MR No.: 010/09
Singapore, Sunday, 15 March 2009
1. Singapore is set to establish a stronger presence in the Middle Eastern state of Oman, following the signing of two business deals in Oman today. Working together with International Enterprise (IE) Singapore, the key agency spearheading the growth of Singapore’s external economic wing, these two Singapore-based companies in the engineering and cable sectors respectively entered successful joint ventures with local Omani partners.
2. Top Great Engineering & Marine Pte Ltd and Sky Holding Pte Ltd officially sealed their partnerships in a signing ceremony today, with Omani companies WJ Towell and Al Lawami International LLC respectively. The joint ventures are expected to generate a regular source of project revenue for both companies. Singapore President S.R Nathan was on site to grace the signing ceremony, as part of his Middle East tour.
Details of Joint Venture 3. Top Great Engineering & Marine Pte Ltd partnered WJ Towell, one of the oldest company in Oman with investments in property, construction, retail and manufacturing to fabricate, supply, install and commission two sets of dock gates for the 2nd largest dry dock in the world at the Port of Duqm Sultanate of Oman. WJ Towell Co, (LLC) was established in 1866, and is one of the most reputable trading houses in Oman, dealing in property ownership and redevelopment, consumer goods distributorship and retail as well as various industrial manufacturing enterprises and ventures. The project is worth S$30 million. IE Singapore will continue to assist the company in its expansion to other parts of the Middle East.
Specialty steel wire manufacturing company Sky Holding partnered Al Lawami International LLC to provide transfer of management and technological expertise to set up an Oman cable manufacturing plant. Al Lawami International LLC is a 100% Omani investment holding company fronted by Omani businessmen Hussain Al-Lawati and Mustafa Al-Lawati. Their expertise ranges from wholesale and retail trading to large-scale manufacturing. The annual capacity of the manufacturing plant is expected to be from 20,000 tonnes to 50,000 tonnes. IE Singapore introduced consultants to help Sky Holding with market feasibility studies and provided market insights as it was Sky Holding’s first foray into the Middle East.
4. Both companies identified Oman as a relatively untapped market with ample business opportunities, and will be setting up offices there. These Omani offices will be their future gateway to the rest of the Middle East.
5. Said Mr Lim Ban Hoe, IE Singapore’s Regional Director of International Operations (Middle East & Africa), “The Middle East is a region of rich natural resources, and Oman is a market with great potential. Business opportunities are prevalent in sectors such as urban and industrial infrastructure, health care, oil and gas infrastructure services, as well as information technology. With His Majesty Sultan Qaboos, Chairman of the GCC Supreme Council, being the first to ratify the FTA for Oman, bilateral trade will be further facilitated between both countries. IE Singapore is actively helping Singapore companies expand their business beyond traditional markets, especially during the current challenging times. These two joint ventures illustrate the importance of seizing opportunity in untapped markets.”
6. To date, Singapore companies such as Ascendas Pte Ltd, Salcon Limited and CrimsonLogic Pte Ltd have had success in Oman, offering expertise in the IT and urban and industrial infrastructure sectors. Total bilateral trade increased by 64%, from $580 million in 2007 to $950 million in 2008. Singapore’s exports to Oman increased by 37.5%, as compared to 2007, to S$258.7 million. Export of civil engineering parts and tractor parts enjoyed a surge of 56% to reach almost S$77 million.
IE Singapore currently supports the expansion of Singapore companies into Oman through its office in Dubai. It has three other offices in the Middle East; in Abu Dhabi, Qatar (Doha) and Saudi Arabia (Jeddah).
Annex: Details of Singapore Companies
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Note to Editor Please use ‘IE Singapore’ or ‘IE’ if an acronym for ‘International Enterprise Singapore’ is required. In addition, unless otherwise stated, the use of statistics cited in our media releases, website or Statlink, should be attributed to IE Singapore.
Issued by IE Singapore. For media enquiries, please contact:
Ms TAN Mei Yin, Jennifer
Assistant Manager, Corporate Communications Group
International Enterprise Singapore
DID : + 65 6433 4738
Fax : + 65 6337 6898
Mobile : + 65 9489 0715
Email : Jennifer_TAN@iesingapore.gov.sg
Mr Dean TAN
Centre Director (Dubai) and Vice-Consul (Commercial), Singapore Consulate in Dubai
International Enterprise Singapore
DID : + 9714 3020109
Fax : + 9714 3353771
Mobile : + 971 5014 45826
Email :
Dean_TAN@iesingapore.gov.sg For more information on the details of the signing, please contact:
Top Great Engineering & Marine Pte Ltd Mr. Wong Boon Huat
Managing Director
Tel: +65 6546 1823
Fax:+65 6546 3583
Mobile: +65 9680 2136
Oman Mobile: +968 9989742
Email:
wongbh@topgreat.com.sg Sky Holding Pte Ltd Dr. Steven Wong
Managing Director
Tel: +65 6777 0046
Fax: +65 6773 6995
Mobile: +65 9001 6083
Email: steven@skyholdingpl.net
Annex
Details of Singapore Companies Top Great Engineering & Marine Pte Ltd Top Great Engineering started business as a proprietary company under the leadership of Mr. Wong Boon Huat in May 1993. In year 2000, Top Great Engineering & Marine Pte Ltd (hereafter named “TGEM”) was incorporated as a Private Limited Company and has established itself as a market leader in providing engineering design, procurement, fabrication and installation, full Turnkey Project management of Structural and Precision Engineering systems. TGEM’s services cover the following areas: environment sector (fabrication and installation of water, sewage/waste treatment system, sludge – solid & liquid treatment), marine sector (ship repair and vessel construction support), tanks (water, chemicals, LNG) and oil & gas/onshore & offshore sector (design of equipment, mob & de-mob of geological survey / exploration vessels, fabrication and installation of oil and gas system), design and fabrication of pressure vessels certified to U, U2, R,S and NB Stamps.
Sky Holding Sky Holding was established in 2003, supplying galvanised steel wires to local cottage and fencing industries. Since its humble beginnings, the business has grown and currently Sky Holding is a member of BH Global Marine Ltd, which is listed on the Singapore Stock Exchange main board. Sky Holding has also embarked on an overseas expansion plan and their products can be found in Australia, Indonesia, India, Kuwait, Malaysia, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Thailand, UK and Europe. Apart from specialty steel wires, Sky Holding also provides one-stop solutions for their customers in supply chain management, fabrication of products and product sourcing, just to name a few.
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