Tapping on ST Engineering's strength in these areas, Adam Aircraft seeks to lower the cost of ownership and provide total aviation support for its light jet and piston aircraft. The partnership will also provide ST Aerospace with the option, exercisable within seven years, to invest up to US$50m in the company.

This partnership is not expected to have any material impact on the consolidated net tangible assets per share and earnings per share of ST Engineering for the current financial year.

Adam Aircraft is based in Englewood, Colorado, and has staff strength of more than 550. The company specializes in the design and manufacture of all-composite very light jets and piston aircraft, and to date has an order book of over 350 for its A700 VLJ and A500 twin piston aircraft, valued over US$700m.

VLJs fit into an emerging market category in the US and globally. Aircraft in this category use jet engines and are at a price range that competes with the traditional propeller-driven small aircraft. The new category is aligned between general aviation aircraft and small commercial planes that typically cost between US$4m and US$15m. VLJs cost between US$1.5m and US$3.0m and seat between three to ten passengers. They are well-suited as air taxis as they can transport passengers regionally without routing through aviation hubs, saving time, and can operate on short runways of 3,000 feet. Buyers of VLJs range from fractional owners, charter operators, and corporations to high-net-worth individuals.

"Being a young company, we are pleased to be associated with the world's largest third-party MRO service provider, ST Aerospace, which can provide not only first class MRO services for our customers but can also help our marketing efforts through their global footprint. Adam Aircraft expects to have a leading position in the twin piston and very light jet markets in North America and eventually, globally. We are excited about having a global engineering team from ST Aerospace as our strategic partner, and together we will be able to provide a wide range and depth of expertise and capabilities to support Adam Aircraft's rapid growth." - Rick Adam, CEO, Adam Aircraft

"Adam Aircraft represents a new strategic partner and customer for ST Aerospace. In addition, it presents us with the potential to tap into an emerging and promising VLJ market and the latest composite technology. The Adam Aircraft partnership builds upon our strengths in MRO, aircraft logistics and engineering, and extends our range of relationships with OEMs." - TAN Pheng Hock, President and CEO, ST Engineering

"We welcome this strategic partnership between ST Engineering and Adam Aircraft. The VLJ market has tremendous potential, and will add a new dimension to Singapore's aerospace industry. ST Engineering's partnership with Adam Aircraft will no doubt help bring to Singapore, capabilities in the entire value chain of VLJ activities; from design and development to manufacturing and assembly and, of course, Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO)." - Teo Ming Kian, Chairman, EDB

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