivery. this ‘can do’ attitude

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P E M a c

differentiates us from the bigger organisations that tend to adopt a first come, first serve basis. Our hard work can be reflected through our revenue, which was sgd $20 million for the 2013 financial year. what has been MtQ PeMAC’s focus for the last year? Have you made any new investments? the company has been focusing on providing support to its key customers such as sapura kencana, seadrill and mhwirth (formerly aker solutions) for steady growth.

Pemac manufactures and assembles choke and kill manifolds, mud and standpipe manifolds and cement manifolds. the manufacture and assembly of manifolds is one of our key projects. in addition, our other major project is the supply of a rig equipment package from energy drilling, origin energy and cosco shipyard. over the last year, we have been looking at ways to raise our productivity through automation of our cnc machines. in terms of investments, Pemac invested in a range of new machinery recently, including a new c&c machine, r16 machine and various welding machines. this process will take some time and will require re-training of existing manpower, but we see this as a worthwhile expense as we understand that in the frenzypaced oil and gas environment, where delivery speed is of the essence, we continuously place emphasis on punctual delivery. with an experienced team at Pemac, coupled with our investments in technologies and equipment, we are able to provide clients with a quick turnaround. as a result of 20 years of operational experience, Pemac has established an excellent track record in meeting delivery deadlines.

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We have always believed in providing the highest quality of services to our customers.

Hence to prove our commitment to quality, we have sought accreditation from industry renowned American Petroleum Institute (API), which sets a high benchmark on quality standards�

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Tell me about some of the biggest challenges MtQ PeMAC has faced there are many challenges in our industry, including manpower challenges such as recruitment, reducing manpower quotas and higher levies. as our business operates in an outdoor working environment, it is losing popularity among younger singaporeans who have newer industries to seek employment in. coupled with foreign worker constraints, finding manpower to support growth is a real concern. for now, we are currently taking a closer look at opportunities overseas in order to stay ahead of the curve in terms of training, employee retention and business expansion. new regional developments in myanmar and indonesia provide the grounds for future growth trends as we move towards knowledge-based solutions.

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In terms of our staff, we are focussing on the retention of existing talents in the company in order to maintain our industry knowledge and expertise; and pass this on to new staff. The camaraderie amongst workers is currently good and we would like to retain and improve on this further to encourage and build a cohesive team of employees.

Tell me more about your five APi Monogram licenses we have always believed in providing the highest quality of services to our customers. hence to prove our commitment to quality, we have sought accreditation from industry renowned american Petroleum institute (aPi), which sets a high benchmark on quality standards. the result is not merely one, but five certified API licenses that cover 14 different product ranges. We obtained aPi monogram licenses for

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API 5CT, 6A, 7-1, 16A and 16C. This serves as a strong testament to our excellent quality standards. With five certified API licenses, we are currently ranked as the top oilfield equipment manufacturer in the region for the number of aPi licenses held. hence, customers who engage with our services have the peace of mind with regard to quality assurance.

On top of the five API licenses, Pemac also adheres to various other internationally recognised standards, regulations, codes and practices as required. additionally, Pemac has in place a check and upgrade policy whereby equipment is constantly checked for performance levels. our upgrade policy ensures that we frequently budget for capital expenditure to invest in additional plant and tooling equipment to advance our technical capabilities. these are among the key factors leading to our confidence in quality assurance along with meeting high benchmark aPi standards.

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logistical Pan asia logistics is aiming to become the preferred partner in asia for global logistics

Writer Matt Bone Project Manager James Mitchell

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Never compromise.

MTU engines are built with legendary high standards. When it’s time for replacement parts and consumables, don’t settle for anything less. Enhance the life of your engine with ValueSpares—the only parts and consumables that live up to MTU standards for craftsmanship, quality and performance. Designed, tested and approved specifically for MTU engines and systems, ValueSpares products are the result of years of intensive research and development, making them the best possible match for your engine. To get the most from your equipment, there are no shortcuts. Non-genuine parts and consumables are simply not worth the risk. For maximum reliability, performance and uptime, choose a name you can trust—ValueSpares from MTU.

Stay genuine. ValueSpares.

P a n

As i a

L o g i s t i c s

ince late 2002, Pan Asia Logistics (PAL) has merged equally high levels of German efficiency with Asian commitment to deliver unparalleled standards of logistical services to their customers from offices across key cities in Asia. Supported by over 1,000 logistics professionals who place the company’s core values of knowledge-driven, integrity, personal relationships and service excellence above everything else, Pan Asia Logistics has become one of the fastest growing logistics companies in the Asia Pacific region.

Christian Bischoff, CEO of Pan Asia Logistics, was faced with tough challenges when the breakout of Avian Flu occurred so quickly after the company began operating: “We started operating in 2003 with just six people and were really excited at what the future held for us, but no sooner than we had started, Avian Flu ran riot in Asia and spiralled the economy into a deep crisis.

We suddenly faced the challenge to grow from zero, while the whole market in Asia crashed around us.”

Thankfully, Pan Asia Logistics managed to retain and even bring in an impressive number of customers despite the epidemic, and saw a better than expected turnover of SG$20 million in the first year. By the end of 2003, the company employed 80 people and had opened new offices in South Korea and offices in Hong Kong; even beginning their operations in Indonesia.

“Reflecting back on our amazing journey, it proved to be true that the best opportunities for greater things do often come from crisis or periods of hardship,” cites Bischoff.

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Christian Bischoff, CEO - Pan Asia Logistics

Reflecting back on our amazing journey, it proved to be true that the best opportunities for greater things do often come from crisis or periods of hardship”

Mercedes Parts Distribution Centre - Korea

MTU Committed to Singapore, Strong in Asia; MTU Accelerates Development in the Region

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TU, part of Rolls-Royce Power Systems, is one of the world’s leading manufacturers of large diesel engines and complete propulsion systems. An extensive product portfolio covering diesel engines and complete propulsion systems has been delivering power to ships,heavy agricultural, rail and military vehicles, and the oil and gas industry for over 100 years. As Asia Pacific headquarters for all MTU and MTU Onsite Energy products and services in the region, MTU Asia offers sales and application engineering, service support, distribution management, corporate functions, marketing and communications.

Strategically located in Singapore, MTU Asia is the hub for sales and support of MTU products throughout the region.

MTU’s presence in over 30 countries in Asia Pacific bears witness to the strength of the organization and its network. Making use of a wide network of subsidiaries, MTU has achieved tremendous growth throughout Indonesia, India, mainland China, Hong Kong, Vietnam,Japan and Korea. In November 2013, to keep up with the company’s expanding presence in Asia, MTU broke ground on a new Asia Pacific regional headquarters in Singapore.

As business in the region has grown, so has the demand for service support, including the growing need for engine parts. In response, and in long term partnership with Pan Asia Logistics, MTU has invested in and opened a state-of-the-art Parts Logistics Centre in Singapore for the management and storage of parts. The new facility, covering 10,000 square metres, is capable of handling a daily throughput of 1,000 line items and 50 to 60 orders per day. Being close to its customers is at the heart of MTU’s commitment to world-class operational excellence.

In the Asia Parts Logistics Centre – one of the three worldwide – MTU has a state-of-the-art facility to meet its customers’ needs.

Because MTU expects to see higher throughput both inbound and outbound, high efficiency warehouse processes and storage systems are key for long term success in the region.

Utilizing an advanced Extended Warehouse Management (EWM) system and an Automated Storage and Retrieval System (ASRS), MTU’s Parts Logistics Centre in Singapore means MTU Asia is now more than ever well equipped to serve the growing business in Singapore and throughout the Asia Pacific region.

www.mtu-online.com

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Riege Software International SOFTWARE SUPPORTS PAN ASIA LOGISTICS EXPANSION

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iege Software International has implemented “Scope” at Pan Asia Logistics, one of the fastest growing logistics solutions providers in Asia Pacific. Scope has been implemented in China, Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, Japan, Taiwan, India and Indonesia, as well as in Germany.

“It was an outstanding achievement by this joint team. Pan Asia Logistics was a pilot customer for Scope in the Asian market, and of course we had to take account of certain features specific to the company and to each country,” says Dr. Tobias Riege who directed the rollout.

Currently the rollout of Korea is planned including electronic interfaces to fulfill the complex local requirements. Italy is scheduled for January 2015.

Meeting Customer Needs

make commitments instantaneously.

After 2003, PAL began to expand into “We pride ourselves on always the market further, gaining contracts delivering on our promises. No fuss and no theatrics, just our with global companies such as Renault and Ericsson. Although still a honest commitment to the logistics business,” cites Bischoff. fledgling company, PAL was blessed Pan Asia Logistics still view with a plethora of experience from themselves as a small company but its employees, all of whom had have clear and ambitious goals set come from a logistics background in place. “Many people consider and enabled the company to quickly logistics as a sunset industry, but build up trust between themselves worldwide trade wouldn’t be and the clients. Pan Asia Logistics possible without the unsung hero ensure that no matter who the called logistics,” Bischoff further client is or what the logistical explains: “The global logistics nature of the contract, their level market is worth over a trillion US of commitment, delivery speed and flexibility never waivers. Through this dollars annually and the growth indomitable spirit, PAL now manages forecasts for Asia are encouraging.

We are targeting SG$1 billion revenue 25 companies in Asia and Europe by 2020.” with more than 50 branches and boasts a turnover of SG$200 million.

Developing the Business With Pan Asia Logistics being self owned and operated, the company Pan Asia Logistics has heavily can make quick decisions, negotiate invested in additional warehousing business contracts and in some cases across Asia over the last few years,

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Scope covers the entire international transport process chain, from the collection of the goods from the sender through to final delivery to the end recipient. It also offers connections to major air freight carriers, shipping companies and other transport providers to register deliveries automatically, track their status and monitor them. Invoice data is transmitted to the logistics provider’s accounting system via an interface. In addition to the modern and intuitive user interface, Scope supports Asian languages.

Pan Asia Logistics uses Riege’s transport management system in the form of SaaS (Software as a Service). The software is located centrally in the Riege data center in Hong Kong, one of three Riege data centers world wide. The outsourcing produces savings in hardware, maintenance and staff costs, while increasing the security and quality at Pan Asia Logistics.

Tel +852 2801 7623 Email info.hk@riege.com

www.riege.com

“Given our rapid growth and work across national borders and continents, we need a transport management system that is extremely effective and efficient.� Christian Bischoff, Founder and Managing Director at Pan Asia Logistics

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OKH Global Ltd Joint Synergies to Create Logistic Hubs Around the World

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n 18 August 2014, SGX-listed OKH Global Ltd. (“OKH Global”), an integrated property developer, announced the proposed investment to acquire a 15% stake in Pan Asia Logistics Holdings Singapore Pte. Ltd.

Changi Nor th Way, Office

including 438,000 square foot warehouse in South Malaysia, which was bought and paid for by the company and opened in March of this year, and a SG$60 million, 220,000 sq ft warehouse, just outside of Seoul, South Korea. Additionally, in late August 2014, the company held the grand opening of their 450,000sq ft building in Singapore west, costing SG$95 million.

The expansion is not just limited to Asia, with Pan Asia Logistics opening up a new office in Frankfurt, Germany.

The company also have warehouses and offices in Italy - notably in Milan and Rome - thanks to a buyout of a smaller logistics firm in 2013. Right now, PAL is preparing a move into Myanmar and is looking at a joint venture in Bangladesh in order to increase their coverage and reach across Asia. “We are strategically examining the region in order to decide where to build our warehouses,

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We are strategically examining the region in order to decide where to build our warehouses, which is based on a multitude of factors”

As an integrated property developer, OKH Global has the capability and financial resources to design and develop logistics and warehousing properties specifically for the growing client base and expanding business services of Pan Asia. Both OKH Global and Pan Asia can capitalise on their inherent strengths and complementary business networks to create new value propositions to customers.

This proposed investment will further reinforce the working relationship of both companies, which was started from a joint venture to develop, own and manage logistic properties across Asia. While this joint venture currently owns three logistics properties, of approximately 1.1 million square feet in total, located in Singapore, Malaysia and Korea, there are plans to progressively expand the logistics property assets and network around the world.

The collective experience and resources of both companies will create a cohesive platform to deliver interlinked business opportunities and create new value propositions in complementary markets.

Tel +65 6345 0544 Email admin@okh.com.sg www.okh.com.sg

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which is based on a multitude of factors. we do this by carefully looking at the options through feasibility studies and research,� remarks Bischoff. one such country that has really been targeted

by Pal is china, where they currently have 10 offices spread across the country, with a view to adding an additional 10 more offices in 2015. In a country the size of china, logistics is a key industry and logistics services are the backbone of many industries. Pan asia logistics plans to be that very backbone. to aid them in their goal of becoming not only asia’s biggest logistics service provider, they have partnered up with okh global, the singapore-based property developer with integrated design-and-build capabilities. this joint venture will provide Pal with the latest in technological advances in architecture and design knowhow, to ensure the new warehouses and buildings being created

by Pal are at the cutting edge of design and functionality. The secondary benefit of a joint venture with okh is that it enables both companies to use the agreement as a platform to build a strong client base in asia and internationally.

IO-CONSULTANTS PTE LTD

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o-consultants Pte ltd, set up in October 1996, is an independent consulting and planning company, specialising in functional industrial planning, process optimisation and facilities design. io-consultants Pte ltd, based in singapore, serves as the regional headquarter of io-consultants gmbh & co. kg, located in heidelberg (germany). together, io-consultants have successfully completed more than 5,000 projects and assignments in europe, the middle east and the united states and more than 50 projects in the Asia-Pacific region. io-consultants specialises in process re-engineering, material flow and information systems related to processes in various industrial sectors. these include food & catering, pharmaceutical, healthcare and logistics. in recent years, io-consultants have also moved into design for the hospitality industry. io-consultants’ highly qualified workforce, with more than 50 years in germany and 18 years in asia, of both specialised and inter-disciplinary experience behind them, helps clients to improve their competitive position. our substantial knowledge and experience enables us to provide integrated planning services for complex and large-scale projects.

io-consultants Pte. Ltd. 25 intl. Business Park #03-20/21 German Centre, Singapore, 609916 www.io-consultants.com

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io-consultants develops solutions tailored to the customers‘ specific needs, aimed at increasing customer productivity to subsequently reduce costs and enhance competitiveness on a sustainable basis.

Whether greenfield projects or strategies for optimising the value-added chain, io-consultants applies innovation, efficiency, reliability, quality consciousness and the “made in Germany“ hallmark to secure the success of its clients both home and abroad. io-consultants Pte. Ltd. 25 Intl. Business Park #03-20/21 German Centre, Singapore, 609916 www.io-consultants.com

CREATEFUTURE Meeting Expansion Needs With expansion and company growth comes the inevitable problem of being able to source top manpower and talent to help propel the company forward at a steady pace. This has been one of the standout challenges faced by Pan Asia Logistics in recent years and the company has been looking at new ways to bring in raw talent and turn them into managers and project developers. PAL has been working with universities in Singapore; with undergraduate and postgraduate classes to help nurture the next generation of potential employees.

“We have seen a lack of logistically talented manpower coming through the education system in recent years and it has been affecting us. We are working alongside the universities to help single out potential employees and it has already paid dividends for us. Those new candidates are going through in-house training with us and

We are working alongside the universities to help single out potential employees and it has already paid dividends for us. Those new candidates are going through in-house training with us and working towards becoming integral parts of the company”

working towards becoming integral parts of the company,” cites Bischoff.

The in-house training offered by Pan Asia Logistics does not just cover the ins and outs of the job role, but also provides education on the history and culture of the company. The new employees are given a solid education on the brand and how the culture requires employees to be flexible and adaptable in their approach to work on projects. With the company growing at a healthy rate, marketing in new countries has been a new challenge for the company as campaigns that work in Asia may not be as well received in Germany or Italy, as Bischoff explains: “We have a dedicated marketing team who identify the best methods for growing the brand in the countries in which we operate. The techniques we employ in Asia do not always translate to the European market so we look at new approaches to help strengthen brand activities abroad.”

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P a n

As i a

L o g i s t i c s

Shifts and Trends

We are constantly adapting to meet the growing and changing demands of our clients. Currently, we are strengthening our core business of air and ocean freight as well as contract logistics services while building up our warehouse capacities”

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The shift in trade volumes and trade flow continues to be dynamic due to the growing importance of emerging markets, which have gradually been leading to a restructure of the markets. Asia is spearheading the growth of the world economy and will continue to be the locomotive.

Changing demand for manufacturing and manufacturing locations and shifting closer to higher concentration of customers will alter the geographic spread of logistics hubs. “The opportunities to grow business in Asia are enormous. Asia has a youth factor, approximately 60% of the world’s young population lives in Asia and they cause a change in consumer behaviour,” states Bischoff, who adds that “Asia’s middle class is exploding and boasts impressive spending power.”

Productivity and Innovation

Pan Asia Logistics will continue to reinforce its market presence. To stay ahead of the market changes, PAL has also embarked on joint ventures and started a couple of new divisions to cover lucrative niche businesses such as fashion logistics, life science and time critical solutions. Pan Asia Logistics is the first user of the Scope System in Asia and was the pilot customer for Riege Software International.

“We are constantly adapting to meet the growing and changing demands of our clients. Currently, we are strengthening our core business of air and ocean freight as well as contract logistics services while building up our warehouse capacities.

We have heavily invested in warehouse automation technology. Our processes in operations and administration have been re-designed and optimised and we have rolled out an operations and freight management system in all our countries recently,” explains Bischoff.

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Pan asia logistics have activated a substantial amount of measures and are looking for innovative ways to tap into the current market developments and map out their strategic direction over the next 5 years. “we set up a think tank recently and started developing mission specific logistics products and services. the logistics industry needs disruption, to prepare for the next generation of logistics solutions, because the next generation of customers and employees are born into the digital age,” claims Bischoff.

Investing in Employees and the Community worker health and happiness is something that is always a top priority for Pan asia logistics. ergonomic furniture, yoga classes, Pilates, social trips and stress and wellness management are just some of the things on offer to all employees. “Staff health is very

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important to us. if people are unhappy or feel the effects of stress, their productivity will be down and they will no longer enjoy their jobs,” remarks Bischoff. it is not just the employees who benefit from the company funding.

Pan asia logistics has been investing in a scholarship program over the last two years. the programme supports and sponsors students from disadvantaged backgrounds in singapore. the course allows several candidates who would have otherwise been unable to study. this scheme has already produced several success stories.

secrets for Logistical success

Bischoff was keen to highlight that Pal’s success is not so much a secret, but a result of standing strong in the face of challenge: “one of the driving factors that has seen us conquering even the

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harshest challenges is the unyielding spirit found in our staff. From the senior managers to the warehouse operators, this unwavering spirit is part of our dna. we fully empower our employees and involve them in decision making on all levels of the organisation.” Over 95% of the managers that Pal originally started out with remain employed by the company, thanks in part to the high integrity workplace and business environment Pan Asia Logistics offer to their employees. logistics is a people-driven industry, where clients make their decision on who to use based on many factors. with Pal’s employees and management not only identifying but implementing the company’s mantra of never give up until you succeed, staff and facilities are strategically placed to help clients choose Pan asia logistics as their preferred partner in asia.

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H u a t i o n g

H o l d i n g s

EQUALS T r e at i n g S ta f f a n d C u s t o m e r s a s

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Huationg Group is committed to providing the best lifting, shifting and logistics services to meet the growing needs in construction, marine, port and petrochemical industries in Singapore and the region Writer Emily Jarvis Project Manager Arron Rampling

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h u a t i o N g

h o l d i N g S

uationg holdings Pte ltd asia is one of the leading heavy lift and haulage service companies in singapore, with a long operating history that spans over more than three decades and a strong belief that their employees make the company stand out from the crowd. after mr lee chin tiong started the business in 1979, the company has spent the last 30 years expanding Huationg’s offering into a group of companies, to become one of the largest domestic crane and heavy haulage companies in singapore in terms of the aggregate tonnage of its crane and prime mover fleet. On June 23rd 2000, huationg holdings Pte ltd was incorporated as a private investment holding company to consolidate the activities of the various Huationg subsidiaries, specifically huationg inland transport service

Pte ltd and huationg (asia) Pte ltd. further, huationg inland transport service Pte ltd was incorporated on June 2nd 1984, specifically to conduct crawler crane and technical lift and shift services. to complete this quartet, huationg (asia) Pte ltd was incorporated on march 22nd 2005, specifically to provide commercial mobile crane services for heavy haulage service businesses. the advent of this expansion and organised consolidation of group assets has enabled huationg holdings to become an award-winning company; obtaining the wsh innovation award and exxonmobil safety award. “this is testament to the company’s emphasis on safety and quality of customer service. we serve our customers as if they were our colleagues. this personal approach is what makes us stand out from the crowd in Singapore,” says Jimmy chua, general manager of huationg holdings. moreover, the

CARtRACk

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s a global leader and one of the most respected companies in fleet management, vehicle tracking and stolen vehicle recovery solutions, cartrack is uniquely positioned to meet the needs of its clients’. cartrack’s services and software systems are built on the most advanced technologies available coupled with a devotion to client service. cartrack aims to achieve value-additions for all our clients through our comprehensive solution and expertise. cartrack fleet management solution gives constant visibility into fleet operations of different size or type. cartrack allows the company to manage and monitor fleet assets, driver behavior, as well as draw real time data for analysis. real time alerts and sophisticated reports allows proactive planning and intervention to improve driver productivity, streamline operations and lower costs, rather than simply track location. as a preferred partner for fleet management, cartrack works closely with huationg holdings to enhance the driver road safety and improve the fleet operational efficiencies for the fleet of vehicles and machinery. “cartrack offers options for integration with our basic it infrastructure. the experience we have with cartrack, together with their efficient and professional services, confirms that we have partnered with the true leader in fleet management.” mr Jimmy chua, group general manager of huationg holdings.

tel +65 6255 4151 Email info@cartrack.sg

www.cartrack.sg

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company is the preferred partner for a number of leading brands of cranes and other heavy equipment such as LIEBHERR, TEREX, GROVE, SCANIA and KOBELCO. It is also the first company to purchase SCANIA trucks and bring them into Singapore and the region, which is just one example of Huationg’s caring culture and foresight to invest in quality assets to provide excellent service to clients.

Realigning the Huationg Brand

Huationg is known for its high reliability in service which is critical for clients wishing to avoid costly delays. Consequently, the company has forged strong relationships with large contractors and engineering firms over the years, who take pride in awarding leasing and lifting contracts to Huationg.

Its nimbleness to react and respond to clients is also well known in the Singapore market. “Singapore will always be a city of consumption; construction is continuous here. As such, we are never short of work and growth opportunities. Currently, we are reassessing ourselves and our route to market in order to increase growth opportunities locally; only then will we look at ways to expand the company beyond borders.”

Alongside the decades of strengthening their ties in the country, Huationg have conjured excellent working relationships with various governing bodies and regulatory bodies, which have enabled the company to secure recurring contracts in certain sectors of its business. Conversely, this results in further business from new contractors during the tendering phases of a project, whereby Huationg can recommend their services and the appropriate equipment to use. These two methods of sale continue to raise the company profile in the marketplace, whilst accompanying advertisements in trade publications also contribute business opportunities. “Our new business model will see us gain more ownership and more specialisation in order to assist us in our bid to be the right company for the job in question,” affirms Chua.

Specialisation in Order to Better Serve the Customer With a core business focus on the provision of technical lift and shift, and concrete pump services, Huationg are able to serve a diverse pool of major industries in Singapore. These include the leasing of crawler and mobile cranes, leasing of general equipment, other construction

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equipment, related spare parts and services, sale of cranes and related industrial vehicles for the oil and gas, engineering and construction, land transport authority, petrochemical, offshore and marine, power generation, the port authorities and other major infrastructure projects/sectors.

Beyond conventional cargo delivery, Huationg’s specialised fleet of lorry cranes (of up to 65 tonnes) and selfloaders provide continuous support for the day-to-day operations of rapid crate handling. “our competent operators pilot 65 low loaders including heavy-duty auto rams, and can undertake rapid machine deployment throughout Singapore,” adds chua. “over 120 prime movers (ranging from 60 to 250 tons) ensure that the most exacting demands are met.” Therefore, the company can meet any need including shipment related handling such as local import/ export and/or trans-shipment.

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CERTIFICATIONS ACHIEVED: i s o 9001:2000 B e e n i s o 9001:2000 hse CheCkList ContRACtoRs B i Z s A F e s tA R C e R t i F i C At i o n i s o 9001, i s o 14001, o s h A 18001, A n D i n t e g R At e D MAnAgeMent S Y S T E M (I M S)

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core business will be handled by different entities as follows: Huationg asia on the lifting services, huationg inland on the shifting services and hua resources on concrete pump services. “this will enhance their individual specialisation so as to serve the customer better,” says Chua.

Quality Assurance and Control

in order to maintain their consistently high standard of service to customers, huationg holdings has put in place several quality control programmes that keep them ahead of the competition. in singapore, the company’s cranes are subject to annual inspection by authorised professional engineers to ensure that the cranes are in both a good and safe working condition. in addition, before delivering the company’s cranes to the customers, inspections and/or load-lifting tests are conducted. Plus, huationg also conducts inspections when the cranes are returned upon the expiry of their leasing contracts.

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H u a t i o n g

H o l d i n g s

Minimising downtime and repair of equipment is a key part of maintaining a strong market position. Should maintenance and repair work be required during the leasing period, Huationg has a large inventory of spare parts and experienced maintenance personnel to minimise delays to the customers. In the event that a longer period of time is required to repair the equipment, the company is able to provide a replacement from its leasing fleet.

“Safety is not a priority, it is a pre-requisite” Huationg’s industry standard load test is just one of the instances of ensuring safety in the workplace. The safety load test is conducted once every three years. Visual tests are conducted annually by professional engineers, who will issue a certificate of test and examination for the company’s lifting machinery.

Continuous Staff Development

However, it is not just the cranes themselves that undergo testing. It is also a requirement for Huationg’s crane operators to undergo comprehensive training with the BCA (Building & Construction Authority) before obtaining the requisite licence to operate cranes. “Upon the purchase of new cranes, further on-site training will also be provided for the crane operators. The maintenance team regularly undergoes training courses organised by suppliers for constant updates on new machinery. Training from new crane manufacturers is also provided on-site,” Chua adds.

This strong focus on training and key performance indicators stems from the company’s unique staffing system, which mainly revolves around retaining employees for the long term. “Those who have accumulated industry experience are incredibly valuable to our company. When it comes to

RICON Ricon was incorporated on 28th April 1975 and holds the distributorship of various well-established manufacturers’ products from different countries (products mostly complimentary to each other), known for their high quality worldwide, such as KOBELCO, NEW HOLLAND, NPK and PROLEC. Ricon also provides quality repairs and maintenance services including supply of spare parts at reasonable prices.

The company has more than forty-nine employees, of whom some service personnel are factory trained to maintain the products we represent.

Ricon also imports quality second hand equipment such as Excavators and Crawler cranes. With our expertise and facilities these are reconditioned to our customer satisfaction.

Tel +(65) 6862 2401 Email sales@ricon.com.sg

www.ricon.com.sg

We will always seek a bestpractice approach in order to improve and refine all systems and processes via regular feedbacks and assessments in order to provide the best possible service for the greatest possible value”

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promotion, we look internally for staff who have stayed with us for a long time. this comes with the reasoning that the company requires people that have a fair understanding of the industry coupled with the motive of recognising the efforts of employees.” Being in an industry that requires knowledge that comes with experience, huationg promote and provide an environment with a secure staffing policy that helps maintain or retain its long serving staff. “as huationg group continues to grow and expand, we believe that our commitment to customer service and integrated civil engineering and construction solutions will develop beyond engineering technology but instead depend on continuous development of a well trained personnel and crews. as such, we will endeavour to ensure all employees are involved in the Huationg value-chain,” surmises chua.

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“we aren’t just a building and logistics company” huationg group is committed to providing the best lifting, shifting and logistics services to meet the growing needs in construction, marine and petrochemical industries in singapore and the region. the company and its subsidiaries will continue to strive to accommodate these commitments through their fleet of modern and technologies, advance vehicles, machinery and well trained staff as Mr Chua concludes: “we will always seek a best-practice approach in order to improve and refine all systems and processes via regular feedbacks and assessments in order to provide the best possible service for the greatest possible value. furthermore, huationg culture is one where we aim to continuously better ourselves professionally and seek new technologies in order to meet both employee and customer satisfaction.”

We aren’t just a building and logistics company. We move people. We build lives. We are Huationg Holdings” Jimmy Chua, General Manager

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A P T S h o w f r e i g h t & L o g i st i c s G r o u p

Working Behind the Scenes

APT Showfreight’s Managing Director, Danny Khor, says that an experienced and highly skilled team of professionals in handling MICE logistics, sets the company apart from any others in the logistics industry Writer Emily Jarvis Project Manager James Mitchell

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PT Showfreight & Logistics Group is an Asian-based company, specialising in niche logistics services for the MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Exhibitions) industry.

The team behind the name comprises of a group of highly skilled and experienced professionals with more than 10-30 years of industry experience, having handled a variety of different tradeshows and events on both a regional and global scale. “We always look forward to serving and meeting the needs of our customers in the MICE industry,” states Danny Khor, Managing Director of APT Showfreight in Singapore. “With presence in China, Hong Kong, Thailand, Singapore, Vietnam and most recently Pakistan (September 2014), we are linked to a global specialised network of reputable and experienced exhibition and events logistics agents, who share a common vision of providing tailor-made and seamless MICE logistics services globally,” he says.

APT Showfreight was established in the year 2008 and the company places heavy emphasis on their people as Khor explains: “People are our biggest asset and our staff are all fully trained and experienced in tradeshow, conference and event logistics handling. There is an old saying in the industry ‘No matter what happens, the show must go on in a tradeshow, conference or event.’ Thus, our slogan: We Offer Solutions and We Deliver Promises has been put in place to assure clients of a hassle-free experience when customers place their trust in us.”

Increasing Their Market Reach

Trade exhibitions and events will always be an important marketplace for exhibitors to increase their market reach to customers and consumers. With continued rapid growth in many countries in Asia, APT Showfreight are also seeing

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a P t S h o W f r E i g h t & lo g i S t i c S g r o u P

EXPO-CARGO LTD switZeRLAnD

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n the growing markets of asia, international fairs are enjoying great popularity. therefore, international trade exhibitions are relocating more and more to those areas. testimonies of this development are the many ultra-modern fair and exhibition facilities springing up like mushrooms from the asian soil. eXPo-cargo ltd has specialised in fair and exhibition logistics worldwide. our experienced and highly qualified team disposes of local knowledge and close relations to fair and exhibition forwarders all over the globe. we are providing a service that is highly valued by our loyal international customers.

more foreign organisers buying and participating in tradeshows to expand their portfolio and setting up shop to tap into asia growth. “we are in constant touch with the organisers and who know what it means to have a good exhibition forwarder to help them. we are well placed because of our ‘one - stop asia presence’ in key exhibition cities,” Khor continues: “our knowledge of navigating the complex and diverse procedures in MICe logistics handling; our in-depth knowledge and experienced trained people in forwarding of exhibits to meet time-line of tradeshows/events and on-site logistics handling at many different exhibition venues in Asia; and our proven track record in planning and execution has been one of the success factors in winning the trust of organisers and exhibitors to using our services. in critical time line freight, we are always an advocate of the phrase play it safe, use an experienced exhibition and event freight forwarder!”

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Freight Management Software tailored to you

aPt showfreight’s integrated freight management software was built from the ground up - based on our years of knowledge and experience in handling exhibition freight - to monitor and track exhibition & event freight as there was no “off-the-shelf” IT solutions tailored to this niche industry. “our integrated freight management software is a project management software developed for our business and enables us to enhance our productivity at work, track the ‘when and where’ of freight in order for us to update our customers and to execute our on-site management of freight at each exhibition and event. the software is scalable and has other features to enhance our relations/collaboration with customers,” explains Khor.

singapore Airshow success and More Arising from customers’ confidence in them, aPt showfreight has been

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do you know the feeling of comfort to have a qualified partner at your side, especially these days when it is difficult to separate the wheat from the chaff? The team of eXPOcargo ltd is staying in close contact with its customers, and this often leads to a longstanding partnership.

Mutual confidence is the basis for a successful venture.

Contact us well in advance for your next event - the sooner, the better! expo-cargo ltd frachthof west P.O. Box 194 ch-8058 Zurich-airport tel +41 43 816 61 80 Fax +41 43 816 61 82 Email zrh@expo-cargo.ch

www.expo-cargo.ch

A P T S h o w f r e i g h t & Lo g i s t i c s G r o u p

appointed as the Sole Official Freight Forwarder and On-Site Handling Agent for Singapore Airshow 2014, the 3rd largest Airshow in the world.

“This is a mega tradeshow with many security restrictions and a last minute need for logistics support. At the Singapore Airshow 2014, we had to carefully pre-plan, execute and manage the many varied logistical aspects at the fairground, and at the same time, ensure the exhibitors are happy with our services on-site. At the end of the show, the feedback from the organisers was that we did a splendid job and have been confirmed appointed for the 2016 event,” states Khor.

The company focus and dedication to MICE logistics has enabled APT Showfreight to be appointed for many other tradeshows and events such as: Singapore International Water Week, Semicon Singapore, Singapore Yacht Show, IMDEX Asia, Asian Attractions Expo in Hong Kong & Singapore, Defence & Security, ProPak Asia (Thailand & Vietnam), VIV Asia, Thailand Motorshow, Intermach Thailand, China Sourcing Fair, Zhuhai Airshow, Saigon Textile Garment and Accessories, Oil & Gas Myanmar, amongst others. Khor comments: “Our ability to offer solutions and deliver on our promises has enabled us to win both the organisers’ and exhibitors’ trust in us and we are seeing appointments to handle tradeshows and events to many other Asian cities in China, Hong Kong, Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia, Myanmar and globally.

Challenges

Generally, operating costs have risen, as a result of the labour shortage in Singapore and the region. As APT Showfreight is still very much dependent on workers, the challenge is to be able recruit ‘skilled workers’ to handle mega trade shows.

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Additionally, there is also the challenge of recruiting project managers to handle the increasing cross boundary exhibition and event logistics work in the region.

“Exhibition logistics is tough work as often one has to sacrifice weekends and holidays to handle the build-up and tear-down days of exhibits and related materials and not many young people are willing to do this often, on account of other job opportunities in the market place,” cites Khor.

APT Showfreight has been managing these challenges quite well, especially with the company’s ability to cross-share resources with their Asian offices to support mega trade exhibitions logistics.

Regionally, the MICE industry is growing strongly. New exhibition venues have been constructed and existing venues are going through transformation and expansion to modernise and meet new demands of exhibitions and events. “In the last two years, we have been seeing more

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new exhibitions in Vietnam, Myanmar, Philippines and Indonesia and as a result, we are also seeing more tradeshows and events appointments for us in the region. “These are great opportunities for us,” says Danny Khor, “but the time lag to move one exhibit to another within a short time frame across border and custom clear for another exhibition or event are becoming greater challenges to manage. This is where knowledge and experience comes in with APT Showfreight.”

One-Stop Service

The free trade agreements have expanded trade in Asia and with speed of product innovation and high consumerism in an affluent Asia, more tradeshows and events are staged across Asian countries. “As an Asian-based company with offices across key exhibition cities, we are able provide a ‘one-stop service’ to organisers and exhibitors in a

time critical industry. Our in depth knowledge and experience in handling show logistics in the region has placed us in a good position to offer our niche logistics services to customers,” Khor continues: “We know what it means to ‘deliver on time and in good condition in trade exhibitions or events’ and the consequences of ‘no freight on the show stand’. We have proven, time and time again, our capabilities through the many repeat appointments as official freight forwarder and on-site handler at trade exhibitions and events.”

With a vision to be an industry leader in specialty transport and logistics in Asia, APT Showfreight want to be known as a company you can count on in MICE logistics. ”We are focused and dedicated to MICE logistics. Our solution is tailor-made to different types of trade exhibitions and events and most importantly, We Deliver Promises!” Khor surmises.

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Raimon Land Plc

LeaderinLux Thailand’s

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xury Raimon Land is Thailand’s premier luxury real estate developer with strong financial performance and turnaround. With its unique positioning in luxury real estate market, the company expects to experience a strong and consistent growth despite any short-term concerns over Thailand’s politics Writer Emily Jarvis Project Manager Ben Wigger

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aimon Land is Thailand’s premier luxury real estate developer, with an impressive portfolio of landmark developments, such as The River and 185 Rajdamri.

Since 2003, the property giant has completed 10 projects worth THB 37 billion (US$1.15 billion), all of which command unique selling points reflected through their prime locations, excellent quality and craftsmanship, and after sales service offerings.

In 1990, Raimon Land Development Company Limited renamed itself Raimon Land Company Limited, becoming a publically listed company by 1993.

Now with a 192-strong workforce, Raimon Land is reaping the rewards of over two decades of hard work.

Last year saw the company achieve its highest net profit for the last 10 years - THB 746 million. This was in large part due to the transfer of units at The River. Meanwhile, the net profit for the first half of 2014 was THB 795.7 million (USD 24.4 million), or 107% of its total net profit for 2013.

“Meanwhile, The Lofts Ekkamai has proven to be a success, having sold about 80 percent of its units within a short period of time.

Furthermore, our retained losses have been completely eliminated and our Interest Bearing Debtto-Equity Ratio now stands at 1.40. This figure has dropped dramatically from 3.56 when the new management arrived,” explains Johnson Tan, CEO of Raimon Land. “These latest results are evidence that Raimon Land’s turnaround is complete, and we will continue to work hard to maintain our company’s profitability and sound financial status,” he adds.

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Raimon Land plc

The Lofts Ekkamai

Engineering & Fire Services Int’l

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ngineering & Fire Services Int’l, established in the year 2000, is a multi-disciplined design and consultancy firm committed to providing engineering solutions to industrial, commercial and property development clients, which includes mechanical and electrical design, as well as specializations in fire protection, life safety and wastewater treatment. Our services also include the provision of facility fire/life safety audits, energy modeling, and statutory electrical inspections.

Our philosophy is to continually exhibit quality and professionalism in every project, regardless of size or value, with a view towards total client satisfaction.

Tel (+662) 261-9963 to 4 Email info@efsi.biz

www.efsi.biz

For project construction, Raimon Land use reputable construction companies which provide them with the full turn-key solution for their needs, including the sourcing of construction materials. Additionally, the company works closely with selected vendors to ensure that ‘Raimon Land Quality’ is strictly enforced.

Thai Real Estate

Since the early 2000s, Thai real estate has experienced strong growth and has consequently seen rapid expansion over the past three years in both the capital city of Bangkok as the mass transit system network grows - and in the provinces, as the tourism and decentralisation emerges. “The overall outlook suggests that residential prices are set to grow for the long term,” reasons Tan. “However, Bangkok is still in the midst of a long-term growth period as the city’s physical

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PRE-BUILT PUBLIC COMPANY LIMITED

These latest results are evidence that Raimon Land’s turnaround is complete, and we will continue to work hard to maintain our company’s profitability and sound financial status”

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RE-BUILT PUBLIC COMPANY LIMITED was founded in 1995 by a group of engineers and architects with experience, knowledge and expertise in various fields, enabling them to conduct business with both state enterprises and the private sector.

All of our projects require expertise and advanced technology, whilst also maintaining thorough concentration in every detail. We focus on quality, affordability, and our ethos is to deliver projects on-time. We also place a high emphasis on health and safety within the workplace.

Expanding on our past experiences of capacity building and organisational development, our goal is to create customer satisfaction using the company’s motto “Together, We Build Trust”.

Tel +66 2960-1380-9 Email info@prebuilt.co.th

www.prebuilt.co.th

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raiMoN laNd Plc

The River Interior

infrastructure and economy continues to mature together. thus, there will be plenty of continued development and redevelopment opportunities ahead, but delivering a top-class product will get more difficult. Just looking at neighbouring countries, thailand is less than half the price of primary cities in china and still five-times cheaper than Hong Kong or even Singapore.”

Resilience to Challenges

“recent political turbulence in thailand has put off major buying decisions from both local and foreign buyers. tightening on lending is causing household debt to balloon, and all of this continues to affect the demand for new real estate property development,” tan reasons. however, tan remains optimistic in the face of challenge as raimon land remains the leading luxury

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Recent political turbulence in Thailand has put off major buying decisions from both local and foreign buyers.

Tightening on lending is causing household debt to balloon, and all of this continues to affect the demand for new real estate property development”

real estate developer in-country: “we are uniquely positioned as our target client base is high-end properties, a market which is significantly different from that of the low and mid-end segments. our sector is less-tied to domesticeconomic dynamics or the aforementioned fluctuations in bank lending practices,” he continues: “our property investors are serious and less inclined to walk away in the event of market downturn. in fact, we make a point of discouraging speculators from participating in our projects through a prudent deposit policy,” Tan adds. the company are committed to deliver outstanding products for highly discerning investors as tan further emphasises: “given our track record in providing landmark developments to the market, our biggest challenge is to meet client expectations which are ever increasing.”

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golden year raimon land believes that 2014 will be a golden year, as the construction of 185 rajadamri has now been completed and transfer of unit ownership initiated since march. in addition, Zire wongamat, which is well-known for its luxury standards and beachfront location on Pattaya’s wongamat Beach, has sold about 90% of its total units and is expected to be completed and ready to transfer to homeowners within the year. “in light of the above, we will continue to maintain our performance via sourcing and acquiring the best new locations for discerning residential properties. this is a process that takes time but ultimately delivers a superior product. recently, we signed a deal to buy land for a low-rise project in Bangkok’s luxury landed housing market. we see this market as

We are uniquely positioned as our target client base is high-end properties, a market which is significantly different from that of the low and mid-end segments. Our sector is less-tied to domesticeconomic dynamics or the aforementioned fluctuations in bank lending practices”

having been underserved by large developers. more details regarding value, size and location will be disclosed sometime later in the year,” Tan highlights. Furthermore, raimon land is also considering several opportunities to diversify into commercial real estate and mixeduse projects in the near future.

Leading Developers raimon land has been consistently recognised as one of the best developers in the country. 185 rajadamri won ‘Best luxury condo development (Bangkok)’ at the thailand Property awards 2013. in 2012, the river was awarded ‘Best condo development’ at the south east asia Property awards and ‘Best luxury condo development (Bangkok)’ plus ‘Best condo development (thailand)’ at the thailand Property awards. north Point also won ‘Best condo

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Unixx

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Zire Wongamat

development (eastern seaboard)’ in both 2008 and 2010. moreover, raimon land was also presented with the Best developer award for two consecutive years, in 2007 and 2008. “we are incredibly proud of our achievements over the years as they are testament to all our hard work and a sign of our stable position in the luxury real estate market,” Tan exclaims.

giving Back to society

this year, raimon land created an educational endowment to provide annual scholarships for up to 25 deserving students from some of thailand’s leading universities. students who exhibited exceptional academic merit were selected from chulalongkorn university’s faculties of architecture and engineering for two types of scholarships. raimon land gold medal scholarships were awarded to final year students who

Johnson Tan, CEO

finished at the top of their class. “each recipient received a thB 40,000 scholarship. further, raimon land Prize scholarships were awarded to students with notable academic records who require financial assistance. each of these recipients received a THB 60,000 scholarship,” says Tan. with his company’s turnaround now complete, tan continues to be optimistic in the face of challenge as raimon land remains the leading luxury real estate developer in the country: “We have significantly enhanced our financial status by topping our net profit from last year in the first 6 months of 2014. the second quarter of 2014 marked the company’s 9th straight quarter of profit, a target that we are extremely proud of. we are strongly positioned for the next stage of growth in thailand’s property market,” Tan signs off.

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Urban Luxury

Redefining

Housing in Singapore

TG Development has completed an extensive amount of property projects as well as signing many lucrative joint ventures that have culminated distinct architectural masterpieces on the Singapore landscape Writer Emily Jarvis Project Manager Ben Wigger

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TG

De v e l o pmen t

G Development develops premium residential properties in Singapore and is an integral player in shaping the country’s exclusive housing landscape, contributing to its architectural and design achievements on the international stage. TG Development has completed an extensive amount of property projects as well as signing many lucrative joint ventures that have culminated distinct architectural masterpieces on the Singapore landscape. From terrace houses to semi-detached homes, good class bungalows to apartments and condominiums, the company has a wealth of expertise to support these quality development projects.

TG Development is committed to delivering excellent spatial designs with trustworthy quality and services, by working closely with acclaimed architects and interior designers to bring about a unique architectural

perspective that is both in harmony with the surroundings and is sensitive to the needs of discerning city dwellers. The end creation is an ideal home that marries exclusivity, luxury and modern comfort.

Founded by Mr Ong Boon Chuan in 1987, with the ambition of developing luxurious residences reflecting exquisite taste and superior design, TG Development believe that the ownership of a house is symbolic of a commitment to the family and provides a sense of fulfilment. This drives the company to provide better quality living spaces, especially in the land-scarce Singapore, where they are important assets to own and serve as a good inflation hedge. Developments are attuned to the needs of a fast-paced, prosperous society; the company is motivated and committed to crafting quality living spaces that give a sense of fulfilment and provide a safe harbour for the family.

Lian Beng Group

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stablished in 1973, Lian Beng Group is one of Singapore’s major homegrown building construction groups with integrated civil engineering and construction support service capabilities.

The group is principally involved in the construction of residential, industrial and commercial projects and civil engineering projects as a main contractor.

Lian Beng’s status with the Building and Construction Authority (BCA) as an A1 grade contractor in General Building enables it to tender for public sector building projects of unlimited contract value, while its A2 grade in Civil Engineering allows it to handle engineering projects of up to $85 million in contract value.

Through its years of experience and solid track record, the Group has also established a solid reputation for its ability to handle large-scale and complex projects.

Tel +65 62831 468 Email lianbeng@singnet.com.sg

www.lianbeng.com.sg

The Rise of Singapore The Oliv

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Singapore is a place where the economy seems to always be in the limelight, and as such it was recently voted the most attractive market in the world for infrastructure development in an Arcadis survey.

TG Development’s growth strategy works in tandem with this rise and appreciation of Singapore as a global, first-world city. It is the company vision to spearhead and excel in niche property development projects that can be distinguished by an oasis of calm amidst bustling urban life.

Currently, TG Development has several prestigious projects in the City precinct of Singapore, such as SkyPark, The Oliv, The Peak @ Cairnhill I, The Peak @ Cairnhill II and Lloyd Sixtyfive; St Patrick’s Residences in the East; Sentosa Cove; and Skies Miltonia in the North of Singapore.

Located in the heart of Orchard Road, SkyPark and The Oliv are

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completed projects which have been recognised by distinguished experts in the real estate and architecture arena for their whimsical “Bungalow in the Sky” concept of a soaring 6 metre high living area extending into a luxurious double volume sky terrace with lush greenery fronting each apartment; their unique architectural design; as well as their comfortable spatial design. Driven by the passion and the pride they take in seeing through projects from start to completion, the projects of TG Development have consistently received recognition from distinguished experts in the field: The Oliv urban high rise project recently clinched the title of Best Residential Development at the 2014 MIPIM Awards held in Cannes, France. The international award is a testament to TG Development’s dedication to innovation and excellence which continue to define their business.

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Lloyd Sixtyfive Exterior

moreover, The Oliv has also been awarded the singapore Property awards 2014 residential (high rise) category and the sia architectural design awards 2014, as well as being the architecture winner in the iconic awards 2014 presented by the german design council. in previous years, The Oliv was also presented with the singapore landscape architecture awards 2013 merit award. this is not the only project that has won multiple awards; SkyPark also won the 11th sia architectural design awards (skY Park) in 2011. these hallmark architectural pieces have set tg development apart from various developers within the region and on the global stage.

hopes to expand on a global scale

St Patricks’ Residences Exterior

The Peak @ Cairnhill II Exterior

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as land within the city becomes scarcer by the day, one of the challenges faced as a property developer in singapore is the need to constantly source and maximise spaces through innovative designs that not only enhance the luxurious lifestyle of the targeted clients, but also meet their basic needs via a strategic city location. however, some elements of tg development’s business growth strategy are influenced by adjustments to governmental policies, where credit is subjected to more restrictions than before. although the long term goal of this is to benefit the country in the future, it does affect the real estate market in general. despite the lack lustre environment this has created, tg development see these policy adjustments as an opportunity to expand their real estate activities overseas, and have acquired a public listed company called edition limited as a result. Both companies plan to grow their business on a regional and eventually on the global stage. in this new set up, edition limited will be focusing on mainly real estate developments, whilst tg development will focus on investments. they envision both companies working closely together to develop more iconic homes for not only local homeowners, but also catering for discerning buyers aboard. as the real estate market is going through these adjustments, many local developers are going overseas to explore new opportunities. therefore, tg development have looked closely at the trend of developers heading towards matured nations and have decided to explore

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the emerging markets where there is much more room for growth and value-add for the community.

Appreciative of the Metropolitan Lifestyle

St Patricks’ Residences Interior

Skies Miltonia Exterior

tg development cherish their working relationships with local, experienced consultants and joint venture partners who put great trust in their hands to manage a project, as well as the local contractors and suppliers who provide the prompt on site services required. last but not least, the company give their thanks and appreciation to their successful partnership with banks such as ocBc and dBs, who gave them full support to realise the company’s dreams with bricks and mortar. from 2015 onwards, the company hope to witness the fruit of their regional expeditions. “we have big plans drawn up and we are excited to bring them into reality. we hope that both our track record as an award-winning boutique property developer and the ‘singapore brand’ meets the expectations of our well-travelled buyers,” a company spokesperson said. “we believe that much of the company’s success attributes to our keen attention to detail.” it takes tg development countless tireless hours in order to materialise unique property development ideas, with quality fitted homes suited for the metropolitan lifestyle of their elite clientele. each development takes on its own distinctive character and is a labour of love guided by principles of iconic designs, practical space planning, luxurious material and quality workmanship. “we constantly review the spaces and experiences in our developments to ensure that our homeowners can fully enjoy the unique tailored spaces we have built, always keeping the homeowner in mind.”

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soutHeast asia’s soLutioN to

technological innovations and a holistic business approach in water and wastewater treatment set darco water apart from its competitors Writer Emily Jarvis Project Manager James Mitchell

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arco water technologies was established in 1999 to design, fabricate, assemble, install and commission engineered environmental systems (ee systems) for industrial use in Singapore and Malaysia; sourcing generic components globally to meet specific design requirements. the company became listed on the singapore stock exchange after just two and a half years, starting with no more than 50 employees.

By 2007, sales turnover had reached an impressive s$88 million and today, the company has grown exponentially to have over 300 employees. in just over a decade darco has expanded throughout asia. the group now has operations in singapore, malaysia, mainland china, taiwan, the Philippines and indonesia, serving companies across a huge range of industrial practices including the following sectors: electronics, semiconductor, textile, food and beverage, printed circuit board, solar-energy, pharmaceuticals, and municipal water and wastewater treatment projects. after each project, darco provide maintenance and servicing of water and wastewater management services (wm services). “we develop innovative engineering and knowledge-based solutions to provide for all water and wastewater requirements across various industries,� affirms Zach thye, executive director of darco water technologies. further, the group has recently expanded into air management systems, soil remediation and solid-waste recycling services.

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Meeting Demand in Southeast Asia with a management team that have more than 20 years of experience in water and wastewater treatment for a diverse range of industries, darco are driven by their company mission: “to be the water company of choice by providing customers with multi-technology solutions” and “to design and manufacture a wide range of high performance water and wastewater systems, providing services of the highest quality at affordable prices.”

Additionally, efficiency is one of the company’s core strengths in order to excel in their operations as thye emphasises: “we pay attention to the efficiency of ee systems in order to design, produce and deliver the lowest cost per unit of water.” Moreover, Darco’s business efficiency can be seen via their quality long term maintenance services, which are supported by its trading division. “90 percent of our

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NOTABLE PROJECTS

CHINA

Invested in two BOT (BuiltOperate-Transfer) municipal water treatment plants projects in Deqing County. The Wukang plant capacity is 60MLD and was completed in 2006.

Constructed the Qianyuan plant in 2008 with a treatment capacity of 100MLD potable water. The plant was completed in 2011.

customers are long term partners who provide us with repeat business, this is testament to our excellent understanding of our customer’s needs,” Thye adds. as the southeast asia economy develops, darco has ensured they can meet the growing demand for the supply of water and wastewater treatment solutions, and the accompanying industries which rely on innovative technologies. as a result of a constant stream of work over the years, darco water has been able to advance into taiwan, china, and parts of south east asia.

success in Malaysia last year, darco’s malaysian operations continued to receive repeated orders from recurring customers in the electronics and semiconductor sector as well some new customers from palm oil refineries, food and beverages in the wastewater treatment sector.

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“our malaysian subsidiaries still remain as the front runner in the industrial services sector. we stay competitive and resilient when it comes to our inner core business.” these relationships with multinational companies (mnc’s) have further enabled darco to expand on an international scale, building a strategic partnership with a denmark-based company in order to open doors to new markets. “as companies begin to place more emphasis on minimising their environmental impact, we are here to help with more efficient plants and water recovery systems that conserve more energy and resources,” says Thye. the industrial sector of the business continues to remain an integral part of company growth. the water and waste-water solutions market is projected to continue at a steady pace as the asia continent demonstrates its

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TAIWAN

Ker Ya Municipal Waste Water Recovery System at Hsin Chu City (30MLD), completed in 2009 Chu Bei City Waste Water Recovery Centre (20MLD), completed in 2009 Soil Remediation at Rong Ming Chemical Plant, completed in 2007 Pali Tan Shui River Sewerage Wastewater Treatment facility (1000MLD), completed in 2010 Taipei Medical Waste Treatment Plant, completed in 2008 Tai Chung Industrial Wastewater Treatment Plant upgrade, completed in 2012 Zhu Nan, Soil Remediation Project.

Target completion in 2015

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potential for growth. “we will shift our focus to india, thailand, Vietnam, Philippines, taiwan and china. most of these countries are facing power shortages, increasing demand for clean water supply and more protection from environmental pollution amid the increasing population; and we will continue to work hard to support these areas,” explains thye.

strategic supplier Relationships darco water place great value on strategic alliances and have had several successful collaborations over the years. as a result, the company has worked with kenicott water systems to penetrate the power and petrochemical sectors in southeast asia. moreover, they work with showa engineering to engage the large scale wastewater markets, and Process automation from hong kong to explore the automotive and plating industries. darco’s largest

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ZASTRA

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ounded in 1986 as a supplier of fine chemicals to hospital and industrial chemicals to power generation industries With 28 years of experience in the supply of products and customer commitment. Zastra has gained a reputation of being one of the prominent and reliable suppliers of Speciality Chemicals, Ion Exchange Resin, RO, UF, Expansion Joint and Spill Specialty Products in Aerospace, Marine, Power, Oil and Gas Industries.

Zastra is now the business partners of Chemetall, Dow Water & Process Solution, Higard Malaysia. Also an exclusive agent of LBH, NPS, Markleen & Ultratech.

Tel +(603) 90572698 , +(603) 90572684 Email sales@zastra.com.my

www.zastra.com.my

As companies begin to place more emphasis on minimising their environmental impact, we are here to help with more efficient plants and water recovery systems that conserve more energy and resources�

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Zach Thye Executive Director (Darco) and Regin Søndergaard Andersen (Envidan)

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DARCO WATER

AWARDS RECEIVED Singapore Top 1000 Companies Award for Public Listed Companies 2013, awarded

by DP Information Group (www.dpgroup.com.sg).

strategic partner is EnviDan A/S, Denmark, a leading engineering company focusing on high strength organic wastewater (HSOW).

As Darco source their components globally, they see their suppliers as an integral part to the company’s future prosperity. Many of these stakeholders and partners have witnessed or been a part of this growth, and Thye expressed his thanks for their continued support over the years: “On behalf of the

Darco Water Technologies made Singapore’s Top Twelve Most Admired SESDAQ Companies in 2002, awarded by SGX, Singapore.

company, I send my thanks to our partners and stakeholders, even through tough market conditions.”

Successful Business Model Technological innovations and a holistic business approach in water and wastewater treatment set Darco Water apart from their competitors.

“We have never stopped working with our strategic alliances to explore new technological advancements. We strive to build

a great synergy to seize every opportunity; we owe a lot to our business model,” highlights Thye.

Furthermore, the company maintain services that guarantee consistent revenues, have a plethora of experienced staff and ensure the continuous development of product knowledge to keep up with market trends. “The result of this is a business model that is well placed to manage the ever-changing business cycle,” Thye concludes.

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Big Data World Asia

Aviation Outlook Asia

Cloud & Smartphone Japan

20-22 October 2014

28-29 October 2014

29-31 October 2014

Suntec Singapore International Convention Centre Singapore www.bigdataworldshow.com

International Trade Malaysia Kuala Lumpur Malaysia

20-22 October 2014

Suntec Singapore International Convention Centre Singapore www.10times.com/aviation-outlook-asia

6th Annual Conference on Education

www.intrademalaysia.my

Rihga Royal Hotel Osaka Japan

Robotworld

28 Oct - 02 NovEMBER 2014

Kintex – Korea International Exhibition Centre Goyang South Korea

22-25 October 2014 www.robotworld.or.kr/eng

Singapore Jewellery and Gem Fair Marina Bay Sands Singapore

23-26 October 2014

www.singaporejewellerygemfair.com

Asia E-Commerce Conference Kuala Lumpur Malaysia

28 October 2014

www.e-commerceconference.com

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www.iafor.org

Cloud Expo Asia

Suntec Singapore International Convention Centre Singapore

29-30 October 2014 www.cloudexpoasia.com

Makuhari Messe Chiba Japan

www.japan-it.jp/en/aki

Gas Asia Summit Marina Bay Sands Singapore

29-31 October 2014 www.gasasiasummit.com

ITB Asia

Marina Bay Sands Singapore

29-31 October 2014 www.itb-asia.com

Asia-Pacific Social Science Conference Kuala Lumpur Malaysia

07-09 November 2014

Asia Pacific Conference for Deans and Directors Kuala Lumpur Malaysia

29-31 October 2014 www.mbaworld.com

www.apssc.org

Car-Ele Japan Tokyo Big Sight Tokyo Japan

14-16 January 2015 www.car-ele.jp/en

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