A corporate step closer to F1 in S'pore
By Cubby Leong, TODAY | Posted: 10 May 2007 1145 hrs
Property tycoon Ong Beng Seng's dream to see Ferrari and McLaren cars roaring past the Padang is close to becoming a reality.
Last Thursday, a company called Singapore GP Pte Ltd was registered with the Accounting & Corporate Regulatory Authority (Acra). The new company's registered address is the HPL House at Cuscaden Road.
With Mr Ong being the managing director of HPL — and the key player in efforts to bring a Formula 1 Grand Prix race to Singapore — the company's registration is seen as a signal that the much-waited announcement on the high-profile event is imminent.
According to Acra, Mr Ong is one of three directors of Singapore GP, which describes its business as "event promotion". The company is reported to have an issued capital of 20 million shares at $1 each.
The other two directors are Mr Teo Hock Seng and Mr Colin Syn.
Mr Teo, who is the managing director of Komoco Motors, is also chairman of S-League powerhouse Tampines Rovers. Mr Syn is president of Hard Rock Café.
The sports fraternity has welcomed the creation of Mr Ong's new company.
Mr Teo Ser Luck, Parliamentary Secretary for the Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports, is encouraged that businessmen are now finding sport a worthy investment.
He said: "There are many successful businessmen locally and, hopefully, this will encourage more people like Ong to step forward to help elevate Singapore sport in a big way."
Singapore Sports Council's chief executive officer Ooi Jin Teik added: "Mr Ong is a shrewd and visionary businessman. He obviously understands the sports business model and its return on investment potential."
Mr Ong has been in negotiations with Formula One Management since January to bring a Formula 1 race to Singapore. With this latest development, some sources have suggested that an announcement could come as early as this Sunday, at the Spanish GP at the Circuit de Catalunya in Barcelona.
The Singapore race is scheduled to be a Monaco-styled street circuit, possibly the first to ever be held at night. A 4.8-km route, which will showcase the Marina and Esplanade area, has already been designed by renowned German architect Hermann Tilke. - TODAY/sh
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