Singapore Making its Mark in Saudi Arabia

Nov 28, 2007

S'pore making its mark in Saudi Arabia
Local firms seizing lucrative opportunities in sectors such as infrastructure development

THE Singapore corporate footprint is being stamped slowly but surely on the deserts of oil mega-rich Saudi Arabia. And this process looks set to gather pace in the next few years, as more Singapore firms seize opportunities in a lucrative market that is, in effect, on the other side of Asia.

Singapore Airlines is believed to be the first local business to operate there - with its maiden flight in 1979. But other Singapore businesses have struck out there in recent years, too.
They include information technology firm CrimsonLogic, infrastructure service specialist Tiong Woon and property giant Keppel Land.

Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority's country director for Singapore, Mr Meshari Al-Khaled, said IE Singapore had worked with the Saudi authorities to promote the kingdom's newly-created economic cities.

Economic cities are development clusters set up by the authorities to focus on attracting new businesses to specific sectors. Singapore e-government solutions provider CrimsonLogic got a big boost in 2002 when it won a US$22 million (S$31.7 million) deal in Saudi Arabia to build, operate and maintain an e-trade project to serve the kingdom's trade sector. The deal has helped open more doors for CrimsonLogic in the Middle East, winning it more projects.

The e-trade project SaudiEDI is a joint project undertaken by CrimsonLogic and the kingdom's Public Investment Fund.

'They've showed a strong passion to implement things and are good listeners,' said Mr Faisal Saleh Al-Mousa, the general director of SaudiEDI.

Another local firm swiftly establishing its Saudi presence is Tiong Woon.

It is making inroads in Jubail Industrial City off the eastern coast - one of the world's largest petrochemical complexes.

In January, it became the first Singapore company to be awarded an investment licence to run a 100 per cent foreign-owned business entity in the kingdom.

And its business is booming. Tiong Woon's Saudi Arabia branch manager, Mr Jason Low, said demand for his firm's 60 cranes is almost at full capacity, and his major clients include South Korean firms.

He said: 'It's a happy problem we have as the demand increases. We aim to grow our fleet of cranes from 60 to 150 in two to three years.'

Another is Keppel Land.
In September, it announced its first foray into Saudi Arabia by inking a $760 million joint venture to develop 1,000 luxury homes in Jeddah's Corniche waterfront.

The Singapore presence is growing. Other Singapore firms active in Saudi Arabia include Rotary Engineering and Hyflux. Rotary has clinched an $11 million deal to provide support for an ethylene plant, while Hyflux is in a $45 million joint venture in a recycling plant.

Yesterday, SembCorp Marine announced a US$6.6 million joint venture for a shipyard in Yanbu, a city on the west coast of Saudi Arabia.

To help local companies seeking to do more business in Saudi Arabia, IE Singapore set up an office in Jeddah recently.

Said IE Singapore's centre director for Jeddah, Mr Nordin Yatim: 'Our business presence there is at an infant stage. It's a place with lots of untapped potential, with plenty of opportunities especially in infrastructure development, logistics and oil and gas support.'