| |
SPEECH BY TAN CHOON SHIAN, ASSISTANT MANAGING DIRECTOR, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT BOARD AT THE INAUGURATION CEREMONY FOR KURARAY ASIA PACIFIC PTE LTD ON 1 JULY 2008, 6.45 PM AT THE SHANGRI-LA HOTEL
His Excellency Mr Makoto Yamanaka, Ambassador of Japan to Singapore
Mr Yasuaki Wakui, Chairman of Kuraray Co., Ltd.
Distinguished guests
1. I am happy to be here to celebrate the inauguration of Kuraray Asia Pacific. This day marks a major milestone for the Kuraray Group since it set foot in Singapore in 1996. Kuraray Asia Pacific will serve as the gateway for Kuraray to the region, bringing together the development, production and sales of Kuraray’s products in this part of the world. It will also serve as the launching pad for Kuraray to explore new business opportunities in Asia Pacific.
2. Kuraray will now join the ranks of many other Japanese chemical companies that have established their regional hubs in Singapore, such as Sumitomo Chemical and Mitsui Chemicals. Beyond manufacturing, these companies have established headquarters which look at regional sales and marketing, as well as supply chain management. They have also set up R&D centres to develop technologies and products for Asian markets and beyond. We encourage Kuraray Asia Pacific to consider these possibilities as it gradually expands its businesses in the region.
3. Let me share on some of the key developments of our chemical industry. Over the last 6 years, our industry has been growing at the robust rate of 20% every year. As of last year, the chemical industry made up the largest part of our manufacturing output, at 34% or about S$80 billion. What is the key to our success? The strength of our industry comes not from merely the availability of a world-class infrastructure in Jurong Island, the presence of a highly productive and educated workforce, but also in the existence of a strong integration between petroleum, petrochemicals and downstream specialty chemical sectors. Companies are able to obtain feedstocks, sell their products and leverage on third party providers for utilities and logistics, all in one location via pipeline-to-pipeline connections. Such integration enables companies to save on costs for building their own support infrastructure, and allows them to focus on their core business of manufacturing.
4. Moving forward, our objective is to realise greater value from this integration. We will expand our upstream refining and cracking capacities to create a critical mass of 6-8 million tons per annum of ethylene capacity. This will give us the necessary scale to exploit more downstream opportunities. Key areas we have identified for development are specialty chemicals, engineering polymers and advanced materials. We expect these higher value products to in turn generate positive spin-offs for other industries such as biomedical, electronics, aerospace and solar.
5. We also recognise the importance of investment in research and development to generate new value for the industry. By 2010, we aim to invest up to 3% of our GDP in R&D spending. We want Singapore to be a place where technology is not only implemented, but created as well. Today, we have over 22,600 internationally trained research scientists and engineers in 18 national research institutes and our two national universities, embarking on multi-disciplinary research and development. We welcome companies to leverage on these capabilities to develop technologies and products in Singapore, for the region.
6. We firmly believe that the Kuraray Group will play a critical role in helping us to realize the Singapore Chemical Industry growth story. Please be assured that the EDB will continue to work closely with you to support your efforts. My warmest congratulations again on your inauguration ceremony. Thank you.
|
|  |
|
