Boustead Singapore

[greengiraffe]

Boustead is worth S$2.26 based on the above divisions with no value assigned to the long suffering but currently lean and mean water division and other special projects

Can i ask have you been buying consistently at current price $1.35 since the break up value is $2.26, a 67% below break up value?

It is a margin of safety to me. As a matter of prudence, when Boustead is already 40% of my portfolio size and financiers are no longer willing to finance me at full values - how can I keep buying?

If you refer at previous threads, I have been buying consistently at 90. IMO, there are secret admirers out there in Boustead around current levels. The liquidity in the counter is a lot healthier than when it was trading at similar levels years ago.

Sometimes, its good to sit back and relax for others to work while you keep watching your trees grow after you are put in effort to nuture them from seedlings.

YMMV = Your Mileage May Vary
GG

[Musicwhiz]

Anyway a MM (Mad Mate) of mine came up with the following breakup value analysis on Boustead to help explain his comfort via "margin of safety":

i) ESRI - the geo spatial technology arm - http://esriaustralia.com.au/about

MM reckons that ESRI should be worth at least 20X PER with its monopoly positioning and the substantially bigger market penetration relative to Vicom (vehicle and testing $ generator in Singapore that trades on 15X PER). Using MM's valuation, ESRI is presently worth $0.83 on a breakup value basis.

ii) Oil & Gas - http://www.bihl.com/

Valuing O&G at 10x PER (vs competition's 15x PER), O&G is worth $0.27 on breakup value basis.

iii) Ind Real Estate Solutions - http://www.bousteadprojects.com/

Using a stapled REIT for the 9 leasehold prop (100,000 sm)and valued at 1x P/B S$300m (net off debts - S$34.4m), this division is worth $0.53

D&B is currently focussing on data centres and seeing a revival in logistics centres. It is also actively looking into developments in Iskandar, JB M'sia. Conservatively valuing D&B at 6x PER (Soilbuild Construction IPO equivalent), it is worth $0.17 on breakup value basis.

iv) Cash per share after factoring in recent sale of OMH total around $0.46/share.

Boustead is worth S$2.26 based on the above divisions with no value assigned to the long suffering but currently lean and mean water division and other special projects - Japanese solar venture. Baseline dividends remain at 5 cents, translating into a yield of 3.7% with potential for specials in store given the group's strong cash generating track record.

Good enough "margin of safety"? MM is indeed gila but not without basis.

FF Wong last sold QAF in 1995/6 and has been in Boustead for 18 years. He may have lose his touches in the opinion of some buddies but from the balance sheet and cashflows that I have been witnessing over the last 11 years - it is definitely not a con. My initial investments 11 years ago is already free and still giving me free $ - looks easy hor but the pains of going through the ups and downs over the last decade is difficult to put in just this page - will run out of space - buddies.

Thanks for this GG,

How does your Mad Mate do his break-up value analysis? Based on PBT or PAT for each division?

I would think that 20x for Geo-Spatial seems rather high. VICOM also doesn't have many competitors so perhaps 15x would be more appropriate. So this would value Geo-Spatial at $0.62.

The rest of the divisions seem to be conservatively valued. So if I take out $0.21 from $2.26 I will get $2.05.

However, Boustead also needs to have a "Conglomerate Discount" as the divisions must be looked at synergistically rather than as separate "parts". If not, I would just purchase a pure play O&G company, or pure play real estate developer etc. I would impute a 20% conglomerate discount just to be on the conservative side. This gives a fair value of $1.64.

Based on closing price of $1.35, upside to this rough intrinsic value is just +21%, not really very compelling.

Just a BOTE computation based on what you already provided.

[greengiraffe]

Hi MW,

Thanks for your reply. Its conservative and there is absolutely no harm done with conservatism.

ESRI has a mkt penetration of 22m population on Australia alone (excluding Singapore, M'sia, Indonesia that is up & coming) vs Vicom's penetration on Singapore's vehicle population (around 1m). ESRI has a mkt share of around 85% in Australia of which 90% of clients are Federal and State government agencies. May be you can share with me if there is better business than Vicom that is comparable to ESRI. MM's 20x PER on PAT is well deserved IMO.

The rest of the divisional valuation is based on PER on PAT according to MM's methodology.

As for your synergistic benefits - I have been waiting for years for crossing selling between the core divisions for more businesses. So far, these units seems to be doing well on their own hence the discount that you have accorded is a welcome conservatism but not necessarily realistic as if the price is right, Boustead can easily hive off individual units without affecting the rest of group operations.

Conglomerate discount, IMO is another analyst conservatism. Essential but not necessarily applicable if one day Boustead as a group goes into a trade sale.

As I said, your conservatism is greatly appreciated. This is a wonderful company with dynamism that continue to be under-appreciated by investors, especially those that are pre-occupied with daily, weekly or monthly movements. Running a business is very tough and good strategies will take long time to be hatched though not all initiatives will be successful too.

As it is, I will be inclined to lean towards MM's breakup value analysis.

GG

[wee]

ESRI may well be a monopoly today, and in 20 years time. However, how certain is it that Boustead will still remain the exclusive distributor in 20 years time such that we can be comfortable laying out 20x earnings? There is a difference (big one imo) between being a monopoly and being an exclusive distributor of a monopoly, so its important not to confuse Esri Inc (the real "monopoly") and Esri Australia / SEA (the distributor). For one, a rational monopoly would not allow its distributor to eat its lunch. One may argue, well, look at the track record of Esri Inc over the years. I am not sure that is sufficient as the owner is getting on age, and things might change very quickly if there is an IPO or a change of ownership.

So I am not sure we are asking the right questions here.

[greengiraffe]

PUBLISHED JUNE 01, 2013

Tapping the data revolution

Not just official indicators. Former UN statistics chief Paul Cheung says governments should also utilise location-based information and Big Data. By Anna Teo

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- PHOTO: ARTHUR LEE
'I do hope the government will review its information policy from time to time to adjust to the new reality. At this time, it is my assessment that Singapore falls quite far behind in joining the 'data revolution'.'
- Prof Cheung on Singapore's information regime
ENTERPRISES everywhere are awash with ever-growing data of all types - proprietary, personal and public. Real time location-based information is now routinely used to track natural catastrophes, military actions, economic trends, even population shifts, and is also widely accessible through smartphones, portable navigation devices and applications such as Google Earth.
While we weren't looking, there has been a global surge in geoinformation and Big Data. It may be a data deluge but the ability to exploit information is now a key competitive edge for not only corporations but also countries. Analytics - the detection and communication of meaningful patterns and insights in data - now drives decision-making in both commercial enterprises and governments. And in this new information environment, national statistical agencies must expand their ambit beyond official statistics to include geospatial information and unstructured data, says Paul Cheung, former director of the United Nations Statistics Division (UNSD).
Geospatial information describes the location and names of features beneath, on or above the earth's surface. Examples range from topographical features on a map to location-related information that shows, for example, land use or population density.
"We are going through a geospatial information revolution. Yet there is no mechanism internationally to talk about how to manage geospatial information and its integration with other sources of information," says Prof Cheung, who was Singapore's Chief Statistician from 1991 to 2004 and returned home in January this year after nine years in the UN job. At the same time, he points out, "we are moving rapidly into an era of unstructured data, the Big Data era", characterised by volume, velocity, variety and variability. Official statistics and geoinformation, which are structured data, are easier to deal with. But more than 80 per cent of data in most organisations, it is estimated, is unstructured, in the form of text, audio, video or images.
The need for a national information authority in each country - "an organised, accredited, mandated authority within the government that deals with the whole set of information" by taking on board geoinformation and Big Data - was something Prof Cheung promoted on the global statistical front during his time at the UN. And while he has left the job and is now professor of social policy and analytics at the National University of Singapore, the push for an integrated national statistical system is something he remains zealous about.
"Some countries are doing it already; some statistical agencies are quietly repositioning themselves to be the national information authority," he tells BT.
The United States Census Bureau, the country's leading source of economic and social data, has, to begin with, a geography division that collects geographic data, maintains a large spatial database and publishes millions of maps a year. Geography provides meaning and context to statistical data, the Bureau says. Some 60 countries, including Singapore, have begun efforts at building a national spatial data infrastructure but two in particular that have gone some way in integrating geographical and statistical information are Mexico and Brazil.
"Mexico recently did a traditional economic census, but then they did a neat thing: they had all their establishments mapped out. You can see where the different shops are selling different things," Prof Cheung says.
The 2013 meeting of the UN Statistical Commission in February featured a paper by the Australian Bureau of Statistics, based on a poll of 53 national statistical offices (NSOs) worldwide, on linking geospatial information to official statistics. "The discussion was very useful and I can see that the countries are responding to this call for information integration," says Prof Cheung, who continues to attend major statistical events globally in his capacity as an adviser to the UNSD and to NSOs in several countries.
Singapore's fledgling geospatial information initiatives, driven by the Singapore Land Authority, include OneMap, an Internet portal to deliver location-based services and data to the public.
Prof Cheung is candid in his assessment. "Singapore has very good information base but I see very little integration as yet, especially over spatial frameworks," he says.
And volunteered geographic information (VGI), where individuals voluntarily create and disseminate geographic data, hardly exists here, he notes.
"We pump so much money into urban redesign and re-engineering, and so little into building information layers over the city so that we can model or plan at locality level with greater precision. There is so little community effort in pooling information together through VGI so that the redesign can benefit from public efforts from the ground up."
The survey of geospatial capabilities within NSOs was conducted under the UN Initiative in Global Geospatial Information Management (UN-GGIM), created by Prof Cheung at the UNSD.
"Decision makers require location-based information for everything, be it during disaster relief operations or to set the agenda for development work; geospatial information forms the crux of their decisions," he says.
In the commercial world, retailers such as Starbucks and 7-Eleven tap geoinformation in deciding where to locate their outlets and stores.
While the UN had recognised the importance of cartography and maps to global activities way back in 1948, advances in technology have vastly improved the availability of geospatial data and their potential integration with other types of data. A global mechanism such as the UN-GGIM would help in creating awareness among politicians and decision-makers about the powerful analytical potential of geospatial information, and in building capability in the field. But there has to be, at the same time, a global platform with common practices and standards; NSOs and the geospatial community need also to coordinate policy approaches and promote international cooperation. Several UN-GGIM conferences and high-level forums have since been held to push the agenda.
The Chengdu UN-GGIM forum, jointly organised with China's National Administration of Surveying, Mapping and Geoinformation (NASG), was originally scheduled to take place in late April. But a strong earthquake struck nearby four days before the forum - which, ironically, was on urban hazard mapping - and the event was postponed. The list of speakers included a senior official from New York City's Office of Emergency Management, who was going to share from NYC's Hurricane Sandy experience last October on delivering reliable geospatial data during emergencies.
"We want to encourage governments to have a role in geospatial information, so as to enhance the coordination, production, dissemination and use of the info," says Prof Cheung.
He feels particularly strongly about the need to assert national data over the prevalence of Google data. "Google did the world a favour by bringing geospatial information into mass use. But it also poses a threat to national authorities," he says.
"Can Google distribute any geospatial information of a country unhindered? Where is the mandate? What is the role of a national authority versus a multinational corporate?"
Google has been under fire over its collection of sensitive private data in more than 30 nations via its Street View mapping project, and recently agreed to pay a US$7 million fine in a case brought by 38 American states.
And given the prevalence of satellites in daily life today, there is also need for a convention to regulate satellite-generated data, says Prof Cheung. "Now whoever shoots the satellite up owns the data."
The rise of VGI and open-source intelligence in the Western countries also calls for a government role, he adds.
The UN-GGIM also wants to develop a robust global geodetic reference system, in support of growing demand for point-based information.
"Increasingly, we now need to have precise point positioning, PPP. In Australia, for example, it is very important because the land is huge; when you fertilise the soil, you want to drip the fertiliser into the exact precise spot each and every time. In irrigation, you want the water to drop only on the seeds. For that, you need the PPP system."
Point-based information will become rife, he suggests. "You map what's available along this route from Point A to Point B - amenities, services, shops. That's the way information is integrated, that's now routinely being done for transportation planning. You want to look at the community characteristics when planning the transport network."
And then there's the proliferation of Big Data in recent years. Sources range from commercial (credit card transactions, mobile phone usage) and administrative (medical visits, traffic monitoring) to social media and satellite images.
At a World Bank conference on Big Data last December, Prof Cheung cited, among other data sources, a quintessentially Singaporean example: electronic road pricing.
The ERP gantries capture a lot of information on traffic flows. "You can also turn the information around - you can track, for each car, how many times it passes through ERP in a single day, the distance travelled, how much is the total ERP spending on this car, relay it back to the household expenditure survey," he tells BT.
Another Singapore organisation that is a prime example of how Big Data is being mined for business insights is MHC, a managed care and third party administrator that processes one million outpatient claims here and across the region. Its database is a treasure trove of information from which one can gain insights about the behaviour of patients and doctors.
"They process one million claims a year, so they would know, from the user side, who may be abusing the system," says Prof Cheung. "In America, this kind of data analytics to check for outliers and possible fraud is very big business."
Other examples of how Big Data are being incorporated into official statistics, "as a new way of detecting, measuring social phenomena", include Estonia's use of cell phone usage to track its visitor numbers.
"They have no border controls so they use accommodation surveys. But not every tourist stays in an official hotel, so they started tracking mobile phones - any phone that's registered outside the country and being used in the country."
In a groundbreaking policy move, the US recently made government information open and easy to access - a change that the Obama Administration said "will make troves of previously inaccessible or unmanageable data easily available to entrepreneurs, researchers and others who can use those files to generate new products and services, build businesses and create jobs".
Says Prof Cheung: "The US government clearly sees both ideological and economic benefits of its open data policy. Ideologically, it fits the president's thinking of empowering the people through more information. Economically, the US government has seen how new industries have emerged to feed on the new information. Location-based apps are so big now in the US. Location analytics are being used by businesses and governments alike. This new policy will surely add momentum to the growth of industries related to data analytics in all forms."
In comparison, Singapore has a "very restrictive information regime", he says. "I do hope the government will review its information policy from time to time to adjust to the new reality. At this time, it is my assessment that Singapore falls quite far behind in joining the 'data revolution'." A new National Information Authority here could regulate on data policies and data standards, as well as serve as the platform for releasing data for public use, he says.
Born in Hong Kong, Prof Cheung took up a Singapore government scholarship in 1972 to study at the University of Singapore, and became a citizen in 1987. He was Singapore's chief population planner, in charge of getting Singaporeans to produce more babies, before he became its top numbers cruncher.
Looking back on his tenure as UNSD director, he is happy that he has strengthened the global statistical system and advanced the statistical community - indeed, NSOs and global organisations paid him glowing tributes when he stepped down last December.
At the start of his UN job in 2004, only about 70 countries, mostly developed countries, attended the UN Statistical Commission, which sets international statistical standards and methodologies. "We have now about 140 countries attending, and also many side events," he notes. He initiated, for instance, the first World Statistics Day in 2010, which had 140 countries staging events to mark the importance of statistics.
One key milestone was an update of the 1993 System of National Accounts (SNA), the global standard for GDP and economic statistics, to the 2008 version. "That wasn't easy because of different interests" among countries, he says.
The US is in the process of switching to the 2008 SNA, with China following suit soon.
Back in Singapore, he is working on developing a programme on social analytics and research at NUS. "The aim is to bring together a multi-disciplinary group of researchers to look at all the data and try to shed new light into the social phenomena," he says.
Meanwhile, as he continues his role as an adviser to governments, he will remain a leading voice in the global statistical community as official statistics "modernises" towards a new information architecture.
"Right now, when we modernise statistics, we're only thinking about a factory upgrading its processes - better raw materials, faster production, but still the same products, still a factory. Worse still, a farmer growing the same product every year. Under the new info architecture, the products may not be the same, it may be many different kinds of things. The inputs will also be very diverse. So that's what I'll continue to push, when I go around doing this kind of show and tell. The world is changing; the statistics profession must change with it."
anna@sph.com.sg

[greengiraffe]

http://esriaustralia.com.au/news-local/g...ia-nar-159

Geospatial giant appoints industry stalwart to drive Victoria & Tasmania
By Olivia Blake31 May 2013

One of the Asia Pacific’s most experienced spatial technology specialists has been appointed to head of professional services for the Victorian and Tasmanian arms of Geographic Information System (GIS) giant, Esri Australia.

Peter Houwen has accepted the role of Manager for Professional Services – Victoria and Tasmania – at Esri Australia, the market-leader in Australia’s $2.1 billion GIS industry.

Over his 30 year career, Mr Houwen has been responsible for delivering some of the most cutting-edge geospatial projects in the world – including at Western Power; VicRoads; Land and Property Information NSW; and Landgate.

His appointment caps off a year of significant growth in demand for spatial capabilities across the country – which has in turn seen demand for GIS services burgeon.

“Both Victoria and Tasmania have very active spatial communities, with organisations such as VicRoads, the Department of Sustainability and Environment, Australia Post, Launceston City Council and Hobart City Council amongst the nation’s most progressive GIS technology users,” said Mr Houwen.

“We’re currently seeing incredible demand in these markets with organisations keen to explore new advancements to GIS technology, such as Cloud-based solutions; enhanced mobile capabilities and integrating GIS with their core business systems.

“My team and I will be working closely with enterprises across both the public and private sector to help them keep pace with these new developments; develop technology roadmaps; and uncover where opportunities and challenges may lie within their organisations.”

In his new role, Mr Houwen – who has previously worked for Esri Australia for 15 years – heads up a team of 14, including GIS consultants, cartographers, analysts and environmental scientists.

“Esri Australia has successfully assembled Australia’s largest and most skilled group of GIS professionals and as a result, our services continue to set both national and international benchmarks,” said Mr Houwen.

“My new position gives me the opportunity to not only contribute to this team, but also help drive its activities.

“In doing so, I hope to enable more organisations in the region realise the value of their GIS technology investment.”

Mr Houwen holds a Bachelor of Science, majoring in Computer Science and GIS, from Curtin University of Technology; and a Master of Business Administration from the University of Western Australia.

His areas of expertise include: project management, and enterprise GIS deployments in utilities and the public sector.

Mr Houwen sits on the board of the Geospatial Information and Technology Association (GITA), a professional body for GIS technology in Australia.

[greengiraffe]

BIH is UK based...

http://money.cnn.com/2013/06/05/news/eco...l?iid=Lead

U.K. prepares for U.S.-style shale gas boom
By Alanna Petroff @AlannaPetroff June 5, 2013: 3:54 AM ET


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Engineers are hoping they will soon be able to use fracking techniques in the U.K. to extract huge deposits of non-conventional gas.
LONDON (CNNMoney)
The United Kingdom could be one step closer to a U.S.-style energy renaissance as new estimates show there is a massive amount of untapped shale gas in the Northwest of England.
Energy firm IGas released estimates this week showing there could be as much as 170 trillion cubic feet of gas in its license area - a monumental amount given that the U.K. uses only 3 trillion cubic feet each year.

IGas is among a handful of energy companies that have been granted licenses to look for shale gas opportunities in areas across the U.K. in the hopes that the country may be able to replicate the energy boom currently playing out in the U.S.
New techniques such as hydraulic fracking -- which involves injecting water, sand and chemicals deep into the ground at high pressure to crack the shale and allow the oil or gas to flow -- have made the extraction of oil and gas from shale rock commercially viable.
"It's inevitable that we will find more shale gas and it's inevitable that we will begin to exploit it," said London-based energy analyst Steven Fawkes. "We need more indigenous, local energy. We need cheaper energy. And as long as appropriate [policy and environmental] safeguards are put in place, I think that's a good thing."
Related: U.S. to become biggest oil producer - IEA
But before Britons start getting too excited about energy independence, it's important to understand that the IGas numbers are only preliminary estimates.
"It's only when you drill wells that you really know," said Peter Atherton, an energy analyst at Liberum, though he says the IGas numbers were "encouraging."
Energy experts also point out that only a fraction of the available shale gas -- between 10% to 30% -- can actually be extracted from the ground, while the remainder is unreachable and uneconomical to pursue.
Meanwhile, the U.K is still years away from any potential energy boom. So far, there has been no commercial shale gas production in the country.
"We're in the same place as where the U.S. drillers were in 2001," Atherton said. "Even with the best will in the world, we're still at least five years away from anyone commercially exploiting onshore non-conventional gas."
Atherton explains that the U.K. still has to develop and refine its shale gas policies, it has to get the drilling wells in place and it also has to cultivate an onshore energy industry.

The fracking industry is an easy target for environmental and community groups who are concerned about the possibility that fracking might cause earthquakes and contaminate groundwater.
"A lot of people have concerns about the environmental impact," said Fawkes. "In the U.S., the industry managed to get itself exempt from environmental regulation and we shouldn't allow that to happen."
A spokesperson for the U.K. Department of Energy and Climate Change says it's important that the industry acts responsibly, so it created the Office for Unconventional Gas and Oil to "promote the safe, responsible and environmentally sound recovery of the UK's unconventional gas and oil resources."
"We will develop proposals by summer 2013 to ensure that local communities will benefit from shale gas projects," she said.


First Published: June 5, 2013: 3:54 AM ET

[greengiraffe]

GE’s ORegen Waste Heat Recovery System to Boost Brunei Power Station Output with No Additional Emissions
1035 words
30 May 2013
ENP Newswire
ENPNEW
English
© 2013, Electronic News Publishing. All Rights Reserved.
Release date - 29052013

BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN, BRUNEI - Berakas Power Company, Brunei’s national energy company, plans to install GE Oil & Gas’ (NYSE: GE) innovative ORegenTM waste-heat recovery systems to increase the output and efficiency of four GE LM2500 aeroderivative gas turbines at the Berakas Power Station, located outside the capital city of Bandar Seri Begawan in the Sultanate of Brunei.

GE is supplying its ORegen system with consortium partner Boustead International Heaters (BIH), which will provide its heat exchanger components as part of the package. The project is designed to help meet Brunei’s growing power requirements and has been made possible by the Sultanate’s ‘Green Brunei’ initiative to promote energy efficiency and develop cleaner energy projects.

BPC is installing GE’s ecomagination-qualified ORegen technology with government-owned power producer Berakas Power Management Company Sdn Bhd (BPMC), which operates the Berakas Power Station on behalf of BPC. The ORegen system will be connected to three of the LM2500 units, each of which generate up to 22 megawatts (MW). The fourth LM2500 turbine and one waste heat recovery unit will be kept on standby.

GE’s ORegen system utilizes a thermodynamic superheat cycle that recovers waste heat from gas turbines and converts it into 14 MW of extra net electricity without using fuel or water and does not produce additional CO2 or NOx emissions. The system also has minimal operational and maintenance requirements. The Brunei project is the first use of GE’s ORegen technology in the Asia-Pacific region.

‘Our BPS Augmentation Project using GE’s ORegen and BIH’s joint solution provides us with a cost-effective way to increase our power plant’s output and enhances the long-term value of our investment in the power plant’s original gas turbines,’ said the Permanent Secretary (Downstream & Power), Energy Department at the Prime Minister’s Office. ‘It is the right solution to help us increase our sustainability and efficiency.’

GE previously collaborated with BIH as suppliers for Alliance Pipeline’s White court compressor station in Alberta, Canada, the world’s first commercial application of ORegen technology. BIH is a wholly owned subsidiary of Boustead Singapore Limited, a global infrastructure-related engineering services and geo-spatial technology group.

The equipment for the Berakas project is scheduled to be delivered at the end of 2014 and commissioned in early 2015. The upgraded power plant is expected to start commercial operation in the first half of 2015. In addition to the equipment, GE also is providing site installation and training as well as a resident engineer to support BPMC for one year.

‘Our ORegen project for BPMC illustrates how GE is working successfully to deploy a wide range of technologies and services to boost Brunei’s energy efficiency in line with their strategic objectives,’ said Visal Leng, GE Oil & Gas Regional General Manager for Asia Pacific.

Mr. Leng also highlights how ’Our ORegen system generates power through the use of gases that would otherwise be wasted in the environment. We are delighted to support Brunei on their innovative approach to green energy in this way.’

The Brunei ORegen project also illustrates GE’s ongoing commitment to help the government address its long-term energy infrastructure priorities. In 2012, GE opened a corporate office in Brunei to oversee the company’s local operations and coordinate efforts to develop the local workforce.

GE has been a leading supplier of power generation and energy delivery technologies in Southeast Asia for more than 100 years, with a presence in Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam.

GE’s ORegen technology is the largest Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC) single unit available for gas turbine waste heat recovery. ORegen is applicable on any type of simple-cycle gas turbine and can generate electricity at lower gas turbine loads than a standard combined cycle system that utilizes water and steam to recover waste heat.

When compared to the same gas turbine operating in a combined-cycle system, a turbine equipped with GE’s ORegen system operating more than 8,500 hours a year generates additional electricity while avoiding the consumption of more than 11,000 cubic meters of water per year-equivalent to more than four Olympic-sized swimming pools.

The ORegen system is qualified under ecomagination, GE’s company-wide initiative. To earn ecomagination qualification, a product is evaluated for its ability to significantly and measurably improve the customer’s environmental and operating performance.

About GE

GE (NYSE: GE) works on things that matter. The best people and the best technologies taking on the toughest challenges. Finding solutions in energy, health and home, transportation and finance. Building, powering, moving and curing the world.

For more information, visit the company’s website at http://www.ge.com

About GE Oil & Gas

GE Oil & Gas is a world leader in advanced technologies and services with 37,000 employees in more than 100 countries supporting customers across the industry-from extraction to transportation to end use. Making the environment, health and safety, quality and integrity our highest priorities is The Way We Work.

Our technologies and services include: surface and subsea drilling and production, monitoring and diagnostics, measurement and controls, large-scale LNG, pipeline compression and inspection, well site and industrial power generation, technologies for the refining and petrochemical industries, and modular CNG and LNG units for transportation sectors.

Through our customized service solutions, training programs and technologies, GE Oil & Gas partners with customers to maximize their efficiency, productivity and equipment reliability; develop their next generation workforce and fully benefit from the megatrends of natural gas, the growth of subsea and hard-to-reach reserves and the revolution in asset health management.

Contact:

Fabio Pianini GE Oil & Gas Mobile: +39 342 391 3298 Email: fabio.pianini@ge.com

Ken Darling Masto Public Relations Tel: +1 518 786 6488 Email: kenneth.darling@ge.com

Kate Culman Masto Public Relations Tel: +1 518 786 6488 Email: kate.culman@mastopr.com

[Editorial queries for this story should be sent to newswire@enpublishing.co.uk]


Electronic News Publishing Ltd.

Document ENPNEW0020130530e95u0003w

[greengiraffe]

Esri's GIS technology has more than 3000 users in Australia, including Energex, CSIRO, Westralia Airport Corporation and Brisbane City Council.


Mobile maps to track shoppers
JENNIFER FORESHEW
428 words
4 Jun 2013
The Australian
AUSTLN
English
© 2013 News Limited. All rights reserved.
CONSUMERS: Retailers will be able to return to old-fashioned, personalised service by making use of mobile mapping technology that alerts salespeople to the arrival of individual customers.
This means that before a customer has entered the store a shop assistant could already know their dress size, favourite colour, style preferences and even budget.
Major retailers in the US and Europe already are preparing to introduce the ``know-all shop assistants'' and Australia could be just a year away.
US mapping technology giant Esri, which provides mapping and analysis to organisations for uses including defence, public safety and natural disasters, has developed mobile mapping technology to create the futuristic shopping experience.
Using the latest in geographic information system technology, a customer's location can be used to trigger ``push notifications'' of consumer data into the hands of sales staff using mobile devices such as tablets and phones.
``I think now the deep desire of retailers is to reconnect with their customers in a good old-fashioned way and their best hope of that is technology,'' said Esri global head of sales Chris Cappelli, who visited Australia last week.
``I think what we expect to happen in the next couple of months is the entry by loyalty program cards. So instead of giving you a card they are going to give you an app that works on your iPhone and that app will store your profile and it will also know your location.''
Mr Cappelli said apps on mobile devices use built-in GPS and with a user's permission allowed businesses to detect when their customers were in the vicinity of their stores.
Businesses already collect information in their backend business systems about consumers through loyalty programs, marketing surveys, apps and purchase histories.
Esri provides the capabilities for developers to embed location into their apps and then connect that location with the retailer's backend systems.
``Some of the big names that you would expect are already kind of down the path on this -- most are running pilots,'' Mr Cappelli said.
The first users would be bigger retailers followed by banks and credit card companies that offered it as a service to mid and small customers.
Esri's GIS technology has more than 3000 users in Australia, including Energex, CSIRO, Westralia Airport Corporation and Brisbane City Council.
``It would be that return for me to John at the corner store who knew my name when I walked in, always greeted me and always had some personalised service,'' Mr Cappelli said.

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Document AUSTLN0020130603e96400033

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Expert calls for rapid social media response from emergency services
By Olivia Blake12 Jun 2013

Cutting-edge mapping technology that lets overseas emergency organisations use social media to build natural disaster intelligence should be adopted in Australia, according to the former Director of Volunteer Services for Queensland’s 36,000 volunteer fire fighters.

New Geographic Information System (GIS) technology from geospatial giant Esri Australia, can now map geo-located text, photos and videos that have been uploaded by disaster eyewitnesses to social-media platforms like Twitter and YouTube.

Emergency services internationally are using this information to enhance their own intelligence and develop a more detailed understanding of the situation on the ground during a crisis.

The approach has helped guide rescue teams during the Japan Tsunami and in the US during Hurricanes Sandy and Katrina and the recent Oklahoma twister.

Speaking to more than 250 personnel at a conference today, former Director of Rural Volunteering and Support with the Queensland Fire and Rescue Service Kerrie Purcell has urged Australia to implement the same technology before the next natural disaster hits.

“This technology is available in Australia and there is certainly a need for it, we now just need a commitment from our emergency services,” Ms Purcell said

“First responders need access to rapid information to react quickly and appropriately during emergencies and there is no way to get information faster than from eyewitness accounts.

“Members of the community already use social media to upload and exchange enormous amounts of information during disasters – such as a photo of a bridge that is damaged, or video footage of flood waters rising.

“This is vital, near real-time information that can be used to bolster in-house disaster intelligence such as rescue infrastructure maps, weather patterns or video feeds from traffic cameras.

“There is still a place for more traditional information gathering, but the fact is – for many people, the web is becoming the first port of call during a disaster.”

Ms Purcell is one of Australia’s most senior emergency services specialists, with more than thirty years’ experience in the public safety sector. She is currently the Managing Director of Lacuna Resolve Consultants.

Ms Purcell said assessing the legitimacy of social media feeds had traditionally been a challenge, but GIS technology could help verify this crowd-sourced data by accessing the time and location of the post.

“If a large amount of tweets are clustered within a narrow timeframe and in a certain area, we can be a lot more confident about their veracity,” Ms Purcell said.

“Once verified, information becomes official intelligence and emergency managers can use it to conduct rescue operations, assess damage to critical infrastructure, and prioritise medical assistance.”

Josh Venman, emergency management expert with GIS giant, Esri Australia, said the technology can also be used by emergency services to push back to the public.

“GIS technology enables emergency services organisations to publish their own intelligence for the community – via the universal language of maps,” Mr Venman said.

“Location can be a critical factor in creating context and ultimately situational awareness for those trapped in a disaster, so providing access to maps of evacuation routes or the path of a flood or fire – could ultimately save lives.

“Data from other organisations such as the Red Cross or Department of Transport can also be included on the one mapping site to create a single location for important disaster information.”

Ms Purcell and Mr Venman will be hosting presentations at the Australian and New Zealand Disaster and Emergency Management Conference in Brisbane on Wednesday and Thursday respectively.

- See more at: http://esriaustralia.com.au/news-local/e...lnSCc.dpuf

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Port development in ship-shape with mapping
By Olivia Blake12 Jun 2013

The operators of the world’s largest bulk commodity port have used advanced Geographic Information System (GIS) technology to develop an intelligent multi-layered mapping platform that provides a crystal-clear view of the port’s existing and future infrastructure.

Port Hedland Port Authority (PHPA) has created the intelligent mapping platform to support the port’s development, management and planning strategy over the next decade.

The platform draws on world-leading ArcGIS technology to visually represent PHPA’s core business information – such as the location of existing infrastructure, access routes, unused land and development plans – with other data, such as sites of cultural or environmental significance.

The result is a comprehensive view of the port and its operations, which helps guide decision-making in areas such as responsible land management.

Kevin Reece, GIS Specialist and Esri Australia WA Business Manager said GIS technology would considerably aid and advance PHPA’s infrastructure development.

“By accessing a geographic view of data, PHPA personnel can quickly visualise what is occurring and what is planned across the Port,” said Mr Reece.

“With its map-based interface, the platform provides a ‘single point of truth’ that reduces the need to access or request data from multiple, competing technologies or specialised systems.

“The system not only enables PHPA employees to make more informed decisions; it also broadens the spectrum of users who are able to make those decisions – as the information is provided in the universally user-friendly format of a map.”

Operating in Western Australia’s Pilbara region, the Port Hedland Port shipped more than 246 million tonnes last year, and plans to hit 495 million tonnes by 2015.

The Port has also set several world records in the past year, including the largest departure of iron ore on a single tide, and was named 2012 Port of the Year at the Australian Shipping and Maritime Industry Awards.

Mr Reece said PHPA are leading the Australian port industry’s expansion of GIS technology across its operations.

“In the context of the current mining boom, it is more important than ever for Australian ports to develop their capabilities by identifying and implementing GIS-driven strategies that will improve their operations and positively impact their bottom-line,” Mr Reece said.

- See more at: http://esriaustralia.com.au/news-local/p...SKIFa.dpuf