PRESS RELEASE

Leeden’s Chairman and CEO, Mr Steven Tham, 2nd time recipient of prestigious Outstanding

Entrepreneur Award from Enterprise Asia

• Asia Pacific Entrepreneur Award is the most prestigious entrepreneur awards in the region

• Mr Tham’s excellent foresights and restructuring efforts gave Leeden a new facelift - Asia’s integration specialist for Welding, Gas and Safety solutions

Singapore, 28 June 2011 – Leeden Limited (“Leeden” or the “Group”), Asia’s integration specialist

for Welding, Gas & Safety solutions, is pleased to announce that the Group’s Chairman and CEO,

Mr Steven Tham, was accorded the prestigious Outstanding Entrepreneur Award 2011 by Enterprise

Asia for the second time.

Asia Pacific Entrepreneur Award (“APEA”) was started region-wide four years ago to champion and

encourage entrepreneurship in Asia1. It is organized by Enterprise Asia, which is Asia’s leading non-

governmental organization for the development of entrepreneurship across the region, and supported

by local government and business organizations including Singapore Business Federation, Singapore

International Chamber of Commerce.

1 Quoted from Business Times article “38 local entrepreneurs win Asia-Pacific awards” dated 25 June 2011

There were over 300 nominations received for the APEA awards, out of which approximately 24

emerged as winners in the Outstanding Entrepreneur Award category. The judges took both

quantitative and qualitative criteria into consideration in deciding on the winners. Besides evidence of

sustained business growth, judges are also required to take into consideration the entrepreneur’s

investment in people and his or her belief and action in supporting responsible entrepreneurship.

Additional qualitative criteria such as leadership qualities, vision, direction, ‘story’, peer and industry

recognition are also taken into consideration.

Mr Steven Tham – Passionate and visionary leader

Mr Steven Tham steered Leeden to scale the next level of growth when he came on board in July

2000. The Group was operating various businesses in Singapore back then and was in a loss-making

position. A focus will need to be developed in order to create a business model that is sustainable and

competitive in the long-run. Hence, with the support of his dedicated workforce, Mr Tham managed to

transform Leeden into the integration specialist in welding, gas and safety solutions which industry

players can identify with in the Asian region.

“I am truly honoured and proud to be the 2nd time recipient of the Outstanding Entrepreneur

Award. It has been a fruitful journey not made possible without human capital, an extremely

important element in our business model. I would like to extend my sincere appreciation to my

team of hard-working staff who have done a marvellous job in building up strong “Leeden”

brand equity, and also our customers and principals in believing the Leeden story.”

Mr Steven Tham, Chairman and CEO of Leeden

To differentiate from fellow industry peers, Leeden offers value-added propositions such as providing

one-stop package deals that will better attend to customers’ needs. Leeden has expanded its product

offerings from top-notch brands like Red Wing, Hobart and Miller to manufacturing mid-range

products to cater to wider market. The Group has established a strong traditional foothold in

Singapore and has expanded into Malaysia, Indonesia, China, Vietnam, Thailand, Philippines and

recently, Australia, over the years. These expansion efforts have earned the Group 5th placing within

the distinctive Top 10 “Fastest Growing Internationalising Companies” in August 2010. This is a set of

newly incorporated awards under the Fastest Growing 50 (FG50) award that recognises entities

which have attained the highest two-year CAGR from revenue outside of the Singapore market.

“It has been an honour to work under the leadership of Mr Steven Tham. He has managed to

realise his foresights through strong execution capabilities and dedication. Mr Tham’s

addition into the Leeden family was pivotal for the Group, and I believe his passions and

visions will lead Leeden into many years of continued growth and profitability. ”

Mr Kelvin Lee, COO & Managing Director of Leeden

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About Leeden Limited Incorporated in 1964 and listed on the Singapore Exchange since 1975, Leeden Limited has built an extensive network as well as manufacturing capabilities in the provision of total integrated solutions for Welding, Gas and Safety across Southeast Asia. Apart from being an established distributor of internationally renowned agency products, Leeden also possesses manufacturing capabilities in Welding, Gas and Safety products. The Group's customers include major marine, oil and gas companies and contractors, shipbuilding and ship repair yards, aviation, automotive, electronics & semiconductor and metal fabrication companies from across Southeast Asia. Leeden commands regional presence in Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia and China. Leveraging on strategic partnerships and with support from dealers throughout Southeast Asia, Leeden aims to be close to its customers to ensure provision of premium quality services at all times. For more information, please refer to the website, www.leedenlimited.com Issued for and on behalf of Leeden Limited By Financial PR Pte Ltd For more information, please contact: Ms Romil SINGH, romil@financialpr.com.sg Ms Sylvia LEE, sylvia@financialpr.com.sg Tel: (65) 6438 2990 Fax: (65) 6438 0064