THE next time you walk along the glittering streets in one of the gateway cities of the world, you may well encounter a slice of Singapore.
Raffles City — the iconic development at the heart of Singapore that once housed the world's tallest hotel — plans to expand its presence to at least 10 major cities. It can become Singapore's international marketing icon by taking household brands under global wings, said Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew yesterday.
Speaking at a ceremony to mark Raffles City's 21st anniversary, which also saw the launch of a new logo, Mr Lee reminisced how the original premises of his alma mater Raffles Institution were knocked down in a "bold pioneering move of its time". And he has been impressed with the continued allure of Raffles City.
Mr Lee said: "(The) site was where Raffles Institution stood for more than a century … Over the past two decades, Raffles City has added to the unique Singapore brand … Its continued vibrancy speaks well of the original design and of its continuous maintenance and upgrading."
At a cost of $800 million, Raffles City, which comprises two hotels, an office tower and a shopping mall, was then Singapore's biggest development project when it was unveiled in 1986. One of its hotels, the 73-storey Westin Stamford — now known as Swissotel The Stamford — was then the world's tallest hotel.
Three years ago, Raffles City's first overseas development was completed in Shanghai. Two more in Beijing and Chengdu are expected to be unveiled by 2008 and 2010 respectively. By 2010, the first phase of Raffles City Bahrain is also expected be completed.
Noting that several cities have already approached CapitaLand, which bought over Raffles City last year, to build similar projects, Mr Lee said: "Familiar names like BreadTalk and Bee Cheng Hiang are now in Raffles City Shanghai.
"With more Raffles City developments, together with their Singapore retailer tenants established in key cities around the world, they can over time become another marketing icon for Singapore."
CapitaLand chief executive Liew Mun Leong said that the developer recognised the "tremendous business opportunities" of the Raffles City brand, and its rebranding was "another step towards realising its investment potential".
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