Keppel is committed to corporate citizenship with our active support of the local arts scene, education, charity, community and regional business relationships.

Cultivating audiences for the arts
In 2003, Keppel Group established the Keppel Music Scholarship programme to nurture artistic talents in the region and to support the Yong Siew Toh Conservatory of Music. The conservatory is a collaboration of the National University of Singapore and the Peabody Institute of the Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland, USA. The Group has committed $600,000 to sponsor 10 students over a period of five years for a music degree programme at the conservatory. As at July 2007, five Keppel music scholars emerged in the first cohort of students to graduate with a Bachelor of Music degree from the conservatory.

Keppel is also a long standing sponsor of the annual Singapore Arts Festival. Since 1994, Keppel has sponsored various events at the Festival. In 2007, in conjunction with the Festival’s 30th Anniversary, Keppel presented a milestone concert by Singapore’s very own King of Swing and Cultural Medallion Holder, Jeremy Monteiro at the Esplanade.

Support for homegrown Singapore talents is another focus for Keppel. In 2007, Keppel sponsored several local arts production namely, The Legacy of Goh Choo San: In Memory & Tribute, the local movie Gone Shopping! as well as HSBC Education’s Gabriel Ng @ Esplanade concert in support of Kids Fund for needy school children.

In recognition of its contributions to the local arts scene, Keppel Corporation received the Patron of the Arts award from the National Arts Council in 2007. Other companies in the group were also lauded including MobileOne Ltd which received the Patron of the Arts Award and Singapore Petroleum Company, the Arts Supporter Award.

Keppel is also active in bringing the world’s arts and culture to Singapore. For two years running, Keppel Offshore & Marine sponsored the World of Music, Arts and Dance (WOMAD) Singapore Festival which brings together artistes from all over the globe in celebration of the diverse forms of music, arts and dance. Keppel O & M also showcases Latin American arts and culture to Singapore. In 2007, they brought to Singapore renowned Brazilian Samba Group, Clube Do Balançoin; Brazil’s reigning Queen of Bossa Nova, Bebel Gilberto; and the best of Brazilian design and architecture jointly with Brazil’s Ministry of External Relations. The company also presented the Tamaulipas Folk Dance as part of the Festival Mexicano.

Advancing platforms for business and education
At Keppel Group, we underline our belief in the importance of education by supporting several education institutions.

In support of the grooming of Asia’s future leaders in public policy, Keppel is a founding member of the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy with a contribution of over $1 million. The school aims to put Singapore on the world map for the study of public policy and management.

Keppel contributes to the St Joseph’s Institution (SJI) International Fund to support the school’s scholarships and provide financial assistance for SJI’s students from Singapore and the region. Our Executive Chairman Lim Chee Onn and other prominent SJI alumni formed a Leadership Council to render assistance, advice and help to the International Fund.

Keppel also supports the Securities Investors Association of Singapore in its education programmes to help retail investors grow and protect their wealth.

Apart from education, Keppel helps to foster regional discussions and dialogues. On ASEAN’s 40th anniversary in 2007, Keppel O & M sponsored the inaugural ASEAN Think Tank Forum, co-organised by the Singapore Institute of International Affairs and the Institute of Policy Studies. The two-day forum, themed ASEAN at 40: Achievements and Challenges, attracted 150 experts and leaders from think tanks and academic institutions in the region.

In support of the promotion of Asian defence diplomacy, Keppel was a Main Sponsor of the 6th IISS Asia Security Summit in 2007 under the auspices of The Shangri-La Dialogue. The summit was attended by defence ministers and senior officials from 25 nations.

On the business front, Keppel Corporation co-presented the three-day ASEAN Business & Investment Summit, Singapore 2007 aimed at facilitating greater dialogue between the business community and ASEAN leaders. The Group also contributed towards the Global Entrepolis Singapore 2007 jointly organised by the Singapore Business Federation and the Economic Development Board.

Relieving the less fortunate
As part of the celebration of its 5th anniversary in 2007, Keppel O & M raised about $1.1 million through in-house donation drives and roadshows for various charities such as the Society for the Physically Disabled.

Keppel O & M is also a major partner of the SingHealth Foundation’s Savemoney Savelives Campaign with Keppel O & M staff participating in public fundraising activities in support of the campaign.

The VIVA Foundation, a partnership between St Jude Children’s Research Hospital in the US, the National University Hospital and the National University of Singapore, is another beneficiary of Keppel’s philanthropy.

Pitching in for the community
Singapore’s National Day Parade is another event which Keppel shares a long standing relationship. Every year, apart from monetary contributions, Keppel Volunteers participate in the Parade together with students from Keppel’s adopted charity, the Association for Persons with Special Needs.

In early 2008, Keppelites donated the equivalent of what they would spend for lunch in support of the Mainly I Love Kids (MILK) Fund’s Share-a-Meal. The sum collected was matched dollar for dollar by the company. MILK is a charitable organization which reaches out to disadvantaged children in the hope of developing them into contributing members of society.

To inspire young Singaporeans to become agents of change, Keppel sponsored Mr Tan Yong Soon’s book entitled Living the Singapore Dream, which features the life experiences of 23 Singaporeans. The book was published under the auspices of the Harvard Singapore Foundation.

The Keppel Group is mindful of its role as responsible corporate citizens outside of Singapore in the respective countries which it operates. Keppel AmFels was lauded by the Brownsville Economic Development Council and various charities in Brownsville USA for its strong support of the community, especially in the areas of education and welfare. In the area of education, the company offers engineering scholarships to the University of Texas at Brownsville and at Pan American, as well as internship opportunities to the students at the two universities. Working with the local high schools, Keppel AmFels helped develop welder training programmes which go towards providing job opportunities to thousands in the community each year. With the aim of improving the lives of families and children in Brownsville, Keppel AmFels supports the fundraising activities of a non-profit volunteer organization in Brownsville. The company’s employees also make annual donations to the organization.