Temasek Holdings-owned Surbana Jurong has teamed up with a renowned architecture firm to further deepen its design capabilities and take on “iconic projects” in the Asia-Pacific.It is partnering Safdie Architects to form Safdie Surbana Jurong (SSJ) to jointly pursue major residential, commercial and institutional projects that require special planning and design expertise. Click here to read more.
(The Straits Times © Singapore Press Holdings Limited. Reproduced with permission)
Singapore, 25 May 2017 – Safdie Architects and Surbana Jurong Private Limited today announced the formation of Safdie Surbana Jurong (SSJ), a long-term collaboration to jointly pursue major design projects within Asia-Pacific.
SSJ will combine the strengths of each partner to achieve projects of the highest-quality design across a range of typologies. It will focus on residential, commercial and institutional projects which require unique planning and design expertise to create world class iconic architecture projects in Asia-Pacific.
The design effort will be led by Safdie Architects’ Boston office, with Moshe Safdie providing design leadership for all projects undertaken by SSJ and be involved intimately throughout the construction of each project. Surbana Jurong will have a dedicated team to work directly with Safdie Architects to produce the detailed engineering and architectural design efforts, provide overall project management, and lead the construction documentation and administration efforts.
The milestone collaboration presents an opportunity for Surbana Jurong to further develop world-class design capabilities, and allows its younger architects and designers to learn directly from Safdie and his team.
The two partners bring complementary strengths to the collaboration. Safdie Architects is helmed by Moshe Safdie, the world renowned architect, urban planner, educator, theorist and author. The firm has designed and realised a wide range of projects around the world of which many have become beloved regional and national landmarks such as Marina Bay Sands, Sky Habitat Singapore, Jewel at Changi Airport Singapore, Habitat ’67, Montreal; the National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa; Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Arkansas; Yad Vashem Holocaust Museum, Jerusalem; and Raffles City mixed-use development in Chongqing, China. Surbana Jurong is one of the largest Asia-based urban, industrial and infrastructure consulting firms with a 50-year track record in both private and public projects in Singapore and globally such as Biopolis Phase 1, Health City Novena, MKH World, Cleantech I & II, and more.
“We are delighted to join forces with Surbana Jurong. Our teams have unique, complementary capabilities. Together we can expand the realisation of significant projects, embracing our design principles across Asia,” said Moshe Safdie.
“Surbana Jurong is proud to partner with the illustrious Moshe Safdie, whose works have become architectural icons and national landmarks. Safdie Architects is world-renowned for their cutting-edge designs that embrace an inclusive and humane design philosophy. We share this design philosophy – that building a city is about shaping lives. Through this collaboration, we will be able to provide world-class design and expert project delivery to a broad array of clients in Asia. We are looking forward to creating many iconic projects together,” said Mr Wong Heang Fine, Group Chief Executive Officer, Surbana Jurong.
About Moshe Safdie and Safdie Architects
Moshe Safdie is an architect, urban planner, educator, theorist, and author who embraces a comprehensive and humane design philosophy. He is committed to architecture that supports and enhances a project’s program; that is informed by the geographic, social, and cultural elements that define a place; and that responds to human needs and aspirations. The design of each of his projects is responsive to local historic, cultural, and environmental contexts and grows out of a vision of the way it can affect the lives of the individuals for whom the buildings and public spaces are created. In recognition of his work’s impact on the public and his lasting influence on generations of younger architects, Safdie was awarded the 2016 Lifetime Achievement Award by the Cooper Hewitt National Design Museum and the 2015 Gold Medal from the American Institute of Architects, the organization’s highest honor for an individual.
Safdie Architects is based in Boston, USA with offices in Singapore, Shanghai and Jerusalem. The firm has designed and realized a wide range of projects around the world, including cultural, civic, and educational institutions; mixed-use urban centers and airports; and master plans for existing neighborhoods and entirely new cities. Many of his buildings have become beloved regional and national landmarks, including Habitat ’67, Montreal; the National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa; Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Arkansas; Yad Vashem Holocaust Museum, Jerusalem; and Raffles City mixed-use development in Chongqing, China.
Safdie Architects’ projects in Singapore include Marina Bay Sands Integrated Resort; Sky Habitat residences, Bishan; and Jewel at Changi Airport, which is scheduled to open in 2019.
For media enquiries, please contact:
Jackie Yu Deputy Director, Group Communications
T: +65 6839-7326 M: +65 9688-4269 E: Jackie.YuWC@surbanajurong.com
About Surbana Jurong
Surbana Jurong Private Limited (SJ) is one of the largest Asia-based urban, industrial and infrastructure consulting firms. Leveraging technology and creativity, SJ provides one-stop consultancy solutions across the entire value chain of the urbanisation, industrialisation and infrastructure domains.
Headquartered in Singapore and wholly owned by Temasek Holdings, the SJ Group has a global workforce of 13,000 employees in 113 offices across 44 countries in Asia, Australia, the Middle East, Africa and the Americas, and an annual turnover of around S$1.3 billion.
SJ has a track record of over 50 years, and has built more than a million homes in Singapore, crafted master plans for more than 30 countries and developed over 50 industrial parks globally.
SJ’s motto ‘Building Cities, Shaping Lives’ reflects its belief that development is more than just steel and concrete. SJ creates spaces and infrastructure services where people live, work and play, shaping cities into homes with sustainable jobs where communities and businesses can flourish.
The use of local infrastructure currency bonds for the financing of greenfield projects in South-East Asia just got a leg up. This has come about through a tie-up, the first of its kind in the region, between infrastructure consulting firm Surbana Jurong and currency-swap facility Credit Guarantee & Investment Facility (CGIF); the agreement was inked on Wednesday at the Global Infrastructure Initiative, a meeting of leaders in infrastructure and capital projects. Click here to read more.
(The Business Times © Singapore Press Holdings Limited. Reproduced with permission)
Singapore, 24 May 2017 – The Credit Guarantee & Investment Facility (CGIF) and Surbana Jurong Private Limited (SJ) today announced a collaboration to boost the use of local currency-denominated project bonds to finance greenfield infrastructure projects in Southeast Asia.
CGIF is a multilateral facility established by ASEAN+3 countries and the Asian Development Bank to develop and strengthen local currency and regional bond markets in ASEAN.
Under this collaboration, SJ will provide technical assessments to validate the time, cost and quality aspects of identified greenfield infrastructure projects aiming to issue project bonds with the support of CGIF’s Construction Period Guarantee (CPG). CGIF will offer irrevocable and unconditional guarantees to projects in ASEAN with robust construction programmes, as screened by SJ. These guarantees can stretch up to US$140 million equivalent per single greenfield infrastructure project to facilitate the issuance of long term local currency bonds.
The CPG, launched in July last year, is designed to frame risks associated with the construction period to acceptable levels for conservative long term investors to consider greenfield project bonds. (See Appendix I for more info on CPG.)
This collaboration marks the first partnership between CGIF and a urban, industrial and infrastructure consulting firm. CGIF has undertaken 13 corporate bond guarantee transactions since her establishment in May 2012, and is actively looking to embark on her first infrastructure project bond guarantee with SJ.
“For many conservative long term investors, construction risk has been the key impediment keeping them from supporting the build-up of infrastructure assets despite their natural appetite for long term bonds.This collaboration marks an innovative attempt to bring to the market high quality greenfield project bonds where construction risks have been adequately appraised and mitigated as guided by the engineering prowess of a firm like Surbana Jurong and backed by CGIF’s guarantees,” said Mr Kiyoshi Nishimura, Chief Executive Officer of CGIF.
He further added: “Many ASEAN countries are witnessing rapid accumulation of domestic savings in the non-bank sectors such as pension funds and insurance companies as their economies grow and their income levels rise.However these savings are not well tapped to finance critically needed infrastructure assets.Catalyzing these institutional investors’ support for infrastructure projects perfectly fits the aspirations of CGIF’s Contributors which includes the Singapore Government to find new methods to narrow the widening infrastructure gap in the region”.
“For a country to develop and grow, infrastructure development is key. However, perceived risks in such projects in Developing Asia deter investors, and infrastructure development is, in turn, often severely hampered. Surbana Jurong is delighted to partner the CGIF to develop a robust construction risk assessment and mitigation framework that will provide assurance to new investors in greenfield infrastructure project bonds. This partnership aims to boost infrastructure investment in ASEAN,” said Mr Wong Heang Fine, Group Chief Executive Officer of SJ.
He added: “As one of the largest Asia-based urban, industrial and infrastructure consultancy service providers, SJ is always keen to further value-add to our global clients with a complete value-chain of services. This complementary partnership with CGIF allows us to now offer a new dimension of financing solutions for our infrastructure project pipeline. We believe we are the only player in our industry to offer such a solution.”
Stimulating local currency bonds
According to the Asian Development Bank’s latest forecasts, Developing Asia will need to invest US$26 trillion from 2016 to 2030, or US$1.7 trillion per year, in order to maintain the region’s growth momentum, eradicate poverty, and respond to climate change. New approaches will be required to stimulate private sector finance in infrastructure investments and to prevent the region from falling further behind.
One such approach is to facilitate the channelling of domestic long term savings to finance infrastructure directly via project bonds, particularly at the greenfield stage. Mobilising long term savings to meet long term funding needs in matching currencies is the most efficient model of financing infrastructure. However, only a few countries have successfully pursued this capability. A critical impediment towards mobilising long term savings is the low risk appetite of pension and insurance fund managers and their aversion to construction risks.
How the CGIF-SJ collaboration helps to boost funding
The collaboration between CGIF and SJ aims to deliver the assurance needed by institutional investors to make investments in greenfield project bonds. It marries CGIF’s financial strength as a guarantor, in particular via its new Construction Period Guarantee or CPG, with the engineering and technical prowess of SJ to examine and validate construction-related risks on projects.When construction risks are expertly assessed, properly managed and mitigated, CGIF’s irrevocable and unconditional guarantee for project completion can attract long term investors to invest in greenfield project bonds.
Initially, long term investors will rely on expert assessments like those from SJ and CGIF’s CPG risk assessment framework to frame construction risks to acceptable levels. However, over time, it is envisaged that this will ultimately aid infrastructure investors to gain the necessary experience to evaluate future greenfield project bonds, and to help narrow the region’s substantial infrastructure gap.
About CGIF
CGIF was established by the 10 members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) together with China, Japan and Korea (ASEAN+3), and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) in 2010 to develop ASEAN local currency bond markets.It exists as a trust fund of ADB and operates independently out of ADB’s headquarters in Manila.
CGIF is tasked to deploy credit guarantees to corporate, project and securitization bonds to boost issuer and investor participation in ASEAN’s current local currency bond markets such as Indonesia Rupiah (IDR), Malaysian Ringgit (MYR), Philippine Peso (PHP), Singapore Dollar (SGD), Thai Baht (THB) and Vietnamese Dong (VND). Instigating the inaugural bond issuances in Brunei, Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar is also part of its development mandate.
With “AA” global scale from S&P and “AAA” local scale ratings in many of the local currency markets in ASEAN, CGIF’s guarantee has successfully mobilized over USD 1 billion equivalent from local bond investors to new issuers as well as new types of bonds since commencing its operations in May 2012.
Background of CGIF
Before the Asian Financial Crisis in the late nineties, many investments in the region were financed by short-term foreign currency borrowing from commercial banks.This caused a “double mismatch” problem; a mismatch in currency and a mismatch in tenor in financing investments.This double mismatch problem was considered one of the causes of the crisis.
ASEAN+3, together with ADB, started a regional cooperation initiative known as the Asian Bond Market Initiative (ABMI) to address the double mismatch issue. ASEAN+3 has been working together under the ABMI to develop local currency bond markets in the region which companies in the region can tap. CGIF is one of the key elements of this multilateral initiative.
Need for Bond Market Development
Bonds allow investors to directly lend money to finance corporations and infrastructure assets; by-passing intermediation of funds by the banking sector.For infrastructure projects, long-term fixed rate project bonds in matching local currencies are the best method of financing projects including those at the green-field stage.Therefore, building institutional capacity amongst long-term investors to evaluate well developed projects is a key step towards thriving bond markets to finance infrastructure in the region.
Use of CGIF’s Guarantees
Companies and project companies can seek CGIF’s irrevocable and unconditional guarantee for the full tenure of the bonds to reach conservative long-term investors who are less familiar with their business activities and risks.For projects under construction with robust operational phase cash flows, CGIF can provide a guarantee just for the construction period with its Construction Period Guarantee (CPG) to allow bond investors to earn higher returns by taking the operational phase risks without the punitive construction risks associated with green-field bonds.CGIF’s CPG will require the construction program to be well developed and analysed guided by expert opinions from technical consultants as inputs to ensure construction risks are well-framed within acceptable levels.
For media enquiries, please contact:
Jackie Yu
Deputy Director, Group Communications
T: +65 6839-7326 M: +65 9688-4269 E: Jackie.YuWC@surbanajurong.com
About Surbana Jurong
Surbana Jurong Private Limited (SJ) is one of the largest Asia-based urban, industrial and infrastructure consulting firms. Leveraging technology and creativity, SJ provides one-stop consultancy solutions across the entire value chain of the urbanisation, industrialisation and infrastructure domains.
Headquartered in Singapore and wholly owned by Temasek Holdings, the SJ Group has a global workforce of 13,000 employees in 113 offices across 44 countries in Asia, Australia, the Middle East, Africa and the Americas, and an annual turnover of around S$1.3 billion.
SJ has a track record of over 50 years, and has built more than a million homes in Singapore, crafted master plans for more than 30 countries and developed over 50 industrial parks globally.
SJ’s motto ‘Building Cities, Shaping Lives’ reflects its belief that development is more than just steel and concrete. SJ creates spaces and infrastructure services where people live, work and play, shaping cities into homes with sustainable jobs where communities and businesses can flourish.
Surbana Jurong has inked a Memorandum of Understanding with Myanmar’s building industry representative, the Myanmar Construction Entrepreneurs Association (MCEA) to develop low cost and affordable housing.
On Friday 3 March, CEO International (Singapore, Southeast Asia, North Asia) Teo Eng Cheong announced the new partnership with MCEA at a media event in the capital city Yangon.
SJ will assume the role of lead technical consultant to create a design that focuses on Community, Connectivity and Constructability. The design will offer Myanmar homeowners a community-focused living space integrated with facilities that encourage community interaction, and use advanced technology to cut down on building time and costs.
“Surbana Jurong has built cities and shaped lives for more than 50 years. We have participated in the evolution of affordable housing in different countries. Our experience allows us to offer engineering and design solutions specific to Myanmar’s changing needs. We are delighted that the partnership with MCEA allows us to continue to be part of the Myanmar growth story,” Mr Teo said.
Later that evening, SJ’s Myanmar team held its fourth annual clients’ night at Sule Shangri-la Hotel in Yangon. Almost 300 guests attended the event which was graced by His Excellency U Myint Thaung, Myanmar’s Minister of Planning and Finance, His Excellency Robert Chua, Singapore Ambassador to Myanmar and U Myint Naing, Deputy Director General, Myanmar’s Ministry of Construction who was representing the Minister of Construction. The theme for this year’s event was “Charting a New Journey” and SJ took the opportunity to reaffirm our commitment to Myanmar, celebrate new partnerships and introduce our expanded capabilities on infrastructure and security.
Lee Leong Seng, General Manager, Myanmar said, “We have 70 projects since we entered the market in 2013 and with Surbana Jurong’s expanded capabilities and strong partnerships forged, the team and I look forward to new opportunities in new and existing markets that will propel the Myanmar business to the next level.”
The celebratory event was a resounding success as guests including senior representatives from various government agencies, clients and partners were invited to view an exhibition, featuring SJ’s projects before being feted with a sumptuous dinner.
Click here to view the press release of the MoU signing ceremony.
Myanmar, 3 March 2017 – Surbana International Consultants (Myanmar) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Myanmar Construction Entrepreneurs Association (MCEA) to be the Association’s lead technical consultant for low cost and affordable housing projects in Myanmar. The MOU was signed by Teo Eng Cheong, Chief Executive Officer International (Singapore, Southeast Asia, North Asia) of Surbana Jurong Private Limited and Tha Htay, President of the MCEA.
The signing of the MOU between Surbana Jurong and MCEA comes at an important time as the association works with the Union Government to meet the demand for low cost and affordable housing and increasing home ownership in the country. The Government’s Five-Year Plan aims to deliver one million residential units by 2030. Surbana Jurong will assist MCEA in the development of a low cost and affordable housing prototype design that focuses on the 3Cs: Community, Connectivity and Constructability.
Future homeowners can look forward to a living space designed to cultivate strong community bonds and preserve the natural environment. A range of community-focused spaces such as courtyards and lobbies will be integrated into the estates to encourage interaction. Landscaped pathways that link residents to amenities will also be key features of the estates. Surbana Jurong will assist MCEA by employing technology that minimises construction time and cost without compromising on design, safety and functionality.
The MOU with MCEA enhances Surbana Jurong’s extensive presence and success in Myanmar since its entry into the market four years ago. Surbana Jurong has provided its expertise in master-planning, architecture and engineering to various residential and industrial projects including the 220 acre Ayeyarwun – Yadanar affordable housing project in Dagon Seikkan Township. The company, with a track record of building more than one million affordable homes in Singapore, has grown from strength to strength with its acquisition of AETOS Holdings and SMEC Holdings in 2016.
“Surbana Jurong has built cities and shaped lives for more than 50 years. We have participated in the evolution of affordable housing in different countries. Our experience allows us to offer engineering and design solutions specific to Myanmar’s changing needs. We are delighted that the partnership with MCEA allows us to continue to be part of the Myanmar growth story,” Mr Teo said at the signing ceremony.
“The signing of the MOU between MCEA and Surbana Jurong represents an exciting chapter in the development of low cost and affordable housing in Myanmar. With our local knowledge and Surbana Jurong’s international experience, we hope to realise our vision of helping more people own their homes in Myanmar,” Mr Tha Htay said.
About Surbana Jurong Private Limited
Surbana Jurong Private Limited (SJ) is the largest Asia-based urban, industrial and infrastructure consulting firm. Leveraging technology and creativity, SJ provides one-stop consultancy solutions across the entire value chain of the urbanisation, industrialisation and infrastructure domains.
Headquartered in Singapore, the SJ Group has a global workforce of 13,000 employees in over 110 offices across 44 countries in Asia, Australia, the Middle East, Africa and the Americas, and an annual turnover of around S$1.3 billion.
SJ has a track record of over 50 years, and has built more than a million homes in Singapore, crafted master plans for more than 30 countries and developed over 50 industrial parks globally.
SJ’s motto ‘Building Cities, Shaping Lives’ reflects its belief that development is more than just steel and concrete. SJ creates spaces and infrastructure services where people live, work and play, shaping cities into homes with sustainable jobs where communities and businesses can flourish.
About Myanmar Construction Entrepreneurs Association (MCEA)
The Myanmar Construction Entrepreneurs Association (MCEA) is the leading association representing developers and contractors in the construction sector in Myanmar. MCEA was established in 1996, and now has over 2,000 members and in the midst of setting up the chapter in 7 states and 7 regions. The organisation has been active in the construction development in Myanmar, in various projects such as SEZ, Port, Infrastructure, Highways, Industrial, Factories and public housing development.
Over the years, the MCEA, working alongside the government, has made tremendous contributions to the sector and country.MCEA has always supported the government’s objectives, especially towards the development of infrastructure, low cost and affordable housing. On these projects, it has worked closely with various government ministries and offices to bring the projects to success.
For media enquiries, please contact:
Surbana Jurong
Jackie Yu Deputy Director, Group Communications
T: +65 6839-7326 M: +65 9688-4269 E: Jackie.YuWC@surbanajurong.com
Surbana Jurong is proud to announce our partnership with technology giant Microsoft to jointly develop cloud-based solutions for our integrated solutions platform “Smart City in a Box”, while enhancing its suite of applications, in the Asia Pacific region.
The Memorandum Of Understanding was signed today by Mr Wong Heang Fine, Group CEO of Surbana Jurong and Mr Alberto Granados, Vice President, Microsoft Asia Pacific at Microsoft Auditorium, One Marina Boulevard.
Launched in July 2016, SJ’s Smart City in a Box is an integrated set of solutions with a dashboard that allows city officials to load customisable applications (Apps) in four key areas – security, efficiency, sustainability and community. This enables them to track, monitor and manage cities better.
Surbana Jurong will tap into Microsoft’s Azure – a cloud computing platform for building, deploying and managing applications and services through a global network of Microsoft-managed data centres – to upgrade its Smart City in a Box to the cloud, which will bring the following benefits to clients:
In addition, Mr Wong Heang Fine, Group CEO of Surbana Jurong Private Limited said: “When implemented, Surbana Jurong’s predictive lift analytics solutions using Microsoft’s technology has the potential to disrupt the market and reshape the way we tackle lift breakdowns. As our predictive analytics capabilities are refined and enhanced over time, we could see a reduction in the number of lift incidents in the future.”
For all smart city opportunities, please reach out to ebenezer.thomas@surbanajurong.com
Singapore, 25 November 2016 – Surbana Jurong and Microsoft announced today that they have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to jointly develop cloud-based Smart City in a Box solutions, while enhancing its suite of applications, in the Asia Pacific region.
Launched in July 2016, Surbana Jurong’s Smart City in a Box is an integrated set of solutions with a dashboard that allows city officials to load customisable applications (Apps) in four key areas – security, efficiency, sustainability and community (See Annex A). This enables them to track, monitor and manage cities better.
Surbana Jurong will tap into Microsoft’s Azure – a cloud computing platform for building, deploying and managing applications and services through a global network of Microsoft-managed data centres – to upgrade its Smart City in a Box to the cloud, which will bring the following benefits to clients:
The MOU will also see Surbana Jurong using Microsoft’s technology to enhance its Smart City in a Box with more sophisticated predictive data and stream analytics, cognitive services, sensing technology and machine learning.
Using Microsoft Azure’s predictive analytics services, including machine learning and video analytics, Surbana Jurong will be able to enhance its predictive lift and asset management services.
Surbana Jurong will also be able to access Microsoft’s latest research and development, new technology for smart city solutions and open up opportunities for collaboration with each other’s partners.
This MOU is the first of its kind collaboration for Microsoft in the region, which will leverage Surbana Jurong’s live operating experience in Smart City Solutions. Surbana Jurong currently monitors over 24,000 lifts in Singapore’s public housing estates. Microsoft will also gain a partner with mutual interest to develop and adopt solutions from its growing partner ecosystem.
Said Mr Wong Heang Fine, Group CEO of Surbana Jurong Private Limited: “We are very happy to partner Microsoft to enhance our Smart City in a Box solutions. By bringing our Smart City in a Box solutions to the cloud, our clients will be able to deploy more solutions seamlessly across more geographies at a lower cost. They will enjoy scalability and have the latest technology solutions at their fingertips without heavy upfront investments in hardware and software. When implemented, Surbana Jurong’s predictive lift analytics solutions using Microsoft’s technology has the potential to disrupt the market and reshape the way we tackle lift breakdowns. As our predictive analytics capabilities are refined and enhanced over time, we could see a reduction in the number of lift incidents in the future.”
“We are very excited to partner Surbana Jurong. We see great synergies as Microsoft’s leading edge cloud solutions can be deployed in Surbana Jurong’s existing Smart City ecosystem in Singapore’s public housing estates. While we test-bed different solutions in Singapore, we also hope to eventually deploy these in the Asia Pacific region where relevant,” said Mr Alberto Granados, Vice President, Microsoft Asia Pacific.
The MOU was signed by Mr Wong Heang Fine, Group CEO of Surbana Jurong and Mr Alberto Granados, Vice President, Microsoft Asia Pacific during the event at Microsoft Auditorium, One Marina Boulevard.
About Surbana Jurong
Surbana Jurong (SJ) has a rich 50-year heritage in the development of Singapore’s urban, industrial and infrastructure landscape. SJ traces its roots to the Housing Development Board (HDB) and the Jurong Town Corporation (JTC), agencies synonymous with Singapore’s early township and industrialisation efforts.
Headquartered in Singapore, Surbana Jurong Private Limited (SJ) was formed in June 2015 through the merger of renowned urban planning & affordable housing design expert Surbana International Consultants, and Jurong International, Singapore’s premiere industrial and infrastructure engineering design stalwart.
In August 2016, SJ completed a transformational merger with world-renowned infrastructure engineering designer SMEC Holdings. With this complementary merger, SJ now boasts a combined global workforce of 10,000 employees in over 95 offices across 40 countries in Asia, Australia, the Middle East, Africa and the Americas. SJ is also presently the largest Asia-based urban, industrial and infrastructure consulting firm. SJ today provides one-stop consultancy solutions across the entire value chain of urbanisation, industrialisation and infrastructure domains.
SJ’s motto ‘Building Cities, Shaping Lives’ reflects its belief that development is more than just steel and concrete. SJ creates spaces and infrastructure services where people live, work and play, shaping cities into homes with sustainable jobs where communities and businesses can flourish.
About Microsoft
Microsoft (Nasdaq “MSFT” @microsoft) is the leading platform and productivity company for the mobile-first, cloud-first world, and its mission is to empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more.
For media enquiries, please contact:
Surbana Jurong
Alvin Hang
Group Director, Group Corporate Communications
T: 6248-1100 |alvin.hangwy@surbanajurong.com
Tian Zhiyuan
Senior Specialist, Group Corporate Communications
T: 6839-8529 | zhiyuan.tian@surbanajurong.com
Microsoft
Verdayne Nunis
Director, Commercial Communications
T: 6888-795 | vnunis@microsoft.com
________________________________________________________________________________________________
Annex A
Smart City in a Box (Full press release – http://bit.ly/2gfQ2Lp)
Dubbed ‘Smart City in a Box’, it is an integrated set of solutions with a dashboard that allows city officials to load customisable applications (Apps) in four key areas – security, efficiency, sustainability and community, enabling them to track, monitor and manage cities better
About Surbana Jurong
Surbana Jurong (SJ) has a rich 50-year heritage in the development of Singapore’s urban, industrial and infrastructure landscape. SJ traces its roots to the Housing Development Board (HDB) and the Jurong Town Corporation (JTC), agencies synonymous with Singapore’s early township and industrialisation efforts.
Headquartered in Singapore, Surbana Jurong Private Limited (SJ) was formed in June 2015 through the merger of renowned urban planning & affordable housing design expert Surbana International Consultants, and Jurong International, Singapore’s premiere industrial and infrastructure engineering design stalwart.
In August 2016, SJ acquired world-renowned infrastructure engineering designer SMEC Holdings. It also announced on 13 October 2016 that it has acquired 100% shareholdings in AETOS Holdings Pte Ltd (AETOS) from Temasek (an investment company based in Singapore), which will expand Surbana Jurong’s overall service offerings to include safety and security capabilities.
With these latest acquisitions, the Surbana Jurong Group will now have a global workforce of almost 13,000 employees in over 95 offices across 40 countries in Asia, Australia, the Middle East, Africa and the Americas, with an annual turnover of around S$1.3 billion.
SJ is also presently the largest Asia-based urban, industrial and infrastructure consulting firm. SJ today provides one-stop consultancy solutions across the entire value chain of urbanisation, industrialisation and infrastructure domains.
SJ’s motto ‘Building Cities, Shaping Lives’ reflects its belief that development is more than just steel and concrete. SJ creates spaces and infrastructure services where people live, work and play, shaping cities into homes with sustainable jobs where communities and businesses can flourish.
Tokyo, 28 September 2016 – Singapore-based Surbana Jurong Private Limited (Surbana Jurong), one of Asia’s leading consultancies in urban and infrastructure developments, and Japan Overseas Infrastructure Investment Corporation for Transport and Urban Development (JOIN), a Japanese governmental policy-based company engaged in investments in transportation and urban development projects outside of Japan, signed an MOU today to cooperate in overseas urban and infrastructure projects.
The MOU between SJ and JOIN covers the following areas of collaboration:
It sets out the parties’ intent to discuss potential infrastructure projects in Singapore, ASEAN, India, Middle-East and Africa, as the parties may consider appropriate. Such projects might involve railways and transport systems, toll roads, port terminals, airport terminals, urban development, and logistics.
Commenting on the MOU, Surbana Jurong Group CEO Mr. Wong Heang Fine said: “We are delighted to have this cooperation with JOIN for infrastructure projects in developing countries, particularly in the ASEAN region and the African continent. Surbana Jurong has extensive track record and knowledge of implementing such projects in ASEAN countries and many parts of Africa, which is why we are an ideal partner for JOIN as it explores investment opportunities abroad. With operations in over 40 countries and 100 cities and multi-disciplinary technical expertise to design and engineer projects across a wide range of sectors, including transport, power, residential and industrial township, water, aviation, oil & gas and energy, we will be able to offer JOIN a one stop solution in urban and infrastructure developments.”
The MOU was signed as part of celebration events in Tokyo to mark 50 years of diplomatic relations between Singapore and Japan. The exchange of the MOU was witnessed by Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong before they delivered their press remarks.
For media queries, please contact:
Alvin Hang
Group Director, Corporate Communications
T: +65 9222 1010 | alvinhangwy@surbanajurong.com
About Surbana Jurong
Surbana Jurong (SJ) has a rich 50-year heritage in the development of Singapore’s urban, industrial and infrastructure landscape. SJ traces its roots to the Housing Development Board (HDB) and the Jurong Town Corporation (JTC), agencies synonymous with Singapore’s early township and industrialisation efforts.
Headquartered in Singapore, Surbana Jurong Private Limited (SJ) was formed in June 2015 through the merger of renowned urban planning & affordable housing design expert Surbana International Consultants, and Jurong International, Singapore’s premiere industrial and infrastructure engineering design stalwart.
In August 2016, SJ acquired world-renowned infrastructure engineering designer SMEC Holdings. With this acquisition, SJ now boasts a combined global workforce of 10,000 employees in over 95 offices across 40 countries in Asia, Australia, the Middle East, Africa and the Americas. SJ is also presently the largest Asia-based urban, industrial and infrastructure consulting firm. SJ today provides one-stop consultancy solutions across the entire value chain of urbanisation, industrialisation and infrastructure domains.
SJ’s motto ‘Building Cities, Shaping Lives’ reflects its belief that development is more than just steel and concrete. SJ creates spaces and infrastructure services where people live, work and play, shaping cities into homes with sustainable jobs where communities and businesses can flourish.
Singapore, 24 August 2016 – Surbana Jurong has signed a string of MOUs with the Royal Bafokeng Nation and three international organisations namely Mixta Africa, Quantum Global and The International Federation of African Consular Chambers & Trade (FICA) to expand its footprints in Africa.
With its deep experience and expertise in urban planning and industrialisation, Surbana Jurong has already undertaken projects in 15 countries in Africa including Ghana and Gabon and will continue to do so in more countries.
Surbana Jurong CEO (International) Teo Eng Cheong said, “Africa is the second-fastest urbanising continent, after Asia. The demand for urbanisation and infrastructure in Africa is burgeoning. With the business environment in Africa being favourable to multinational companies, we are excited to partner with major players such as Mixta Africa, a highly active participant in the African Real Estate sector and Swiss-based Quantum Global, an investment partner with unique expertise in identifying gateway opportunities between Africa and international markets to help us grow our presence in this market.”
“Our work there will include designing affordable housing and formulating long term development and capacity building solutions by unlocking Africa’s resources in a sustainable way that will positively impact its economic and social development,” he added.
Surbana Jurong has done many projects in the rapidly developing continent specifically in the Republic of Congo, Angola, Burundi, Nigeria, Mauritius, South Africa and others since 2005. One of Surbana Jurong’s major projects there was creating a master plan for the Rwandan capital city of Kigali to turn it into a financial hub for Africa in 2009. The master plan won the Best Overseas Planning Project Award 2010 and Best Planning Project 2013 in the Singapore Institute of Planners Awards.
Mr Teo signed the four MOUs at an event on the sidelines of the Africa Singapore Business Forum held at the Grand Copthorne Waterfront Hotel.
Witnessing the signings were Er. Louis Tay, Surbana Jurong’s Managing Director, Africa; Chief Executive Officer of the Royal Bafokeng Nation Development Trust Obakeng Phetwe and State Minister of Industry, Ethiopia, Dr. Mebrahtu Meles.
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For media enquiries, please contact:
Alvin HANG
Group Director, Group Corporate Communications
T: 6248-1100 |alvin.hangwy@surbanajurong.com
Lyn Lee FOO
Senior Manager, Group Corporate Communications
T: 6248-1019 | Lynlee.foo@surbanajurong.com
About Surbana Jurong
Surbana Jurong (SJ) has a rich 50-year heritage in the development of Singapore’s urban, industrial and infrastructure landscape. SJ traces its roots to the Housing Development Board (HDB) and the Jurong Town Corporation (JTC), agencies synonymous with Singapore’s early township and industrialisation efforts.
Headquartered in Singapore, Surbana Jurong Private Limited (SJ) was formed in June 2015 through the merger of renowned urban planning & affordable housing design expert Surbana International Consultants, and Jurong International, Singapore’s premiere industrial and infrastructure engineering design stalwart.
In August 2016, SJ completed a transformational merger with world-renowned infrastructure engineering designer SMEC Holdings. With this complementary merger, SJ now boasts a combined global workforce of 10,000 employees in over 95 offices across 40 countries in Asia, Australia, the Middle East, Africa and the Americas. SJ is also presently the largest Asia-based urban, industrial and infrastructure consulting firm. SJ today provides one-stop consultancy solutions across the entire value chain of urbanisation, industrialisation and infrastructure domains.
SJ’s motto ‘Building Cities, Shaping Lives’ reflects its belief that development is more than just steel and concrete. SJ creates spaces and infrastructure services where people live, work and play, shaping cities into homes with sustainable jobs where communities and businesses can flourish.