Latest News

February 2006

ST Electronics Awarded $13.6 Million Contract By
Comfort Transportation For New GPRS-Based In-Vehicle
Taxi Telematics System

Singapore, 27 February 2006 — Singapore Technologies Electronics Limited (ST Electronics) has through its subsidiary, ST Electronics (Info-Comm Systems) Pte Ltd (STEE-InfoComm), been awarded a $13.6m contract by Comfort Transportation Pte Ltd (Comfort), the largest taxi operator in Singapore and a member of ComfortDelGro Group of Companies.  ST Electronics is the electronics arm of Singapore Technologies Engineering Ltd (ST Engineering).

This contract award is not expected to have any material impact on the consolidated net tangible assets per share and earnings per share of ST Engineering for the current financial year.

ST Electronics will implement Comfort’s new wireless GPRS-based taxi telematics system and integrate the new system into the latest Integrated Transport Management System (ITMS) of another ComfortDelGro’s taxi subsidiary, CityCab.  CityCab’s ITMS was designed and implemented by STEE-InfoComm in August 2003.

The ITMS is an enterprise business system built to support multiple taxi and other fleet operations.  It allows multiple service providers to operate from a single call centre.  ComfortDelGro’s entire fleet of about 16,000, including the Yellow-Top Cab fleet, will be migrated onto the same ITMS platform by end 2006 as part of ComfortDelGro’s call centre consolidation exercise to enhance customer’s taxi booking experience .

Upon completion of Comfort’s new system by end 2006, commuters can access both Comfort and CityCab’s taxis through one number and customer service will be significantly enhanced.  Commuters can look forward to shorter cycle time when booking a taxi, better match rates and shorter waiting time through the new multiple despatching methods provided by the system.

The new Comfort system also includes a brand new range of in-vehicle devices (IVDs) that will enhance the productivity and effectiveness of driver operations and customer service.

The IVDs are manufactured by InfoWave Pte Ltd, an associated company of STEE-InfoComm, and have been specially designed with bigger and brighter seven-inch TFT (thin film transistor) glare-resistant touch-screen displays for easy viewing by the taxi drivers.  Coupled with digitised maps and real-time information, the new system enables drivers to locate passengers more easily and quickly.  The system can also accept e-payment options as the taxis will be equipped with EMV-compliant (Europay-Mastercard-Visa) electronic payment terminals.

Once the implementation is completed, commuters will have greater access to all 16,000 ComfortDelGro taxis via a single booking hotline. Commuters will find it faster and more convenient to pick up the phone and call for a cab, especially during peak period, rather than wait by the road side. Our drivers will also be happier as this means that they will spend less time cruising along the roads looking for passengers.

YANG Ban Seng,
CEO, Taxi Business, Comfort Transportation, CityCab & Yellow-Top Cab

We are delighted to be awarded this contract by Comfort Transportation. ST Electronics’ intelligent transportation solutions have been well accepted by users in the region and we pride ourselves in working with our customers to deliver purpose-built and cost effective leading solutions to meet their specific needs in managing efficient and effective taxi fleets.  By end 2006, the taxi fleets of both Comfort and CityCab will be equipped with ST Electronics’ telematics and fleet management systems and this demonstrates the confidence our customers have in us and reaffirms our leading position in the development of our telematics solutions.

SEAH Moon Ming,
President, ST Electronics

ComfortDelGro is the world’s second largest land transport company with a total fleet size of 40,000 buses, taxis and rental vehicles. It has operations in several countries including China, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia, Vietnam and Malaysia. Currently, 38% of the Group’s revenue comes from overseas investments.

ST Electronics (Info-Comm Systems) is a wholly-owned subsidiary of ST Electronics. It is a leading solutions house in the Asia Pacific region for infocommunications, advanced electronics and intelligent transportation businesses.  From design and development to production, system integration, maintenance and enhancement, it has become a one-stop solutions house and a strong partner for its commercial, government, defence and homeland security customers worldwide. Its core business areas include emergency response and integrated security & surveillance systems, e-Government infocommunication ansd enterprise solutions, intelligent traffic and advanced fleet management systems, infocomm security products and solutions, and managed operations services.  Please visit www.stee.stengg.com

ST Electronics, the electronics arm of ST Engineering, delivers innovative system solutions to government, commercial, defence, and industrial customers worldwide.  It specialises in the design, development and integration of advanced electronics systems, such as broadband radio frequency and satellite communication, e-government solutions, information communications technologies, rail and traffic management, real-time command & control, training and simulation, intelligent building management, and information security and mobile commerce solutions. Please visit www.stee.stengg.com

ST Engineering is an integrated engineering group providing solutions and services in the aerospace, electronics, land systems and marine sectors.  Headquartered in Singapore, the Group reported revenues of $3.34b in FY2005.  Its market capitalisation of over $8b ranks it among the largest companies listed on the Singapore Exchange.  ST Engineering has about 14,000 employees worldwide, and over 100 subsidiaries in 17 countries and 29 cities.  Please visit www.stengg.com.

Media contact:

Magdalen Loh
AVP / Head, Corporate Communications
Singapore Technologies Electronics Limited
Tel: (65) 6413 1788 / 9822 3321
Fax: (65) 6484 8840
Email: magloh@stee.stengg.com