from the ground Up

Japanese firm to invest $6m in water R&D centre

by Jessica Cheam, The Straits Times, 24 June 2008

JAPANESE firm Nitto Denko announced yesterday that it will invest $6 million here over the next five years in a water research and development (R&D) centre.
The centre – the first of its kind set up by a Japanese firm – will be allied to Singapore’s own growing water-treatment industry and the national water agency PUB.
It will be sited at WaterHub, the agency’s R&D centre in Jurong East. Initially, 10 engineers – local and foreign – will be employed.
Nitto Denko, a leading diversified materials company, is a long-time partner of PUB. The firm supplies the reverse osmosis membranes used in various Newater projects.
It plans to have the R&D centre established by August, with the aim of forging closer ties with local water-related engineering companies such as Hyflux and Keppel Corporation.
“The centre will carry out practical-use evaluation tests of products developed in Singapore,” said Mr Minoru Kikuoka, global head of Nitto Denko’s membrane unit.
“We firmly believe that Singapore’s water technology development will be further enhanced through our activities here.”
The 300 sq m facility will bolster the thriving water industry here and underline Singapore’s claims as a “global knowledge hub in water technology…and bring us closer to our aspirations of being a global hydrohub”, said Economic Development Board’s assistant managing director, Mr Kenneth Tan.
It will also “pave the way for strong ties between Japan and Singapore in water-related R&D”, he added.
Nitto Denko’s announcement was made on the first day of the four-day inaugural Singapore International Water Week at Suntec.
The event brings together about 5,000 government officials and policymakers to discuss water issues.

Regional hub to train urban planners

by Jessica Cheam, The Straits Times, June 26 2008

Water experts and city planners from around the world unveiled three new initiatives and ideas at the Singapore International Water Week and World Cities Summit yesterday
SINGAPORE could soon add one more hub to its already impressive list – as a regional centre to train urban planners, designers and architects.
The idea was raised yesterday by the World Bank, which is in talks with the Government about setting up such a facility, believed to be the first in Asia.
Siting such a hub here is no accident. The country is seen as an example of Asia’s forward-looking attitude to urbanisation and such a centre would “draw on and share Singapore’s phenomenal knowledge and experience”, said Mr James Adams, the bank’s vice-president for the East Asia and Pacific region.
Mr Adams’ comments on the last day of the World Cities Summit came a day after Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong announced a new Centre for Liveable Cities.
This centre will bring together the expertise Singapore has built up in government, industry and academia on sustainable urban development.
Industry experts told The Straits Times the recent moves are timely, given that 54 per cent – 2.6 billion – of Asia’s population is expected to live in cities by 2030.
“The need for good urban planners has never been greater and we need to train them up quickly,” said principal architect John Ting of Singapore’s AIM & Associates.
“Without well-trained urban planners, cities will face big problems in the face of overwhelming demand on resources,” said Mr Ting, who is also a former president of the Singapore Institute of Architects.
Talks on the World Bank’s proposed centre here are in the preliminary stage and details will be released later, possibly at year-end, when World Bank president Robert Zoellick is scheduled to visit.
In his speech, Mr Adams noted that the “old thinking” that urbanisation was a “bad thing” has given way to the idea that it is an important driver of economic growth.
“No country has grown to high income without vibrant cities,” he said. This should be achieved, as Singapore has done, through a combination of innovative policies, investments in education and infrastructure, and a big push to attract foreign capital and talent.

New $440m water fund with Asian focus

by Jessica Cheam, The Straits Times, 26 June 2008

Water experts and city planners from around the world unveiled three new initiatives and ideas at the Singapore International Water Week and World Cities Summit yesterday
A US$320 million (S$438 million) water fund with an Asian focus was launched in Singapore yesterday.
The fund, set up by local water company
Konzen Group in a joint venture with Malaysian AmInvestment Bank, will invest in water-infrastructure projects and companies with innovative water technologies.
AmKonzen Water Investments Management will manage the fund, believed to be the first of its kind in Asia.
The two partner firms, which will hold equal stakes, signed the agreement yesterday at the inaugural
Singapore International Water Week, which ends today.
Konzen chief executive Yeong Wai Cheong said the firm expects to raise at least US$100 million initially. The firm has been in the water-engineering business in South-east Asia for 25 years,
The fund will be a “high-yield, income-oriented vehicle” which will offer stability and behave like a bond with fixed income, he said.
The fund’s Asian focus will capitalise on the region’s growing demand for water – and lack of supply – which will require rapid construction of new water plants.
It will focus on investing in public and private water and waste-water infrastructure projects in China and South-east Asia, as well as private equity firms with proven water technologies, said Mr Yeong.
The projected yield of the fund, open only to institutional investors, is 15 to 20 per cent.
AmKonzen decided to set up shop here because of Singapore’s “global hydrohub” reputation.
“Singapore has a vibrant water industry, and is also a financial capital so it makes a lot of sense,” said Mr Yeong.
The fund expects to expand its assets beyond US$320 million in the long term, he added.
AmKonzen is not the only firm benefiting from Asia’s booming water industry. United States-based Black & Veatch announced on Tuesday that the annual revenues of its water business in the Asia-Pacific region tripled to US$170 million last year.
The firm has also secured new projects in the water markets of Singapore, Australia and Hong Kong, worth US$34 million in the past two months.

US giant to build $24m plant here

by Jessica Cheam, The Straits Times, June 27 2008

UNITED States giant Marmon Water is building a $24 million water filter manufacturing plant here – a first by a foreign firm.
Marmon’s 3,500 sq m leased facility in Serangoon is expected to be fully operational by the first quarter of next year and will employ 100 workers.
The announcement of the plant was made yesterday – the last day of the four-day inaugural Singapore International Water Week at the Suntec convention centre.
Mr Angelo Pantaleo, president of Marmon Water Drinking Water Group, said the facility will focus on manufacturing residential water treatment products for export to the United States, China and South-east Asia.
The potential of this segment of the global water business is huge.
“The growth rate in Asia is north of 15 per cent annually, compared to about 5 to 8 per cent in the US,” said Mr Pantaleo.
The decision to locate here was due to Singapore’s strong industry focus on water, “the presence of a high talent pool and its connectivity to other markets within Asia”, he said.
The Economic Development Board’s assistant managing director, Mr Kenneth Tan, said yesterday that Marmon’s plant “marks another key milestone” for Singapore’s water industry.
This is not Marmon’s first foray into Singapore. In January last year, the company, which has an annual revenue of about US$7 billion (S$9.6 billion), joined local firm Hyflux to set up a $50 million joint water research and development centre.
Marmon and Hyflux said some projects incubated from the centre will soon be brought to the market, including one on a carbon-fibre membrane for residential water treatment.
The two companies will also develop products to be manufactured by the new plant and exported to the region, said Hyflux group deputy chief executive Sam Ong.
This partnership will help Hyflux, which has made headway in the industrial water treatment business, to develop its consumer segment.
“This will help us become an integrated water solutions provider. Consumer products can give us an added value and we want to give it the best shot,” said Mr Ong.