Singapore, 6 December 2018 – The Administrative Committee of Jiangsu Wuxi Economic Development Zone (Taihu New City) (“Wuxi Government”), Keppel Urban Solutions Pte. Ltd. (“Keppel Urban Solutions”), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Keppel Corporation Limited (“Keppel Corporation”), and the Envision Group (“Envision”), have signed a non-binding Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to develop a Smart Internet of Things (IoT) City, including a smart IoT industry park in Xuelang Town, Taihu New City, Wuxi, China.
Adopting a city-industry integration model, the parties intend to create a model that is replicable and scalable, with a view to leading the development of the IoT industry and smart city transformation in China and other parts of the world.
Mr Li Xiaomin, Member of the Standing Committee of the Jiangsu Provincial Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and Party Secretary of the Wuxi Municipal Committee of the CPC, Mr Zhu Aixun, Vice Mayor of Wuxi Municipal Government, Mr Michael Ding, Group Executive Director of Envision, and Mr Loh Chin Hua, CEO of Keppel Corporation, attended the MOU signing ceremony. The MOU was signed by Mr Ma Liang, Deputy Secretary-General of the Wuxi Municipal Committee of the CPC and Chairman of the Administrative Committee of Jiangsu Wuxi Economic Development Zone, Mr Zhang Lei, Founder and CEO of Envision, and Ms Cindy Lim, Managing Director of Keppel Urban Solutions.
Wuxi is at the forefront of IoT development and a prominent showcase of smart city development in China. This project in Xuelang Town aims to house high-technology industries in the fields of artificial intelligence and IoT, as well as vibrant, connected and liveable urban spaces for the community. The intention is for the new Smart IoT City to serve as an exemplary integrated urban development and industrial transformation model for the future digital economy and IoT era.
Mr Li Xiaomin, Member of the Standing Committee of the Jiangsu Provincial Committee of the CPC and Party Secretary of the Wuxi Municipal Committee of the CPC, said, “The signing of the MOU by the three parties is a step in the right direction, and the prospects are very good. I hope that the three parties can further refine the details of the cooperation, and through sincere and practical cooperation, and taking a long-term perspective, build a successful landmark project. The Wuxi Municipal Committee of the CPC and Wuxi Municipal Government will focus their strengths and resources to provide quality government services to support its development and operation.”
Mr Loh Chin Hua, CEO of Keppel Corporation, said, “The Keppel Group has a strong track record in masterplanning and developing large-scale urban projects, leveraging our expertise in infrastructure, energy, property and connectivity. We are pleased to partner the Wuxi Government and Envision to provide smart and sustainable urban solutions for a world-class live-work-play-learn model development.”
Mr Zhang Lei, Founder and CEO of Envision, said, “Serving as a lighthouse project for the development of the global IoT technology and smart cities, the new Smart IoT City will become a model for China-Singapore cooperation in the field of city-industry integration. Through intelligent IoT operating system EnOSTM, Envision will provide the foundation for digitisation, and together with Keppel, attract global IoT enterprises, as well as nurture a smart and innovative ecosystem, to turn it into a living lab in artificial intelligence and IoT. We hope to define the future smart city with global partners and developers to turn the Smart IoT City from project to product and from plan to reality.”
Envision intends to set up its Global AIoT Innovation Centre in Taihu New City, to congregate global top talents and develop a leading IoT platform for smart cities, through innovative research and development in areas such as artificial intelligence and IoT.
The abovementioned MOU is not expected to have any material impact on the earnings per share and net tangible asset per share of Keppel Corporation Limited for the financial year ending 31 December 2018.
