Invitations dry up as banks and motor companies scale back their presence
By SAMUEL EE
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(SINGAPORE) Corporate invitations to this year's Formula One race in Singapore have slowed down amid the recession.
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| Fewer takers: Some companies have cut down on F1 programmes such as invitations to the Paddock Club |
Last year, tickets for hospitality suites and grandstand seats were distributed freely by numerous corporate sponsors. Fuelling the generosity was the hype surrounding the republic's inaugural Grand Prix as well as the novelty of a night race.
This year, that generosity seems to have virtually disappeared because of the financial turmoil. The motor-related companies and banks which had F1 programmes in 2008 have scaled back or completely cut down on such activities.
Daimler, for example, is one of those scaling back on its participation this year.
The German manufacturer, which makes the Mercedes-Benz luxury car and also supplies engines to the McLaren, Brawn and Force India teams, invited 70 guests to the Paddock Club in 2008. This year, the number is closer to 30. Only business associates are on the list, unlike last year when some VIP customers were included.
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The Paddock Club is situated in the Pit Building and is the most expensive hospitality suite available. Entry costs $8,000 per person this year.
Daimler is also handing out fewer grandstand tickets, from about 500 in 2008 to only 120 in 2009. And while a third of last year's guests came from overseas, there is none this year.
It is the same story over at Shell. The petroleum giant is the fuels partner of the Ferrari team and while Paddock Club invitations were sent out for the first Singapore Grand Prix, only tickets to Pit Straight Sky Suites will be available this year.
The number of people invited is also understood to have declined significantly and the guests are restricted to a few Shell customers and business partners.
As for financial institutions, OCBC had booked a Paddock Club suite for about a hundred people last year but is not taking part in F1 this year.
The Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) is also much quieter this year. RBS is a major sponsor of the Williams F1 team and last year, it brought in its global ambassador and former F1 champion Jackie Stewart for interviews.
But since the onset of the financial crisis and billions of pounds in losses, the bank has announced that it will not be renewing the F1 sponsorship deal when it expires at the end of the 2010 season.
Some banks which are still inviting corporate guests are restricting the shortened list to only their most important clients.
But one bank seems to have bucked the trend. DBS, which wasn't involved in F1 last year, will be this year.
Race promoter Singapore GP (SGP) said that 'close to 20 financial institutions have decided to entertain their valued clients at our event this year - approximately the same number as last year'.
'Some banks did decrease their orders whilst a number significantly increased the numbers booked in 2008,' said an SGP spokesman. He added that current corporate hospitality sales 'are meeting our expectations for Year 2'.
But it appears that those invited have generally accepted the 'downgrade'.
'The economic environment has not been good, so everyone is looking at cost control,' said the executive of a large company. 'But we still want to maintain relationships so we are still doing something and although it is not at the same level as before, our partners understand the situation.'
Overall, SGP called the figures achieved for both general ticketing and corporate hospitality 'extremely good compared with other circuits, for this season'.
The spokesman said: 'Within the context of the current economic situation, SGP's achievement is nothing short of sterling.'
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