Energy Handbook 2011 - GBR

P o w e r S u m m i t - T h e E n e r g y H a n d b o o k 2 0 1 1
C o u n t r y P r o f i l e : S i n g a p o r e
of industrial gases and has done a lot of
work in a variety of clean energy areas. As
a supplier of gases used in the production
of wind turbines and solar cells, Linde
Gas is deeply embedded within these
manufacturing processes. As a producer
and distributor of LNG, the company has
also been increasingly active in the pursuit
of LNG opportunities in the region. Sanjiv
Lamba, Managing Director of Linde’s
gases business in South & East Asia,
predicts many opportunities for LNG in
Asia: “In this geography, we see many
remote areas and islands with energy
needs, as well as stranded gas assets
where Linde can apply its technology
to produce LNG. This also aligns closely
with the interests of these countries to
leverage LNG to enhance their energy
security while managing energy costs and
safeguarding the environment.”
PRÜFTECHNIK
A global leader in the shaft alignment
and condition monitoring systems power
generators need to keep their turbines and
alternators running reliably, PRÜFTECHNIK
has been providing its technologies to
power plants in south-east Asia since
1989.
“This was one of the very first subsidiaries
that PRÜFTECHNIK established after
the UK,” says Arun Nair, who currently
runs PRÜFTECHNIK’s south-east Asia
operations. “Singapore was the perfect
place to cover south-east Asia, and at the
time there were not many companies who
worked in our field performing alignment
services in the region.
“Alignment and condition monitoring
are very important to keep power plants
safe,” Nair explains. “When dealing with
turbines you cannot afford not to have
alignment done from the very beginning,
because otherwise it will cause very bad
damage to the turbine and can cause
the plant to have unplanned shutdowns.
We offer services and products that are
specifically made for turbine alignment.”
“Power has huge potential for us and we
see tremendous opportunities to develop
that sector,” he says. “We see very
large potential in wind energy as well,
especially for the condition monitoring
aspect. I believe we are still only scraping
the surface in south-east Asia, and we
have the potential to grow and develop
even more in the future.”
Services: from Cranes to
Banking
Service industries account for most of
Singapore’s GDP. A variety of companies
support the power sector’s growth
by offering services in construction
and engineering, financial services,
professional recruitment, and energy
efficiency.
As emerging economies continue to
develop their infrastructure in the Asia
Pacific, opportunities for companies to
offer engineering and construction services
out of Singapore are endless. With many
countries lacking adequate infrastructure
where power plants are needed most,
engineering and construction firms
who have the ability to offer innovative
solutions are well positioned for growth.
Mammoet
Power plant components such as
turbines – including wind turbines – and
generators are “very expensive, very
delicate and very heavy”, points out Robin
Koenis, head of Asia Pacific business for
heavy lifting contractor Mammoet. The
power industry accounts for a quarter of
Mammoet’s revenue, and the company
has been involved in major power plant
and renewable energy projects all over
Asia.
“For Mammoet, Singapore presents a
good market in terms of shipping and
we are close to the shipping industry
which uses heavy-lift vessels to carry
various components, including those for
the power industry,” Koenis says. “We
ship big modules everywhere from the
Philippines to Singapore or from Singapore
to Australia. Our biggest growth market
in the Asia-Pacific is definitely Australia.
In the power sector it is also Japan,
Mammoet employs the largest lifting and
construction cranes in the world and its
engineers have a track record of getting
heavy objects from one place to the next
safely and efficiently. When it comes
to the power sector, safety is essential.
“Make sure that you transport the heart
of your power plant in a safe and wellmanaged
way,” is the advice Koenis gives
to developers. “We do see cases when
the transport of a generator or turbine
from one location to the power plant goes
wrong. For a turbine costing millions of
dollars, you have to ensure that you are
transporting it safely and are using the
best equipment.”
Singapore is one of the world’s top
financial centres, and when it comes to
finance many companies find that the
Q – When did FM Global
first establish a presence
in Singapore and how has
it developed since?
DB – FM Global has been
around for 175 years,
and we have followed
our customers around the
world; from north America
we expanded into Europe
and then more recently into
Asia-Pacific. In Singapore
we recently celebrated our 25th birthday. We didn’t
come to Asia solely to develop business within the
area, but we found that there are indigenous clients
interested in our risk management philosophy. We’re
developing our strategy, our infrastructure and our
partnerships throughout Asia, especially in China and
India, in order to deliver the idea that the majority of
loss is preventable.
PM – FM Global is a company run by engineers and
we are therefore selling the engineering philosophy
that losses can be prevented; in the power industry
this means avoiding power interruptions or creating a
more sustainable, long-term infrastructure. We have
found some very supportive clients in the region. As
a matter of fact, we insure about two-thirds of the
power generation capacity in Singapore.
country’s close-knit environment greatly
facilitates the management of large
projects. “Singapore is a tremendous
platform for anyone who wants to be
in the region,” says Mumtaz Khan, the
founder of Middle East and Asia Capital
Partners, which operates a US $500m
investment fund for renewable energy
projects in Asia.
“For people like us in the finance of the
renewable energy industry, Singapore
is a very good location. We are in the
right place because our work is all about
finding the financing of the clean energy
projects throughout the region. The other
main element is that the government of
Singapore is very supportive of companies
like ours. Our ability to set up shop here is
very welcome.”
Interview with Dennis Bessant (Vice-President) and Peter
Madeley (Operations Vice President), FM Global
bring to the insurance
market?
DB – It is important to
understand that many
insurance companies lack
sufficient engineering
expertise. In the insurance
industry, it is usually
considered that the
most important step is
risk transfer. We handle
this from a different
perspective. For us, risk transfer is only the last step,
preceded by risk identification and risk mitigation.
We look at the risk from a holistic perspective,
rather than individual components. This is what has
attracted prospective clients in Singapore to contact
us. The fact that many of our customers have been
with us for at least 25 years, sometimes for more
than 100 years, shows that our model works in the
long term.
Q – How do you see FM Global’s future growth?
DB – We are very active in south-east Asia,
particularly in China and India, and we see the
potential for future long-term mature core markets in
these territories. At the moment we are building the
infrastructure for our own activity in these territories,
and by working with governments we are using our
engineering credibility to pioneer the future codes and
standards emerging in these territories.
While PRÜFTECHNIK’s Singapore office
now covers eight different countries, most
of the sales still come through Singapore.
Nair’s major goal has been to capitalise
Q – What competitive advantages does FM Global
on the opportunities in other countries. Indonesia and China.”
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