MCYS MEDIA RELEASE NO: 03/2009

DATE OF ISSUE: 28/01/2009

PRESS RELEASE

SDU and SDS to Come Together as One

Singapore, 28 January 2009 – The Social Development Unit (SDU) and the Social
Development Service (SDS) will tie the knot today to become a single entity to
enhance the singles’ socialising and dating opportunities. The “engagement” took
place during the National Day Rally on 17 August when the Prime Minister shared
news of the merger as part of the 2008 Marriage and Parenthood initiatives.

A timely marriage

SDU was formed in 1984 to address the problem of declining number of marriages
among female graduates, and SDS was set up a year later to promote marriage
among non-graduates. Over the last 25 years, 186,000 members of both
organisations have tied the knot – 53,000 SDU members since 1984 and 133,000
SDS members since 1985. While catering to specific needs, SDU and SDS have
been providing activities that are open to members of both organisations. The
potential for more collaboration grew over the years. In the 2005 SDU/SDS
Perception Survey, around 60% of SDU members and 70% of SDS members
interviewed said that both units should be combined. The Government has decided
to merge the two organisations now, to reap economies of scale, enlarge the
database, and provide more opportunities for singles.

Merger brings more to the table for members and singles

The merged entity will be a well-networked one that has a presence at significant
touch points in the public, private and people sectors. It will provide a wider spectrum
of services and events for members, such as sports and travel, etiquette and
grooming courses, social events, and involvement in community projects.

Single Singapore citizens and permanent residents aged 20 years and above can
join this yet-to-be-named entity for an annual fee of $10. The rate is the same as
SDU’s current membership fee.

For existing SDU (Classic membership scheme) and SDS (Ordinary membership
scheme) members, they will automatically be placed under the SDU-SDS Classic
Membership Plan. The merger will not affect their current fee arrangements. The
merged entity will be notifying existing members separately to inform them of the
changes and the benefits they can look forward to.

Mrs Yu-Foo Yee Shoon, Minister of State for Community Development, Youth and
Sports said: “The merged entity, leveraging on over two decades of experience of
SDU and SDS, will reap economies of scale and offer enhanced services to the
combined 90,000 membership. They can look forward to more opportunities to meet
other singles, and enjoy more options and activities based on their different needs
and preferences.”

Working in tandem with the private dating industry

The merged entity will continue to develop, grow and professionalise the local dating
industry and set industry benchmarks in terms of quality and affordability for the
private players through its accreditation framework. There will also be scope for the
merged entity to partner accredited private dating agencies in joint events, tie-ups
and joint promotions, and to share knowledge and expertise.

A new identity for the next milestone

The merged entity will be conducting a branding exercise and will be seeking
members’ views on the identity and name that can be readily identified with today’s
singles. In the interim, the merged entity will be known as “SDU-SDS”.

With the merger, singles can look forward to more services and opportunities. All
singles are encouraged to be part of SDU-SDS. Interested singles can apply through
our members’ website at www.lovebyte.org.sg.

Issued by
SDU-SDS
Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports

# # #
 Supplementary Information on Merger of SDU and SDS
Membership Criteria, Fees and Services

Background

As part of the Marriage and Parenthood package announced by the Prime Minister in
August 2008, SDU and SDS will be merged to deliver enhanced dating efforts for all
singles, while developing the private dating industry in tandem. Since then, SDU and
SDS have been working closely to harmonise membership criteria, services and fees
for the merged entity, which will use “SDU-SDS” as its working name in the interim
period.

(A) Membership Criteria for SDU-SDS

The criteria for membership for SDU-SDS will be effective from 28 January 2009.
The changes in eligibility criteria from SDU and SDS are as follows:

ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA FOR MEMBERSHIP

SDU (Old) SDS (Old) Merged Entity (NEW)

• Singapore • Singapore • Singapore Citizens and

Citizens Citizens Permanent Residents singles1.
/Permanent /Permanent
Residents Residents non- • Minimum age: 20 years old; no
graduate singles. graduate singles upper age limit.
• No upper and (20 to 40 yrs
lower age caps. old). • Criteria to be effective only for
new members & renewals of
existing memberships.

(B) SDU-SDS Membership Services

(1) Annual Fee and Classic Membership

SDU-SDS will provide the Classic (Basic) Membership Scheme at an annual fee rate
of $10. The changes in the basic membership fee from SDU and SDS are as follows:

1
All members and to-be-members will be subject to screening against records of
Registry of Marriages and Registry of Muslim Marriages. SDU-SDS reserves the
right to terminate the membership (without refund) of members who are found to be
married, without prior notice.
 FEE FOR CLASSIC MEMBERSHIP
SDU (Old) SDS (Old) Merged Entity (NEW)

• $10 /annum (age • $30 one-time fee • $10 per annum for all.
30 and below) (for ages 20-40
• $15 /annum (age only) • Price to be effective for new
30 and above) • Membership members and renewals.
expires on 41st
birthday • Existing SDS members will not
be affected by the fee change
until the renewal of their
membership on their 41st
birthday.

The Classic membership is a basic membership which entitles members to:

o SDU-SDS quarterly magazine;
o Preferential rates for dating activities and events;
o Online services via Lovebyte (www.lovebyte.org.sg) - forum, online chat,
online SMS, Lovebyte personals2;
o Welcome Party for new members;
o Regular news on dating events, happenings from SDU-SDS and SDU
Trust Accredited Agencies; and
o Participation in the activities of Members’ Own Groups3.

There are other dating services (dating events, personalised introduction, etc.) that
are not included in the Classic Membership scheme. Members can participate in
these services at additional charges.

(2) Corporate Membership Scheme

SDU-SDS will offer corporate membership from 28 January 2009. The scheme
compared to SDU and SDS corporate memberships is detailed below:

2
Members can create their own profile description, view other members’, and
contact each other through a variety of ways like sms, emails, etc.
3
Members Own Groups (MOG) are special interest groups formed by Members for
fellow Members to network and meet like-minded friends.
 CORPORATE MEMBERSHIP
SDU (Old) SDS (Old) Merged Entity (NEW)

ƒ Provides ƒ Non-graduate • Provides singles (Singapore

graduate singles Citizens /Permanent
singles (Singapore Residents) employed under
(Singapore Citizens these companies free SDU-
Citizens /Permanent SDS Classic membership 4 ,
/Permanent Residents) subject to the new membership
Residents) working in criteria;
employed these
under these companies will • Companies will pay $100
companies free be entitled to /annum, with unlimited sign-
SDU classic sign up for SDS ups5 for their single employees.
membership ordinary
ƒ $100 /annum; (individual) • Existing SDU Corporate
unlimited membership. Members and SDS Corporate
individual sign- ƒ $300 / 5 years; Members will automatically be
ups up to 100 sign- placed under the SDU-SDS
ups Corporate Membership
ƒ Option to Scheme.
procure
additional • Tenure and expiry of existing
memberships SDU and SDS corporate
at $3 per membership will remain
member up till unchanged under the new
50 members. SDU-SDS Corporate
Membership Scheme.

• Companies will be placed on

the Workplace Network mailing
list for events specially
organised for singles with our
corporate/workplace partners.

(3) SDU-SDS Services

Dating/social interaction events

These will be enhanced with the merger. SDU-SDS will continue to provide a variety
of dating/social interaction events to members. For some events, non-members may
participate as long as they are single, albeit at a higher rate from SDU-SDS
members. Information can be found on www.lovebyte.org.sg.

4
Membership is personal-to-holder, valid for one year upon the employee signing up
with SDU-SDS.
5
Existing membership caps under the SDS Corporate Membership Scheme will be
removed.
Premium Membership/ Personalised Introduction/ Mrs Matchmaker service

Members subscribing to these services will continue to receive the services. Going
forward, we will be reviewing workflow and service offerings in these areas. Details
will be made known later.

(C) Notifications on New Criteria and Fees

Existing SDU and SDS members will receive a letter on the merger and details on
the criteria and fees. They will stand to benefit from the larger membership pool and
enhanced services offered by SDU-SDS. Information and services will be provided
via the existing IT system, the Lovebyte.

(D) Application for SDU-SDS Membership

Persons who are interested to join SDU-SDS are welcomed. Application for
membership, and payment of membership fees can be done online via
www.lovebyte.org.sg, or at our office at 8 Stevens Road, Singapore 257819.

(As at 28 January 2009)