Skip to main content

Advertisement

Advertisement

OUE is new title sponsor of S’pore Open

SINGAPORE — The Singapore Badminton Association (SBA) has found a new sponsor for its premier international tournament, the Singapore Open 2014.

SINGAPORE — The Singapore Badminton Association (SBA) has found a new sponsor for its premier international tournament, the Singapore Open 2014.

At a press conference yesterday, the national sports association unveiled publicly-listed property group OUE Limited as the new title sponsor of the meet, which will be the fifth stop in this year’s MetLife BWF World Championship Superseries.

It is understood that OUE’s title sponsorship is worth a six-figure sum for a year, with a view to renewing it.

But total prize money for this year’s tournament, which counts former Olympic and world champion Taufik Hidayat of Indonesia and Thailand’s Boonsak Ponsana as former winners, has also risen to US$300,000 (S$380,260) from US$250,000 last year.

Although the sponsorship is for one year, the SBA is hoping to establish a long-term relationship with its new sponsor.

“We are hoping that we can work with them on a long-term basis,” said Singapore Open organising committee chairman Ng Yoke Weng.

“This is a period where we are getting to know each other and trying to be comfortable with each other too. Hopefully as the relationship between OUE and the SBA develops, we can talk about a long-term deal.”

Although this is the first time that OUE is sponsoring the Singapore Open, it is not the company’s first foray into badminton sponsorship in Singapore.

Four years ago, Dr Stephen Riady, the company’s Executive Chairman, who is also the patron of the SBA, donated S$1 million to the association to develop its school partnership programmes. Riady said OUE’s sponsorship of the Singapore Open is its way of contributing back to society.

“Through this, we at OUE hope to contribute to the development of badminton in Singapore and expose local players to international competition at the highest level,” he said. “OUE hopes to inspire a new generation of players who will not only excel in the sport, but also give back to the community through badminton.”

When asked whether OUE would continue its sponsorship next year, Riady did not dismiss the possibility. “We would like to focus on this year’s event. We remain open to supporting the event in the future,” he said.

The SBA and OUE have also lined up a series of corporate social responsibility initiatives to help promote the sport.

The first will be a donation drive on Feb 21. The SBA is inviting the public to donate new and used badminton equipment for the less-privileged. The collection point at the Mandarin Gallery Level 2 concierge

The SBA also announced yesterday that this year’s Singapore Open, which will be held at the Singapore Indoor Stadium, will be brought forward from its usual June slot to April 8-13. It is hoping that the move will help attract the big names of badminton, particularly in the men’s singles, to the meet.

Said Ng: “There are the Swiss Open and the All-England Championship in February and March and these are the two tournaments where the big names do take part.

“Then there is the Indian Open the week before our tournament and the feeling is that the big names might choose to play in either the Indian or Singapore Open.

“But we are hopeful that stars like Malaysia’s world No 1 Lee Chong Wei, who has not competed here for the past four years, will come.”

The SBA also announced that ticket sales will start on Feb 17 with prices generally remaining the same as last year’s. Ticket prices will range from S$18 for the preliminary rounds to S$44 for the finals.

Tickets can be purchased at sportshubtix.com. Visit singaporebadminton.org.sg for further details.

Read more of the latest in

Advertisement

Advertisement

Stay in the know. Anytime. Anywhere.

Subscribe to get daily news updates, insights and must reads delivered straight to your inbox.

By clicking subscribe, I agree for my personal data to be used to send me TODAY newsletters, promotional offers and for research and analysis.