<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR>So stop asking for any investigation!
Church raises $178m for lifestyle hub
</TR><!-- headline one : end --><TR>Money for the venture comes from church surpluses and members' donations </TR><!-- Author --><TR><TD class="padlrt8 georgia11 darkgrey bold" colSpan=2>By Theresa Tan and Tan Dawn Wei
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Mr Matthew Kang, one of the directors of Rock Productions, with a model of the integrated civic, cultural, retail and entertainment hub to be built in Buona Vista. -- ST PHOTO: LAU FOOK KONG
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The business arm of the New Creation Church said it has raised about a third of the $500 million it needs to build a cultural and entertainment complex in Buona Vista.
<TABLE width=200 align=left valign="top"><TBODY><TR><TD class=padr8><!-- Vodcast --><!-- Background Story --><STYLE type=text/css> #related .quote {background-color:#E7F7FF; padding:8px;margin:0px 0px 5px 0px;} #related .quote .headline {font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size:10px;font-weight:bold; border-bottom:3px double #007BFF; color:#036; text-transform:uppercase; padding-bottom:5px;} #related .quote .text {font-size:11px;color:#036;padding:5px 0px;} </STYLE>'Even the carpark is making money'
Rock Productions was set up in 1998 to manage New Creation Church's investments.
In 1999, it started leasing the Rock Auditorium in Suntec City to hold church services. It also rents out the space to those interested in using it.
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>Rock Productions told The Sunday Times its $178 million came from church surpluses and donations from church members.
The complex marks the biggest commercial venture for Rock Productions, which also owns Marine Cove. It paid $10 million for the recreational and restaurant cluster at East Coast Park in 2001.
Asked why the church is going into property development, Mr Matthew Kang, one of the five Rock directors, said: 'When we receive tithes and offerings, we have to do something with the money. We can't put it under the pillow.
'We have people advising us it's viable to do this. The risk is not high and property is a good hedge against inflation.'
The other two-thirds of the $500 million will come from projected surpluses, donations from its congregation and leasing of equipment such as audio equipment.
Mr Kang said New Creation Church, led by senior pastor Joseph Prince, has an average surplus of about $30 million a year.
It netted an income of $55.4 million from April last year to March this year, of which over 95 per cent came from tithes and offerings from 17,000 church members.
On Monday , Rock said it will up its investment in the complex from $280 million to $499.5 million.
It is partnering property giant CapitaLand to build the close to $1 billion project, envisioned as a futuristic complex with restaurants, shops and a 5,000-seat theatre.
CapitaLand will own and manage the retail and entertainment zone, slated to be completed by end-2011. Rock will own and manage the civic and cultural zone, expected to be up by mid-2012.
The star of the civic and cultural zone is the 5,000-seat theatre which the church will use for Sunday services. It will also be rented out for events such as concerts and conferences, said Mr Kang.
The sharp rise in construction cost is one reason Rock is pumping in more money. It is also increasing the gross floor area from 30,000 sq m to 38,000 sq m. While the hefty investment has raised eyebrows - some question if the money could be put to charitable uses instead - New Creation said it has not stopped giving.
It gave $581,500 from April last year to March this year to groups and charities such as The Straits Times School Pocket Money Fund and Yayasan Mendaki.
Founded in 1984 by young believers, the independent, non-denominational church grew from a group of 25 to about 150 by 1990, to 17,000 today.
New Creation Church is not the only church involved in business.
For example, in 2002, the Methodist Church was reported to have leased a 173,800 sq ft piece of land in Mount Sophia to Centrepoint Properties for $50 million.
In 2003, Seventh-Day Adventist Church was reported to have sold a 13-storey condo in Irrawady Road for an estimated $21 million.
Besides Mr Kang, the other four Rock directors are senior pastor Prince, pastor Joshua Lee, general manager of the church Jeannie Yeo and investment banker Yong Chee Ram.
Mr Kang said none of the directors is paid. 'We don't receive director fees, salaries and bonuses.'
He added that all Rock shares belong to New Creation Church and are held in trust by senior pastor Prince, pastor Lee, Ms Yeo and himself.
The church was in the news 11/2 weeks ago when the Commissioner of Charities released the results of its first review of seven major religious groups here.
The others are Campus Crusade Asia, City Harvest Church, Faith Community Baptist Church, Kong Meng San Phor Kark See Monastery, Kwan Im Thong Hood Cho Temple and Trinity Christian Centre.
The review found that they 'generally' have proper systems and processes and 'largely' comply with regulatory requirements.
But improvements are needed in areas such as having proper procedures when it comes to giving loans and preventing conflicts of interest. Without naming specific groups, the Commissioner said some loans were given to 'related parties' without documented approvals by their boards.
The New Creation Church has said it does not give loans to its subsidiaries. Regarding its Buona Vista project, several church-goers interviewed said they support the move.
Former national swimmer Joscelin Yeo, 29, who now works in the youth ministry at New Creation Church, said: 'I think the new building is great and a blessing as our church is growing and we need a bigger space.'
Currently, it runs four English-language services on Sundays at the 1,400-seat Rock Auditorium and several 'overflow rooms' in various parts of Suntec City where a real-time broadcast of the service is shown on TV.
People say they queue for hours to get a seat in the auditorium. It also offers Mandarin, Hokkien and Korean services.
Mr Darryl David, 38, a media consultant-presenter, said some people think the Buona Vista project is 'a radical way to grow your funds. I donate because I believe this money goes towards God's work. I'm comfortable with it taking many forms'.
Mr Ho Eng Joo, executive director of investment sales for property consultant Colliers International, said Buona Vista is an up-and-coming area.
'They've scientific research centre Biopolis and media hub Fusionopolis. While the area is not fully developed, it will eventually attract a lot of people,' he said.
Church-goer Jong Hee Sen, 48, president and executive director of medical firm Healthway Medical, also gave the thumbs up.
In his opinion, renting large spaces to hold services would cost more than building one's own premises.
'Another church-goer, magazine editor Coleen Leong, 38, said: 'If that's going to stretch the money more compared to putting it in the bank, then by all means build it.'
[email protected] [email protected]
Church raises $178m for lifestyle hub
</TR><!-- headline one : end --><TR>Money for the venture comes from church surpluses and members' donations </TR><!-- Author --><TR><TD class="padlrt8 georgia11 darkgrey bold" colSpan=2>By Theresa Tan and Tan Dawn Wei
</TD></TR><!-- show image if available --><TR vAlign=bottom><TD width=330>
</TD><TD width=10>
Mr Matthew Kang, one of the directors of Rock Productions, with a model of the integrated civic, cultural, retail and entertainment hub to be built in Buona Vista. -- ST PHOTO: LAU FOOK KONG
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"--><!-- more than 4 paragraphs -->
The business arm of the New Creation Church said it has raised about a third of the $500 million it needs to build a cultural and entertainment complex in Buona Vista.
<TABLE width=200 align=left valign="top"><TBODY><TR><TD class=padr8><!-- Vodcast --><!-- Background Story --><STYLE type=text/css> #related .quote {background-color:#E7F7FF; padding:8px;margin:0px 0px 5px 0px;} #related .quote .headline {font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size:10px;font-weight:bold; border-bottom:3px double #007BFF; color:#036; text-transform:uppercase; padding-bottom:5px;} #related .quote .text {font-size:11px;color:#036;padding:5px 0px;} </STYLE>'Even the carpark is making money'
Rock Productions was set up in 1998 to manage New Creation Church's investments.
In 1999, it started leasing the Rock Auditorium in Suntec City to hold church services. It also rents out the space to those interested in using it.
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>Rock Productions told The Sunday Times its $178 million came from church surpluses and donations from church members.
The complex marks the biggest commercial venture for Rock Productions, which also owns Marine Cove. It paid $10 million for the recreational and restaurant cluster at East Coast Park in 2001.
Asked why the church is going into property development, Mr Matthew Kang, one of the five Rock directors, said: 'When we receive tithes and offerings, we have to do something with the money. We can't put it under the pillow.
'We have people advising us it's viable to do this. The risk is not high and property is a good hedge against inflation.'
The other two-thirds of the $500 million will come from projected surpluses, donations from its congregation and leasing of equipment such as audio equipment.
Mr Kang said New Creation Church, led by senior pastor Joseph Prince, has an average surplus of about $30 million a year.
It netted an income of $55.4 million from April last year to March this year, of which over 95 per cent came from tithes and offerings from 17,000 church members.
On Monday , Rock said it will up its investment in the complex from $280 million to $499.5 million.
It is partnering property giant CapitaLand to build the close to $1 billion project, envisioned as a futuristic complex with restaurants, shops and a 5,000-seat theatre.
CapitaLand will own and manage the retail and entertainment zone, slated to be completed by end-2011. Rock will own and manage the civic and cultural zone, expected to be up by mid-2012.
The star of the civic and cultural zone is the 5,000-seat theatre which the church will use for Sunday services. It will also be rented out for events such as concerts and conferences, said Mr Kang.
The sharp rise in construction cost is one reason Rock is pumping in more money. It is also increasing the gross floor area from 30,000 sq m to 38,000 sq m. While the hefty investment has raised eyebrows - some question if the money could be put to charitable uses instead - New Creation said it has not stopped giving.
It gave $581,500 from April last year to March this year to groups and charities such as The Straits Times School Pocket Money Fund and Yayasan Mendaki.
Founded in 1984 by young believers, the independent, non-denominational church grew from a group of 25 to about 150 by 1990, to 17,000 today.
New Creation Church is not the only church involved in business.
For example, in 2002, the Methodist Church was reported to have leased a 173,800 sq ft piece of land in Mount Sophia to Centrepoint Properties for $50 million.
In 2003, Seventh-Day Adventist Church was reported to have sold a 13-storey condo in Irrawady Road for an estimated $21 million.
Besides Mr Kang, the other four Rock directors are senior pastor Prince, pastor Joshua Lee, general manager of the church Jeannie Yeo and investment banker Yong Chee Ram.
Mr Kang said none of the directors is paid. 'We don't receive director fees, salaries and bonuses.'
He added that all Rock shares belong to New Creation Church and are held in trust by senior pastor Prince, pastor Lee, Ms Yeo and himself.
The church was in the news 11/2 weeks ago when the Commissioner of Charities released the results of its first review of seven major religious groups here.
The others are Campus Crusade Asia, City Harvest Church, Faith Community Baptist Church, Kong Meng San Phor Kark See Monastery, Kwan Im Thong Hood Cho Temple and Trinity Christian Centre.
The review found that they 'generally' have proper systems and processes and 'largely' comply with regulatory requirements.
But improvements are needed in areas such as having proper procedures when it comes to giving loans and preventing conflicts of interest. Without naming specific groups, the Commissioner said some loans were given to 'related parties' without documented approvals by their boards.
The New Creation Church has said it does not give loans to its subsidiaries. Regarding its Buona Vista project, several church-goers interviewed said they support the move.
Former national swimmer Joscelin Yeo, 29, who now works in the youth ministry at New Creation Church, said: 'I think the new building is great and a blessing as our church is growing and we need a bigger space.'
Currently, it runs four English-language services on Sundays at the 1,400-seat Rock Auditorium and several 'overflow rooms' in various parts of Suntec City where a real-time broadcast of the service is shown on TV.
People say they queue for hours to get a seat in the auditorium. It also offers Mandarin, Hokkien and Korean services.
Mr Darryl David, 38, a media consultant-presenter, said some people think the Buona Vista project is 'a radical way to grow your funds. I donate because I believe this money goes towards God's work. I'm comfortable with it taking many forms'.
Mr Ho Eng Joo, executive director of investment sales for property consultant Colliers International, said Buona Vista is an up-and-coming area.
'They've scientific research centre Biopolis and media hub Fusionopolis. While the area is not fully developed, it will eventually attract a lot of people,' he said.
Church-goer Jong Hee Sen, 48, president and executive director of medical firm Healthway Medical, also gave the thumbs up.
In his opinion, renting large spaces to hold services would cost more than building one's own premises.
'Another church-goer, magazine editor Coleen Leong, 38, said: 'If that's going to stretch the money more compared to putting it in the bank, then by all means build it.'
[email protected] [email protected]
. agreed . Religion is the source of all imaginable follies and disturbances, it is the parent of fanaticism and civil discore, it is the enemy of mankind.
