Keppel Corporation Limited (Keppel) is pleased to announce a comprehensive package worth more than $4.2 million to help the Singapore community weather COVID-19. The package will be funded by voluntary contributions from the Keppel Group’s directors, senior management and staff, with dollar-for-dollar matching contributions from Keppel Corporation. This comes on the back of the Company’s earlier donation of over S$900,000 to support Singapore and international efforts to mitigate the impact of COVID-19.
Dr Lee Boon Yang, Chairman of Keppel Corporation, said, “As one of the largest homegrown companies in Singapore, Keppel will do what we can to strengthen national resilience in the fight against COVID-19. Through this package, we will provide support to the communities most affected by the pandemic, including healthcare workers and patients, lower income families, as well as Small and Medium Sized Enterprises (SMEs).”
“Keppel has stood together with the community to overcome many challenges over the past five decades. I am confident that with unity and determination, we can effectively weather this difficult environment, and emerge stronger together.”
The CEO and CFO of Keppel Corporation, as well as CEOs of key Keppel business units, have volunteered to give up one month of their salaries in April 2020 to support this effort, while Directors of Keppel business units will contribute an equivalent amount of their annual fees. Other members of the Group’s senior management will forgo half a month of their salaries, while other Keppel employees in Singapore can contribute any amount of their choice.
This initiative, together with a matching contribution from Keppel Corporation, is expected to raise more than $4.2 million, which will be used in the following manner:
- About $3.5 million will go towards supporting lower income households in Singapore, through rebates given by Keppel Electric, M1 and City Gas to residents living in 1 and 2-room HDB flats. The rebates will be rolled out starting from 1 May 2020 and are expected to benefit more than 40,000 households. More details are provided in the Annex.
- A further $300,000 will be donated to The Courage Fund to support communities affected by COVID-19. This is in addition to the $300,000 earlier donated by Keppel Care Foundation, bringing Keppel’s total contribution to The Courage Fund to $600,000.
- $400,000 will be set aside to support Keppel’s frontline contract staff, such as cleaners and security personnel, who have been working tirelessly to ensure safety and health at the Group’s workplaces, and also to provide personal protective equipment, hygiene items and other essentials to vulnerable communities in Singapore. Keppel’s staff volunteers will work with the Group’s urban logistics arm, UrbanFox, and other partners to procure and distribute these items to beneficiaries over the next few months.
Any additional amount contributed by Keppel’s employees will be channelled to The Courage Fund.
Keppel also recognises the challenging environment faced by many SMEs as a result of COVID-19. Keppel works with a network of about 3000 SMEs in Singapore and will help to improve cashflow for SMEs by improving payment terms. With immediate effect, and for a period of six months, the Group commits to pay all SME suppliers within one week upon the approval of invoices by Keppel, regardless of the credit terms provided by the suppliers. Further details will be communicated by the Group to its SME suppliers directly.
Since the start of the COVID-19 outbreak, Keppel has put in place measures to ensure business continuity. These include split teams, temperature screening and regular updates to staff on measures to minimise the spreading of COVID-19. While COVID-19 has had some impact on the Group’s operations, including its international supply chain, Keppel has so far not been as severely affected as some other companies, which are in sectors directly affected by the pandemic. Keppel will continue to carefully monitor the situation and manage the Group’s cost and cashflow, as it works closely with all stakeholders to combat COVID-19 together.
