ST: Soilbuild soars on 4 pillars of strength

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An honorable member of the Coffee Shop Has Just Posted the Following:

The Straits Times highlighted the success of one Singapore company, Soilbuild Group Holdings, on 12 Aug (‘Soilbuild soars on 4 pillars of strength’).

It reported that Soilbuild’s boss, Mr Lim Chap Huat, said that being fair, grateful, different and relevant has set the company apart from others.

Mr Lim, the executive chairman of Soilbuild, also believes that diversification for the construction and property group is par for the course in an industry that is cyclical by nature. As a testament to that conviction he launched the Soilbuild Business Space real estate investment trust (Reit) recently.

“Having a property fund management arm is part of the long-term estate planning and vision for the group,” he told Straits Times.

The Reit comprised of an initial portfolio of seven of its industrial properties. The diversified group posted revenue of around $390 million last year.

When asked what drove Soilbuild to success, Mr Lim told the media that it boiled down to four areas: being “fair, relevant, different and grateful”.

Soilbuild made news in May this year when it welcomed the Govt’s 6.9 million Population White Paper.

Ho Toon Bah, Executive Director of Soilbuild Construction Group, said, “The 6.9 million population figure is good news to us. It means that there are more houses to build and more jobs for us!”

Mr Lim also then added, “We intend to further develop our position in the public housing sector as HDB ramps up the construction of public housing in the coming years. We believe that our track record in public sector projects puts us in good stead to compete in future tenders from the HDB and other public agencies.”

In Jul 2011, JTC announced that it will be divesting and privatizing two tranches of its properties to Soilbuild Group Holdings and Mapletree Industrial Trust for a total of $688 million as part of the second phase of its divestment activity. The divestment comprise a total of more than 300,000 sqm of property space.

The first tranche was sold to Soilbuild Group at $288 million consisting of 10 blocks of flatted factories and amenity centres while the second tranche, which comprises 11 blocks of flatted factories and amenity centres, was divested to Mapletree Industrial Trust for $400 million.

At the time, JTC CEO said, “The aim of JTC’s divestment exercise is to promote competitiveness and vibrancy in the industrial property market so that existing and prospective tenants may benefit from more options and choices.”

He added, “Soilbuild Group Holdings and Mapletree Industrial Trust were selected after a rigorous two-stage tender process. Both are established players with a good understanding of the Singapore industrial property market.”

Mapletree is 100% owned by Temasek Holdings and Soilbuild is, of course, founded by Mr Lim Chap Huat.

As for JTC, it was established on 1 Jun 1968 for the development of land to support Singapore’s industrialization by then Dr Goh Keng Swee.

Who is Lim Chap Huat?

Lim Chap Huat BBM

Turns out that Mr Lim Chap Huat is a PAP grassroots leader in Nee Soon GRC. He is the vice-chairman of the Citizens’ Consultative Committee (CCC) in Chong Pang. On top of that, he is also the Assistant Treasurer at the PAP Chong Pang Branch (http://pap.chongpang.org/content/branch-organisation). Mr Lim is also a recipient of PBM (Public Service Medal) and BBM (Public Service Star).

His company website said of him (http://www.soilbuild.com/abt_our_ppl.html):

“A strong believer in community service, Mr Lim is the vice-chairman of the Citizens’ Consultative Committee in Chong Pang. His many contributions were recognised in 2009 when he was conferred the Public Service Star.”

http://www.tremeritus.com/2013/08/17...s-of-strength/


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