DBS Bank Celebrates SG50 With 28th SEA Games

DBS Bank Celebrates SG50 With 28th SEA Games

SGD3.5 million sponsorship to support a slew of SEA Games community programmes

DBS Bank celebrates Singapore’s 50th birthday with a SGD3.5 million sponsorship of the 28th Southeast Asian (SEA) Games and its dragon boat and sailing races. As the largest bank in Singapore, DBS will help to further boost community participation in the 28th SEA Games, making it a truly inclusive event for all in Singapore.

2. Singapore’s biggest water sports festival, the DBS Marina Regatta 2015 will be held in conjunction with SEA Games. DBS Marina Regatta’s open and women races will be held on 30 and 31 May while the mixed races will be held on the same weekend as the SEA Games’ dragon boat races in early June. The dragon boat races for SEA Games will comprise 12-crew and 6-crew men and women categories. The 6-crew boats will be making their worldwide debut while the national dragon boat teams expected to compete include Indonesia, the reigning Asian Games champion, making the Games a must-watch for everyone, on the beautiful waters of Marina Bay.

3. Next year’s DBS Marina Regatta will deliver two exciting weekends filled with celebratory activities for Singaporeans and visitors including dragon boat races, music acts, Cosplay festival, and a grand finale. Cash prizes for the dragon races will be increased from SGD195,000 to SGD213,000 – one of the highest cash prizes for the sport. The number of race participants is expected to increase to more than 3,800.

4. To promote local sporting talent, the annual National Inter-Schools’ Dragon Boat Championship, which is open to all secondary schools and junior colleges, will also be held at the Marina Bay in conjunction with DBS Marina Regatta for the first time.

5. The SEA Games’ sailing races will be held at Marina Bay and National Sailing Centre from early June.

6. Other community initiatives planned include getting pioneers and selected community groups to witness the SEA Games opening and closing ceremonies and rallying DBS employees to make 28th SEA Games mascots (Nila) for the dragon boating and sailing medalists. Limited edition DBS Marina Regatta merchandise celebrating the spirit of the SEA Games is also in the works.

7. Mr Sim S Lim, Singapore Country Head, DBS Bank said, “We are honoured to be an Official Sponsor of the SEA Games and to celebrate our nation’s 50th birthday by rallying the community together to enjoy the SEA Games.We are also excited about bringing a bigger DBS Marina Regatta, as part of our efforts to bring the Bay to the people, and the people to the Bay. In addition to the exhilarating dragon boat races, a host of exciting activities will be lined up for everyone to celebrate this momentous occasion.”

8. DBS Bank is exemplary of what the Singapore Southeast Asian Games Organising Committee (SINGSOC) hopes to achieve through the Games – to have corporates take the initiative to adopt a sport, and co-create a Games that they can be proud of.

9. Mr Lim Teck Yin, Chairman, Executive Committee of SINGSOC said, “This announcement comes at 200 days to the Games, and the sport of dragon boating has been closely associated with DBS. Through the annual DBS Marina Regatta, DBS and the Singapore Dragon Boat Association (SDBA) set the standard in organising a water sport event which incorporates a festival of community activities together with the competitive spirit of a sport. We are excited to work together with them to bring an extraordinary game to all spectators and competitors in front of Singapore’s iconic skyline at Marina Bay. Through this partnership, it reinforces SINGSOC’s efforts to foster ownership amongst Corporate Singapore and more importantly, to build a legacy beyond the Games.”

10. Dr Chia Shi-Lu, President of the SDBA said, “Since its inception, the DBS Marina Regatta has become ‘the marquee’ dragon boating race in Asia, attracting international participants from elite national athletes to corporate teams and sports club members. We are very honoured to work with DBS and SINGSOC and this is a truly unique opportunity to deliver two world-class events in one venue. DBS Marina Regatta participants will get to share the same battleground as SEA Games competitors and be right in the thick of action.”

11. In conjunction with SG50, the bank established a SGD 50 million foundation to address social needs in Singapore and across Asia in February this year. As the former Development Bank of Singapore, DBS has had a rich heritage of helping the development of modern Singapore. With POSB being the “People’s Bank”, the bank also sees itself as being an integral member of the community, serving more than four million customers in Singapore. Having progressed over the years with the nation, the bank believes that the foundation will enable it to further contribute to the success of Singapore.

Refer to Annex for details on DBS Marina Regatta 2015 Dragon Boat Races.

For media enquiries, please contact:

Rachel Ang
Public Relations and Strategic Communications, SINGSOC
Tel: +65 6500 5217
HP: +65 9729 3700
Email: rachel_ang@sport.gov.sg

Grace Ngoh
Group Strategic Marketing & Communications
DBS Bank
Tel: +65 6878 5325
HP: +65 9878 9623
Email: grace.ngoh@dbs.com