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<Back to Centennial News index Wearnes celebrates 100 years of innovation by giving something to shareholders, society and staff
SINGAPORE, 30 March 2006–WBL Corporation Limited(“Wearnes”), one of Singapore’s oldest companies, will celebrate its centennial on 1 April 2006, marking 100 years of operations in the region. To commemorate this milestone and to reward loyal stockholders, the Directors of Wearnes have declared a special interim dividend of 10 cents per ordinary stock unit, less Singapore income tax, payable on 31 May 2006 to stockholders who are on the Register of Members on 2 May 2006. In addition, the company will kick off its year-long celebrations with a gala dinner for some over 1000 staff, guests and partners at the Raffles Ballroom at the Raffles City Convention Centre on Saturday, 1 April 2006. A multimedia entertainment programme, incorporating a specially commissioned video with a‘live’band and song and dance items, will take guests down memory lane. The show will recount how Wearnes, which started as a family-owned automotive dealer, has grown in the last 100 years to become a dynamic international group with operations in over 10 countries. Wearnes was founded as C.F.F. Wearne&Co. in 1906, with a start-up capital of $700, by Australian brothers Charles and Theodore Wearne. From selling secondhand cars and spare parts, it rapidly expanded to become Southeast Asia’s foremost car retailer in the British colonies of Burma, Malaya and the Straits Settlements. The company was incorporated as Wearne Brothers Limited in 1912. It pioneered public transportation in colonial Singapore by introducing the first bus service in 1907, followed by the much loved“Yellow Top”taxis in 1933. It also launched the first commercial air passenger and postal service from Singapore, up the Malay Peninsula to Penang with Wearnes Air Services. As part of its centennial celebrations, Wearnes has adopted the Society for the Physically Disabled(SPD), and has rallied its staff, guests and partners to raise funds by donating directly to the SPD. In addition, Wearnes and its Singapore subsidiaries, have come up with a scheme for staff to encash and donate their annual leave to the SPD. So far, 118 staff have pledged $170,000. Together with donations from guests and business associates, Wearnes has so far raised a total of $255,000. The Chairman for the Wearnes Centennial Organising Committee, Mr Royston K S Tan said,“We are very heartened by the generosity of our staff, guests and partners in helping the less fortunate in our society. Wearnes’philosophy is to find solutions that enable and empower people and we hope to help those with physical disabilities to maximise their potential and develop self-reliance.” In addition, Wearnes has established the Wearnes Bursary Award by topping up and converting an existing Nanyang Technological University(NTU)student loan fund into an endowment fund. Wearnes is donating $63 000 and with a matching grant from the Government, the fund will run in perpetuity. It will award an annual bursary of $5000 to needy, deserving students from the Electrical and Electronic Engineering faculty at NTU. Wearnes’Automotive division has also contributed $10,000 to establish an annual Cash Award to recognise the top student in NTU’s Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering faculty. Wearnes will present the awards to the two deserving students at the gala dinner. Please refer to Annex 1 for more information. The company will also publish a book which traces Wearnes’history and development over the past century, called“100 Short Stories”. The Wearnes story will be told through anecdotes garnered through extensive interviews with former directors, staff and associates. Wearnes’Group Chief Executive Officer Tan Choon Seng said,“The inspiring and challenging journey of Wearnes parallels Singapore’s history and economic development for much of the 20th century. From being an automotive dealer, we have grown into a diversified multi-national group with core capabilities in the technology sector. We are committed to building on the strong foundations laid by those who have led the company over the years, and will focus on our core competencies and improving value for all shareholders. About WBL Corporation Ltd(“Wearnes”) It is this philosophy that has helped transform the Group into one of the leading names in Singapore’s fast-growing technology sector. Today, Wearnes is ranked among the top 75 companies by market capitalisation on the SGX-ST and has revenues of some S$2 billion with operations in over 10 countries. For further information, please contact:
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