Water companies make headway in MiddleEast

THE government - its trade promotion agency International Enterprise (IE) Singapore, in particular - has been busy helping Singapore companies sell water services in the Middle East.

It has even tapped the topmost echelon of leadership to help open doors and lend weight to its sales pitch. Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong and Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew have over the years played their part in spearheading business missions to the Arab world.

The marketing effort to sell Singapore's expertise in managing water supply has grown more focused. Last June, IE Singapore and the Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources zoomed in on Saudi Arabia's environmental sector when they got together some Singapore-based environmental services companies to pay a visit to the country.

'The delegation was introduced to potential clients and key decision makers, and gained an insight into the scope of projects available,' says Michelle Tan, head of environmental services at IE Singapore.

Minister for the Environment and Water Resources Yaacob Ibrahim, who headed a similar mission to Oman, Qatar and Abu Dhabi in the previous year, led the mission.

It probably isn't that hard pushing to sell in the desert what it lacks most, but then Singapore isn't known for being rich in water resources - or any resources, for that matter.

So it still requires some hard selling on Singapore's part to convince the Arabs that it's precisely because water is scarce here that the country has learnt not to waste water and to develop a knack for making the most of every precious drop.

The efforts appear to have paid off. IE Singapore reports that since last year, it has played host to eight environment-related delegations from the Middle East, including Saudi Arabia, Oman, Bahrain and Qatar.

'These visits demonstrate their interest to learn about Singapore's experience in water resources management,' Ms Tan says. 'The delegations have also show interest in collaborating with Singapore environmental companies for potential projects.'

IE Singapore has also been pushing Singapore providers of water services to come together in breaking into the Arab markets - and this has led to the Singapore Water Solutions Alliance (SWSA), which was set up last August to help local companies team up for Middle East ventures.

'The pooling of resources will enable Singapore companies to offer better value propositions, mitigate risks and take on larger projects,' Ms Tan says.

Seven companies have come under the SWSA consortium - Dayen Environmental, CPG Consultants, Lee Kim Tah-Who Hup, Singapore Utilities International, Salcon, Smitech Engineering, and United Engineers. They boast expertise in design, consultancy, construction and engineering, and operations and maintenance.

'The consortium has set a modest target of $500 million worth of water projects in major markets such as Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates and Qatar,' Ms Tan says.

Besides promoting the consortium, IE Singapore has also been instrumental in getting bilateral business forums off the ground. The Singapore-Abu Dhabi Business Forum and Saudi-Singapore Economic Cities Business Forum, which took place just last month, were the most recent examples.

'These bilateral business forums offer a good platform to identify areas of economic cooperation, promote business networks and provide a channel for information exchange,' Ms Tan says.