A proposed merger of four urban solutions firms under industrial landlord JTC Corporation and investment company Temasek will go ahead – and is expected to be completed by June 2015.
The tie-up between Ascendas, Singbridge Group, Jurong International and Surbana International Consultants will create an integrated platform for sustainable urban development to pursue large-scale and complex projects across the region. The combined entity will have an estimated value of S$5 billion.
Temasek and JTC Corporation first announced in September 2014 that they were in negotiations to explore a merger of the four units.
In a statement on Monday (Feb 16), Temasek said it will hold a 51 per cent stake in the new group, with JTC holding the rest. The group will be made up of two independent units.
Ascendas and Singbridge will form the group’s asset investment and holding arm, which will originate, aggregate and provide urban solutions. Singbridge chairman Wong Kan Seng will be the arm’s chairman, with Singbridge executive director Miguel Ko as chief executive.
“Singbridge has its own strengths in urbanisation in a much larger scale. And Ascendas is a developer that knows how to build, how to develop and how to manage. So I think we now have the end-to-end solution in terms of addressing the urbanisation opportunities in Singapore and elsewhere,” said Mr Ko.
The second unit will comprise Surbana and Jurong International, and forms the group’s building and engineering specialist services unit providing sustainable solutions through technology. Surbana Chairman Liew Mun Leong will be the unit’s chairman, with Mr Wong Heang Fine as chief executive.
Both have been jointly working on master planning the new capital city of Andhra Pradesh in India. The project covers an area about 10 times Singapore’s size, in the Vijayawada-Guntar region in southern India. With the integration, the unit hopes to grow the portfolio of S$500 million it has handled in consultancy fees to more than S$1 billion in the coming years.
“In city development, one just doesn’t plan for just township and build the housing estates,” said Mr Wong. “One will also have to look at the industrial activity as well. So by combining, we can actually do both. In the past – if you separate it out, it will be quite difficult. Now, under one organisation, the two teams can actually jointly pitch for these projects.”
Temasek and JTC said the integration of the firms will provide flexibility and nimbleness in going after projects across the entire urban development value chain. They added that current business and operations of the four operating subsidiaries will see minimal impact from the merger.
Source : Channel NewsAsia – 16 Feb 2015