Mr Justin Chiu, Executive Director, Cheung Kong (Holdings) Limited,
Mr Y K Pang, Chief Executive, Hongkong Land,
Mr Kevin Wong, Group Chief Executive Officer, Keppel Land Ltd,
Distinguished guests,
Ladies and gentlemen,
Good morning.

1     It gives me great pleasure this morning to officiate the Topping Out ceremony for Commercial Tower 1 of the Marina Bay Financial Centre.

A New Financial District Taking Shape
2     This topping out ceremony brings us yet another step closer to realizing our vision of a new business and financial district here at Marina Bay.

3     This is a vision that started some 30 years ago, when we started the reclamation of Marina Bay to support our future growth. Marina Bay was planned to be a seamless extension of our existing Central Business District.  It will provide businesses with a premier waterfront address, a 24-hour live-work-play environment and seamless public transport and pedestrian connectivity. It will also provide a liveable and environmentally sensitive environment to work in, including the iconic Gardens by the Bay.

4     We have invested consistently, through good times and bad, to turn our plans into reality. Despite the economic difficulties in 2001, 2003 and now, we have pressed on to put in the road and rail systems, the Common Services Tunnel, a waterfront promenade, and new bridges connecting the Bayfront and Marina Centre areas.

5     As a result, an exciting new skyline is fast taking shape in Marina Bay.  A host of new developments such as the double helix bridge, Art Park, a 3.5 km-long waterfront promenade, The Fullerton Heritage, and significant parts of the Marina Bay Sands Integrated Resort and MBFC will be completed in the coming months.  When all these developments around the Bay are completed, our skyline will be significantly transformed.

MBFC – A Sound Investment, A Vote of Confidence
6     When the first phase of the MBFC begins operations next year, it will add to the dynamism and vibrancy of the Bay and become another key landmark in this area.

7     The new business and financial district in Marina Bay reflects the government’s commitment towards supporting the needs of international financial institutions. When fully developed, this new financial district will generate quality office space in a prime downtown location that can rival those in the leading financial centres of Tokyo, New York and London. To support the future growth of Marina Bay, we will invest another S$1 billion in infrastructure works over the next 10 to 15 years, on top of the S$7.5 billion already invested in Marina Bay.

8     This project, the first to be developed under a Master Developer concept, provided greater flexibility to the developer to decide on the mix of uses, layout and design, so as to better serve the needs of the market.  In addition, the Government introduced a flexible payment scheme, which enabled investors to phase the development according to market demand, and lowering upfront costs and risks.

9     The MBFC project exemplifies the integrated live-work-play environment we envision for Marina Bay.  Besides being a high quality office locale, MBFC will also be an exclusive waterfront home with its two residential towers.  Residents and tenants will be served by an underground pedestrian retail mall that provides seamless access to surrounding shops, restaurants and MRT stations.  Such integration of uses will breathe life into this part of the city beyond the five-day work week.

10     In addition, the MBFC exemplifies our vision of a sustainable business district. MBFC Phase 1 has been awarded the BCA Green Mark Gold Award. It incorporates a number of energy efficient features, and its bin centre comes with a special compartment to store recyclable waste and a compactor to press the recyclable waste into easy-to-handle blocks for collection by the recycling company.  The development also made use of seawater as an alternative source of water for ground improvement works and this helped to save about 240,000 cubic metres of potable water.

11     Above all, the MBFC represents the consortium’s vote of confidence in Singapore’s economic future. And they are not alone. To date, Marina Bay has attracted over S$20 billion of private real estate investments from both local and international investors.

12     Indeed, as we celebrate this milestone today, we can be quietly optimistic. Although the outlook is still fraught with uncertainty, the leading economic and financial indicators have stabilized in recent months. Sentiments in the property market have started to improve, with interest returning to the private housing market and more developers triggering residential, industrial and hotel sites on the reserve list of the Government land sales system, although it is yet unclear if this interest will be sustained.

13     The outlook for Singapore’s financial sector in the medium term is also bright. Today, Singapore is already one of the most important financial centres in Asia with more than 200 banks operating here. Looking forward, opportunities abound for Singapore as we are situated in growing Asia, where we can expect greater future demand for infrastructure financing, wealth planning, asset management and healthcare insurance services.

14     And Singapore, with its strong fundamentals, is well placed to tap on these opportunities. As an international financial centre, Singapore offers financial institutions a pro-business environment, excellent infrastructure, cost-competitiveness, a highly skilled and cosmopolitan labour force, and is strategically located in a region of opportunities.

15     Therefore, despite the current economic slowdown, I am confident that the MBFC will be able to attract quality tenants.  I understand that the commercial towers of MBFC are already more than 60% pre-leased.

Conclusion
16     I would like to take this opportunity to thank the joint venture consortium comprising Cheung Kong (Holdings)/Hutchinson Whampoa, Hongkong Land and Keppel Land for sharing our vision for Marina Bay.  Their investments in One Raffles Quay and MBFC have played a significant role in supporting Singapore’s vision of becoming a global business and financial hub.

17     I look forward to the completion of the MBFC and wish the project every success. Thank you.

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