News

Leading energy, water and marine company Sembcorp Industries (Sembcorp) today sent off a team of its employees who will run a 250-kilometre ultra-marathon under extreme conditions across the Great Kalahari Desert in South Africa to raise funds for worthy causes, including Kwong Wai Shiu Hospital, a charity hospital serving thousands of needy patients every month.

The team of five men and two women employees from across Sembcorp's operations in Singapore and the UK will be sponsored by the company to take part in the seven-day Kalahari Augrabies Extreme Marathon, a self-sufficiency run considered one of the world's most challenging races.

In conjunction with this, the company has launched the Sembcorp Kalahari Desert Fundraising Challenge, a fundraising effort involving Sembcorp companies, employees, as well as business partners and associates. Sembcorp will match dollar-for-dollar all donations from other corporate donors and its employees. Through this initiative, it hopes to raise half a million dollars (S$500,000) for charity.

The money will go to meaningful causes in Singapore and the UK. In Singapore, S$250,000 of the funds raised will go to a redevelopment project by Kwong Wai Shiu Hospital, one of Singapore's oldest charity hospitals, to transform it into the country's largest single-site nursing home. Kwong Wai Shiu Hospital provides healthcare services to the needy in Singapore regardless of race, language or religion. Apart from inpatient services, the new hospital will offer its elderly patients a one-stop integrated service. The funds raised will go to providing hospital equipment for Kwong Wai Shiu's new building.

The Sembcorp runners will follow the trail covered by ancient African Bushmen through the fertile vineyards of the Orange River Valley, across rocky outcrops and into the desolated Kalahari Desert. As they run in extreme conditions, each ultra-marathoner will carry around 15 kilogrammes of essential supplies, including strictly-controlled water rations, food, clothes and safety equipment. The Sembcorp team will run in daytime temperatures of around 45 degrees Celsius and sleep under canvas in temperatures close to zero, covering distances of 25 and 80 kilometres per day. The longest stage will see them running the equivalent of almost two marathons in a single day.

Said Tang Kin Fei, Sembcorp Industries Group President & CEO, "As a successful company, Sembcorp wants to share the fruit of our success by giving back to communities where we operate. The Sembcorp Kalahari Desert Fundraising Challenge is a great example of our entire group coming together to do just that. We are very proud of our runners and our whole group will cheer them on as they take on this incredibly difficult race in aid of a worthy cause.

Sembcorp has maintained a long-standing commitment to carrying out its operations responsibly and sustainably. It was one of the first companies listed on the Singapore stock exchange to publish a voluntary sustainability report using Global Reporting Initiative G3 guidelines. Along with this, Sembcorp also maintains an ongoing commitment to support communities where it operates. The company is a component stock of the Dow Jones Sustainability Asia Pacific Index and won top honours at the Singapore Sustainability Awards 2011, winning the Sustainable Business Award in the Enterprise category.

Headquartered in Singapore and with operations across six continents worldwide, Sembcorp is a trusted provider of essential energy and water solutions to both industrial and municipal customers. It has facilities with over 5,800 megawatts of gross power capacity and over seven million cubic metres of water per day in operation and under development. It is also a world leader in marine and offshore engineering as well as an established brand name in urban development.

Said Mr Patrick Lee, Chairman of Kwong Wai Shiu Hospital, "Kwong Wai Shiu is heavily dependent on public support and donations and we truly appreciate the time, initiative and effort put in by companies and individuals to support what we do. Sembcorp has taken the initiative to step up to the plate to partner us in a big way and we are truly grateful for their help. Their contribution will help us greatly as we seek to improve our facilities and provide high-quality medical care for the needy and elderly. It will also encourage our employees as they work to promote the health, well-being and dignity of the many patients we serve."

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For media enquiries, please contact:

Fock Siu Ling
Senior Manager
Group Corporate Relations
Sembcorp Industries Ltd
DID: +65 6723 3011
Email: fock.siuling@sembcorp

Kelly Quek
Executive
Corporate Affairs
Kwong Wai Shiu Hospital
DID: +65 6422 1294
Email: [email protected]

For More Information on the Kalahari Augrabies Extreme Marathon
Please refer to http://www.extrememarathons.com/KAEM/KAEM_index.html

About Sembcorp Industries

Sembcorp Industries is a leading energy, water and marine group operating across six continents worldwide. With facilities with over 5,800 megawatts of gross power capacity and over seven million cubic metres of water per day in operation and under development, Sembcorp is a trusted provider of essential energy and water solutions to both industrial and municipal customers. It is also a world leader in marine and offshore engineering as well as an established brand name in urban development. The Group has total assets of over S$12 billion and employs over 9,000 employees. Listed on the main board of the Singapore Exchange, it is a component stock of the Straits Times Index, several MSCI and FTSE indices as well as the Dow Jones Sustainability Asia Pacific Index.

Sembcorp helps to meet the world's growing demand for energy in a responsible manner and has a growing portfolio of low-carbon power and steam generation assets. It supplies clean potable water to millions worldwide, provides sustainably-sourced alternative water supplies and reduces the impact of industry on the environment through effective wastewater management. Sembcorp’s urban development business also supports development in emerging markets and provides a model for integrated townships and industrial parks which preserves features of the natural environment. For more information on Sembcorp’s efforts to enable development and support communities, please refer to http://www.sembcorp.com/en/esg-edsc.aspx.

About Kwong Wai Shiu Hospital

Kwong Wai Shiu Hospital (KWSH) is a 102 year-old charitable organisation and Institution of Public Character, committed to looking after the sick and needy. In the last century, it has evolved from a basic inpatient and outpatient establishment to a modern medical institution recognised in Singapore for its nursing and geriatric care. With around 300 employees, the Hospital presently has a 350-bed nursing home, Rehabilitation Centre and a Traditional Chinese Medicine Centre. Many of its patients are from the lower-income group and their hospital charges are subsidised. KWSH is heavily dependent on the support and generous donations of the public to cover its operating expenses. It has recently embarked on a redevelopment plant which will transform it into Singapore's largest single-site nursing home operator in 2015. For more information, please refer to http://www.kwsh.org.sg.