Luxury watch retailer The Hour Glass will make donations worth a total of $5 million to three beneficiaries - the National Kidney Foundation, the Community Chest and the National Heritage Board.

The donation is part of the company's ongoing efforts to contribute to society and is its most significant to date, said the firm in a statement yesterday.

The National Kidney Foundation (NKF) will receive $2 million to help fund the construction of two new dialysis centres.

The upcoming centres, slated to commence operations in 2017, will have a total of 40 dialysis stations and are expected to benefit some 250 patients weekly.

Said NKF chief executive Edmund Kwok: "The Hour Glass donation is a timely and welcome help to dialysis patients."

The luxury watch retailer will donate $2 million to the Community Chest to fund its pilot programme, called Our Kitchen, which encourages seniors who live alone to cook and have meals together in small groups.

The donation will go towards designing and building cooking and dining facilities, and to pay for customised activities.

About 700 elderly people are expected to benefit.

The Hour Glass is also donating a rare handcrafted clock, which it had purchased for $1 million at a closed auction, to the National Museum.

Named the Farquhar Collection, the clock was one in a series of three pieces specially designed and made by Swiss watchmaker Patek Philippe to commemorate Singapore's Golden Jubilee.

As the donations should qualify for the Government's dollar-for-dollar matching grants, overall receipts should total $10 million, said The Hour Glass.

Jasmine Osada