SINGAPORE: Two men have hit the jackpot after winning the top prizes in Changi Airport’s latest Be a Changi Millionaire retail campaign, Changi Airport Group announced in a media release on Sunday (Jan 21).
Indonesian businessman Oddie Rehatta, 45, became an instant millionaire while 26-year-old Chinese baseball coach Zhang Xuchao won a Volvo S90 T5 luxury sedan (the first time the campaign has had such a prize).
Mr Oddie, who is from Purwakarta, Indonesia, had entered the draw after buying various items from DFS on behalf of his friends during a business trip to Singapore last year.
When asked what he would do with his S$1 million windfall, he said: “I will be putting some money into investments, my business and also make some donations. Importantly, I will take my family to Mecca.”
Mr Zhang got his shot at the car prize after buying perfumes and cosmetics for his girlfriend from The Shilla Duty Free when he visited Singapore last August.
“I will use the money from encashing the car prize to buy another Volvo when I go back to China,” the 26-year-old from Beijing, China, said. “Just like Oddie, this was totally unexpected for me too.”
Oddie Rehatta and Zhang Xuchao hold on to the winning car remote that led them to the grand prize at the Be a Changi Millionaire Grand Draw. (Photo: Changi Airport Group)
Changi Airport Group said its annual campaign was instrumental in driving concession sales at the airport.
Concession sales grew 7.6 per cent in 2017 as compared to the previous year to close at S$2.5 billion, setting what the group said was a new record.
Travellers from China, Singapore, Indonesia, India and the United Kingdom led the way as the biggest group of spenders at Changi Airport, with Chinese and Singaporean shoppers accounting for more than half of total sales, Changi Airport Group added.
The latest draw attracted more than 1.5 million entries from 221 nationalities, with the top three groups of participants from Singapore, China and Indonesia.
The ninth run of Be a Changi Millionaire will kick off in May 2018.
