Temasek subsidiary to target sustainable projects

Cross-sector project manager SingBridge International will manage and invest in large-scale, sustainable projects - initially in China and eventually globally.


SingBridge International, a recently formed multi-sector project manager and wholly owned subsidiary of Singapore state fund Temasek Holdings, today revealed details of its investrment plans to members of the media in its inaugural press conference. 

The size of Temasek’s investment in SingBridge was not disclosed, although Lim Chee Onn, chairman of SingBridge, told journalists that funds for projects will be raised on a deal-by-deal basis. He also said that the firm is currently inviting participation from investors which can bring value to projects – and added that private equity investors will not be “precluded.”

In an accompanying press release, the firm said that it intends to invest across industries such as real estate, infrastructure, healthcare, retail services, education, professional and technical services as well as manufacturing. Through the release, the firm said it will set its sights on large-scale, long-term and sustainable projects. It is, for the moment, China-focused. However, it added that it had a global mandate, with a particular interest in emerging markets in Asia and the Middle East. 

SingBridge is currently involved in several projects in conjunction with local Chinese municipal governments. Last week the firm signed agreements with the Guangzhou municipality to jointly invest in and develop  the Sino-Singapore Guangzhou Knowledge City, a 123-square-kilometre sustainable city that the firm hopes will be “highly attractive to talent and skilled manpower and knowledge-based industries.” The firm said it will invest RMB2 billion (€233 million; $295 million) for a 50 percent stake in the project.

In May, SingBridge signed a memorandum of understanding with the Jilin municipal government to assess the feasibility of developing a 1,450-square-kilometre agricultural and food zone in Jilin City. The project will aim to utilise the expertise of the respective parties to create a technologically advanced agricultural belt for the production of high-quality foods. 

Additionally, the firm has a stake in the Tianjin Eco-City project by way of an undisclosed investment for a 10 percent stake in a Singaporean consortium holding 50 percent of the Tianjin Eco-City project.

SingBridge says it hopes to provide a platform in which Singapore companies can realise their ambitions of expanding overseas.

SingBridge is headed by former executive members of Singapore’s offshore, marine, property and infrastructure conglomerate, Keppel Corporation, headed by Lim Chee Onn, the former executive chairman of Keppel. The firm is currently about 20-strong and manages projects from its office in Singapore. The firm was conceptualised in 2008 and founded a year later.