Singapore Corporate News - 1 Oct 2007

NCS looking for growth outside S'pore

INFOCOMM services provider NCS, which posted 18 per cent year-on-year revenue growth in its fiscal first quarter ended June 30, is looking at its global business to fuel future expansion as it seeks to reach a turnover of $1 billion.

The company, a unit of local telecom leader SingTel, feels growth has to come from abroad since the Singapore market offers limited opportunities for growth due to its small size. In the fiscal year which ended in March 2007, the company's turnover was $673 million.

At present, the company's international business is growing at a much faster clip than its Singapore operations, albeit from a small base, according to NCS' CEO, Chong Yoke Sin.

The fiscal first quarter yielded revenue of $166.1 million, with the global business growing, year-on-year, by 75 per cent to $45.4 million from $26 million one year ago, Dr Chong revealed.

ARA attracts Calpers as investor in new fund

ARA Asset Management Ltd's (ARA) first closing of its closed-end private real estate fund - ARA Asia Dragon Fund - has attracted an investment of US$500 million from US pension fund Calpers.

ARA, which also manages Fortune Reit and Suntec Reit, said that by the second and final closing of the Asia Dragon Fund (ADF) before the end of 2007, it is targeting an aggregate committed and co-investment capital of about US$1.8-2 billion from more investors.