Fast-growing marine industry in Qatar attracts Singapore marine supporting services providers

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Qatar, Monday, 15 March 2010

1. A group of 14 Singapore-based companies from the marine supporting services industry will be visiting Doha, Qatar, from today to 19 March 2010. Organised by International Enterprise (IE) Singapore, the lead agency promoting the overseas growth of Singapore-based enterprises and international trade, this business mission to Qatar will focus on uncovering business opportunities for Singapore and Qatar companies in the fast-growing marine industry.

2. The business delegation comprises companies offering a comprehensive range of marine supporting services, including marine repair and engineering, corrosion prevention, heavy lifting, diving services, blasting and painting, piping fabrication and heat exchangers. During the mission, the mission delegates will meet prominent Qatari companies for one-to-one business matching, visit Ras Laffan Industrial City, the Qatar Navigation shipyard and the Nakilat-Keppel Offshore & Marine shipyard.

3. Said Mr Tham Poh Cheong, Group Director for Infrastructure, Environment and Engineering, IE Singapore, "Qatar is expected to remain the region's leader with a 16.1% GDP growth in 2010, which is largely because of its massive expansion in natural gas facilities With the oil and gas industry as a key driver of Qatar's economic growth, the country's marine industry, in particular shipbuilding, ship repair and conversion, will expand in tandem. The demand for marine supporting services to secure and support these industry developments will also increase, creating opportunities for partnerships between Qatar and Singapore's marine supporting service providers. Our companies have grown through Singapore's development into an established shipbuilding and ship repair centre and are equipped to contribute to Qatar's marine industry. We hope that this business mission will enable both sides to better understand each other and pave the way for future partnerships."

4.Qatar has the third largest natural gas reserves in the world and is now the world's biggest exporter of LNG, accounting for 17.5% of total supply². The natural gas production levels from 2008 - 2013 are also expected to double from 76.6 billion cubic metres to 135 billion cubic metres ³ , while LNG production capacity is forecasted to hit 77 million tonnes in 2010, compared with 39.9 million tonnes in 2008⁴. Not only will this allow Qatar to continue to be the world's leading exporter of LNG, it will drive the growth of the marine industry and correspondingly marine supporting services.

5. NakilatNakilat, the Qatar Gas Transport CompanyQatar Gas Transport Company and the world's leading transporter of LNG, has embarked on developing the local marine industrial base with two landmark joint ventures (JVs) with Keppel Offshore & Marine and Damen Shipyard at Ras Laffan Industrial City, which were inked in 2007 and 2010 respectively. Both JVs, Nakilat-Keppel Offshore & Marine and Nakilat-Damen Shipyards Qatar Limited, are key to positioning Qatar as an internationally recognised centre of excellence in ship building, repair and conversion. The former is expected to begin operations this year, while the latter is currently being constructed. These developments are expected to drive the increased demand for marine supporting services.

6. Qatari companies have built a strong business relationship with Singaporean companies since the 1990s. The JV between NakilatNakilat and Keppel Offshore & Marine is a culmination of both countries' collaboration in the offshore and marine industry, which includes the repairs of Qatar's LNG tankers to the building of Qatari jack-ups in Singapore's yards. Said Mr Muhammad Ghannam, Managing Director of NakilatNakilat, "We are proud to have Keppel as our joint venture partner in this project. The joint venture signifies a landmark partnership between the world's leading transporter of LNG and the global leader in ship repair, ship conversion and construction of offshore drilling rigs."

7. Added Mr Yong Chee Min, Chief Executive Officer of Nakilat-Keppel Offshore & Marine, "Our joint venture with NakilatNakilat marks the first for Keppel Offshore & Marine in Qatar and is in line with our strategy to be near our customers and markets. This collaboration not only adds value to Qatar's growth in oil and gas, it also plays a role in developing the related marine and supporting industries. We are pleased to see the strong interests from Singapore-based companies in providing marine supporting services for the shipyard and hope that the mission will help them understand the requirements, and create opportunities to explore potential partnerships."

8. A further testament to the expected growth in demand for marine supporting services is the ambitious vessel fleet expansion plans of NakilatNakilat, and local shipping lines, Qatar Shipping Company (Q-ships) and Qatar Navigation (QN). NakilatNakilat announced in November 2009 that it had completed its US$6.8 billion newbuild programme, which added 25 new LNG carriers to bring its total fleet size to 54⁵. Q-ship and QN, who are due to merge in May 2010, are also actively acquiring vessels with newbuilds on their orderbooks.

9. Examples of existing Singapore-based companies' projects in Qatar include:

i) Aqua-Terra Supply Co's joint venture company in Qatar, Aqua-Terra Middle East, was awarded a contract worth about S$21 million for civil engineering works at seven dried sludge storage warehouses;

ii) Franklin Offshore Holdings established a rigging shop;

iii) Keppel Integrated Engineering (KIE) established a Domestic Solid Waste Management Centre worth S$1.7 billion;

iv) Keppel Integrated Engineering (KIE) set up a Doha North Sewage Treatment Plant worth S$1.5 billion.

- Ends

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.

About International Enterprise Singapore
International Enterprise (IE) Singapore is an agency under the Ministry of Trade and Industry spearheading the development of Singapore's external economic wing.

Our mission is to promote the overseas growth of Singapore-based enterprises and international trade. With a global network in over 30 locations and our 3C framework of assistance - Connections, Competency, Capital, we offer services to help enterprises export, develop business capabilities, find overseas partners and enter new markets. At the same time, we work to position Singapore as a base for foreign businesses to expand into the region in partnership with Singapore-based companies.

Please visit www.iesingapore.com for more information.



Issued by IE Singapore. For media enquiries, please contact:
In Doha:
Mr Kenneth SIM
Centre Director, Doha Overseas Centre
Middle East & Africa Group
DID : + 974-4553421
Hp : + 974-3253517
Email : kenneth_sim@iesingapore.gov.sg

In Singapore:
Ms CHENG Kiat Loon
Manager, Media and Marketing Communications
Corporate Communications Group
DID : + 65 6433 4465
Hp : + 65 9799 0904
Email : cheng_kiat_loon@iesingapore.gov.sg

¹ Source: ArabianBusiness.com article, 26 Jan 2010 http://www.arabianbusiness.com/579990-qatar-seen-leading-gulf-growth-in-2010---poll

² Source: Oil and Gas Report 2010

³ Source: Oil and Gas Report 2010

⁴ Source: MEED article, 21 Jan 2010 http://www.meed.com/supplements/2010/nakilat/nakilat-delivering-qatars-gas-to-the-world/3003628.article

⁵ Source: MEED article, 21 Jan 2010 http://www.meed.com/supplements/2010/nakilat/nakilat-delivering-qatars-gas-to-the-world/3003628.article

© Press Release 2010