Banking on golf to boost charity and image

Singapore

BANKS continue to play a big role in the promotion of golf and to raise money for charity in Singapore.

Since the resumption of the Singapore Open - the biggest professional event on the local calendar - in 2005, two banks have sponsored the annual championship at the world-acclaimed Serapong course of Sentosa Golf Club.

First, it was Barclays Bank who salvaged the event after a three-year hiatus with a US$2 million sponsorship that eventually grew to US$6 million in 2011. When the British bank pulled out, Japanese bank Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation took over in 2016 in the event co-sanctioned with the Japan Golf Tour.

In Malaysia, two of the biggest professional tournaments involve banks, namely CIMB and Maybank.

In the next six weeks, three banks will be involved in local golfing events. Citibank will be staging its Citi Golf Day, an annual flagship hospitality event, at Tanah Merah Country Club's Tampines course on Nov 28. This event has been held annually since 2004 and involves about 170 amateur players including clients from business groups.

Citibank also stages the annual Citi Information Technology and Partners Charity Golf Day, and the aim is to raise funds to build brighter futures for youth from financially disadvantaged families.

Last month's event at Sentosa raised S$550,000 for ChildAid, a charity concert in aid of The Straits Times School Pocket Money Fund and the The Business Times Budding Artists Fund. "For Citi, our support for golf is not just for client engagement purposes but also for raising funds for charitable causes. We view golf as an opportunity for us to get to know our clients better as well as show our appreciation to them," said Adam Rahman, head of corporate affairs, Citi Singapore and Asean. "Furthermore, through the support of our IT partners, we have raised more than $6.5 million for various charities since 2002. We want to make a meaningful difference to our clients and to the community."

DBS Bank will sponsor the 28th Singapore Island Country Club DBS Junior Invitational Golf Championship 2019 at SICC's Bukit Course from Dec 2-5.

This is a popular junior tournament and from its ranks many top golfers, such as former women's world No 1 Yani Tseng, have competed. The SICC/DBS tournament is an elite junior event and among the leading local players to have graced this event is rookie pro Gregory Foo.

A week later, Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation will stage its second leg (an elite mixed tournament) at the National Service Resort and Country Club's Kranji Sanctuary Course annual event from Dec 9-11.

The bank also sponsors the HSBC Women's World Championship - where the world's leading 50 golfers compete - annually at Sentosa's Tanjong course.