Keppel sets up $4.2m package to help SMEs and community

Keppel Corp has launched a more-than-$4.2 million package to help the Singapore community weather the coronavirus outbreak. Help will include electricity, phone and gas bill rebates for lower-income households, and support for Keppel's front-line contract staff like cleaners and security personnel.

The package will be funded by voluntary contributions from Keppel group directors, senior management and staff, with dollar-for-dollar matching contributions from Keppel Corp. It comes on the back of the company's earlier donation of over $900,000 to support Singapore and international efforts to mitigate the impact of Covid-19.

Keppel Corp chairman Lee Boon Yang said: "As one of the largest home-grown 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)."

The chief executive and chief financial officer of Keppel Corp, as well as CEOs of key Keppel business units, have volunteered to give up one month of their salaries in April 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 Keppel employees in Singapore can donate any amount they choose.

About $3.5 million of the $4.2 million package will go towards supporting lower income households in Singapore, through rebates given by Keppel Electric, M1 and City Gas to residents living in one-and two-room HDB flats. The rebates will be rolled out from May 1 and are expected to benefit more than 40,000 households.

Keppel Electric will offer a $20 monthly bill rebate for six months to existing customers living in one-and two-room HDB flats, equivalent to about 40 per cent of their average monthly electricity bill. M1 will provide a $5 monthly rebate on its mobile service, also for six months, to existing customers who reside in these flats. City Gas will offer a $10 monthly rebate, also for six months, to residents of one-and two-room HDB flats who use piped town gas. This is equivalent to about six months of gas supply.

A family that is a customer of all three service providers stands to receive a total rebate of $210 or more. Eligible customers will be informed directly by the companies on the details of their rebates.

Keppel also said $300,000 from its aid package 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 fund to $600,000.

The company will also set aside $400,000 from the package to support its front-line contract staff like cleaners and security personnel, and provide essential items to vulnerable communities. It said its 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.

To help SMEs, Keppel has committed to pay all SME suppliers within one week upon its approval of invoices, regardless of the credit terms provided by the suppliers. This takes effect immediately and for a period of six months. Further details will be communicated to its SME suppliers directly.

The move is part of efforts by Keppel to help improve cash flow for SMEs by improving payment terms, as it works with a network of about 3,000 SMEs in Singapore.