StanChart ups marathon sponsorship for next 3 years

Standard Chartered Bank will increase its sponsorship for the Singapore Marathon by 7%, newly sealing another three year deal with the race for SG S$10.75 million.According to Today, the event first launched in 1982 and has since grown to 65,000 in attendance for last year’s event.SCB’s Singapore CEO Neeraj Swaroop told Today that the biggest underlying factor for its sponsorship is the event’s engagement with the community.“We see ourselves as a bank that has to be linked (with) the communities around, rather than only being there for commercial reasons,” he said. He also cited the positive public perception of its involvement in the event as another factor.Acting Manpower Minister Tan Chuan-Jin supported the event to announce the sponsorship yesterday, saying: “What is quite clear for sport is that companies carry out corporate social responsibility on many fronts and sport is a good way because not only can you fuse the charity element, you can also bring on board many Singaporeans to take part.”