Prima sets up $2mn schol for Lankans at SMU | Daily News

Prima sets up $2mn schol for Lankans at SMU

Prima Limited Chairman and CEO Primus Cheng and SMU President Professor Arnoud De Meyer exchanging the gift agreement.
Prima Limited Chairman and CEO Primus Cheng and SMU President Professor Arnoud De Meyer exchanging the gift agreement.

Prima Limited made a contribution of $2 million to set up a new scholarship scheme to motivate outstanding incoming Sri Lankan undergraduates pursuing any degree programme at the Singapore Management University (SMU).

With matching contributions from the Singapore government, the total endowed fund for the Prima Ceylon Scholarship amounts to $3 million.

Prima Limited Chairman and CEO Primus Cheng and SMU President Professor Arnoud De Meyer signed the gift agreement at SMU, yesterday.

Sri Lankan High Commissioner to Singapore Nimal Weeraratne, and senior management and staff from Prima Limited and SMU were also present.

Cheng said: “to mark the 40th anniversary of Prima Ceylon Private Limited, we think it is appropriate to donate to SMU to endow the ‘Prima Ceylon Scholarship’ for the benefit of deserving Sri Lanka students studying at the university.”

“We express our appreciation to Prima Limited for setting up the Prima Ceylon Scholarship at SMU. This new gift by Prima Limited will not only take the scholarship recipients on an educational journey that is holistic and meaningful, it will also contribute to a richer and more vibrant educational environment in the university.

We look forward to continuing this meaningful partnership with Prima Limited,” Professor Arnoud De Meyer said. The scholarship will be awarded annually from academic year 2019-20 to a student with demonstrated financial needs, offering financial support towards the recipient’s annual tuition fees and/or study-related expenses.

Each non-bonded scholarship of $90,000 is tenable for the recipient’s four years of study, provided that the student maintains good results and continues to demonstrate high standards of personal conduct and remains active in community service and co-curricular activities.

The recipient may be offered internship and/or recruitment opportunities by Prima Limited.

The SMU and Prima Limited have a close and longstanding relationship stretching back to March 2000, just two months after SMU’s establishment when Primus Cheng made an endowed gift of $1.5 million to SMU to establish the Cheng Tsang Man Professorship in Accountancy. This was in honour of his late father, the Honorary Life President and Founder of Prima Ltd.

To date, 27 internationally renowned accounting experts have held Visiting Professorships under this gift, conducting joint research with the SMU faculty as well as delivering public lectures.

Primus Cheng, in April 2011, made a $1 million endowed gift to the SMU to establish the School of Accountancy Research Symposium, an annual research symposium which enables the faculty from the School of Accountancy to interact with researchers from top schools worldwide, to commemorate Prima’s 50th anniversary.


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