Dr Vivian Balakrishnan at the Opening of the Singapore International Symposium 2006

SPEECH BY DR VIVIAN BALAKRISHNAN, MINISTER FOR COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT, YOUTH AND SPORTS AND SECOND MINISTER FOR TRADE & INDUSTRY, AT THE OPENING OF THE SINGAPORE INTERNATIONAL SYMPOSIUM 2006, AT THE BIOPOLIS ON 17 APRIL 2006 @ 10.00 AM

Dr Hiroyuki Nakanishi, Chairman, Mitsui Chemicals Inc.

Mr Kenji Fujiyoshi, President, Mitsui Chemicals Inc.

Mr Philip Yeo, Chairman, A*STAR

Distinguished guests and speakers,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Good Morning. It gives me great pleasure to join you at the opening of the Singapore International Symposium 2006 (or SIS2006).

Today’s Symposium focuses on "Advances in Materials and Chemicals". It is the fourth in the series of yearly international scientific symposia organized by Mitsui Chemicals. We are honored that this is the first time it is being held in Singapore. The first three were held twice in Japan and once in France. Mitsui Chemicals has also graciously renamed this year’s symposium from "Mitsui Chemicals Incorporated Symposium", to the Singapore International Symposium, in recognition of A*STAR and EDB’s support of the event.

Today’s event is testimony to Mitsui Chemicals’ long-standing partnership with Singapore in the development and growth of our chemicals industry. It is an excellent example of how Singapore helps companies grow their business in Singapore, from manufacturing to R&D, to holding industry gatherings like this one.

Mitsui Chemicals in Singapore

Over the last thirty years, Mitsui Chemicals has played a key role in the growth of the chemicals industry in Singapore. Today, it has three subsidiaries and operates world-class phenol and bisphenol-A complexes on Jurong Island, making Singapore its strategic manufacturing site.

Mitsui Chemicals’ presence in Singapore has grown and expanded beyond manufacturing to R&D. In 2004, it signed a master R&D agreement with A*STAR, initiating collaborations with the Institute of Chemical and Engineering Sciences (ICES) and the Institute of Materials Research and Engineering (IMRE) in advancing the development of key petrochemical products and Nano-structured hybrid materials for new product applications respectively. The scientific collaborations between Mitsui Chemicals and A*STAR represents some of the exciting new frontiers in materials and chemical sciences.

Mitsui Chemicals’ decision to hold this symposium here is recognition of our value proposition. Singapore provides a favorable manufacturing environment, invests in R&D infrastructure and nurtures talent to help companies develop novel manufacturing technology for next-generation plants and processes.

Importance of Chemicals Industry in Singapore

Since the early 1980s, the chemicals industry has been identified as a strategic industry cluster for Singapore. Over the past ten years, the output of chemicals has almost quadrupled, reaching S$66.5 billion in 2005. The chemicals industry’s share of total manufacturing output has expanded from 15% to 32%.Today, it is the third largest manufacturing sector in Singapore, after electronics and biomedical sciences.

Jurong Island has been a critical catalyst driving the exponential growth in the chemicals cluster. For those unfamiliar with Singapore, Jurong Island is the centerpiece of Singapore’s chemical industry. It is home to more than 80 companies in various chemicals businesses. It has provided a dedicated, vertically integrated and synergistic environment for the chemical industries – integrating innovation, manufacturing, regional distribution, marketing strong logistics support and a world-class security system. In 2005 alone, 15 new projects were announced on Jurong Island, resulting in a 19% increase in the number of companies on the Island.

Chemicals – A Knowledge Intensive Sector

The global chemicals industry is a highly knowledge-intensive and skills-driven business. R&D is key to innovation in manufacturing, as it can be exploited to lower costs, increase products life and create new and superior properties for a wide range of applications such as coatings, paints, optoelectronic, biomedical and other specialty applications. Indeed, chemistry is often referred to as the building blocks of everyday life.

To ensure that we continue to maintain our competitiveness in the chemicals industry, we must focus on talent, innovation and R&D.

Talent is key in this knowledge-intensive industry. The establishment of the Institute of Chemical and Engineering Sciences (ICES) on Jurong Island is a vital component of this strategy. ICES provides research expertise in chemistry and chemical engineering science, combined with advanced analytical characterization and measurement capabilities to develop state-of-the-art technologies. In addition to the collaborations with Mitsui Chemicals, ICES also engages other chemical companies like Degussa and Nippon Paint.

Singapore is also developing the critical manpower for the chemical industry by setting up the Chemical Process Technology Centre, possibly the only purpose-built training facility in the world with an industry-scale plant. This unique infrastructure allows us to train future generations of workers who are equipped with the necessary skills and knowledge to meet the demands of the chemicals industry.

R&D Leadership in activities – beyond projects to idea generation

Going forward, Singapore would be allocating more resources to research and innovation, in order to transform our economy into one that competes on knowledge, innovation and talent, over and above cost-effectiveness and efficiency. Under the Science & Technology Plan 2010 (STP2010), the Ministry for Trade & Industry (MTI) will commit $7.5 billion over the next 5 years to sustain innovation-driven growth.

A key thrust in the STP2010 is to intensify private sector R&D activities in Singapore. Businesses are best positioned to align R&D investments with commercial opportunities. Under STP2010, EDB will lead efforts to promote private sector R&D. Partnering A*STAR, EDB aims to anchor more large R&D projects and attract more multinational companies to start R&D activities in Singapore.

Hosting symposia like the SIS2006 in Singapore is valuable as it captures global mindshare and brings together top scientific talents from around the world for intellectual discourse and exchange. It also fuels the drive for ideas and creates more opportunities for innovation and R&D activities.

Conclusion

I would like to thank Dr Hiroyuki Nakanishi, Chairman of Mitsui Chemicals and Mr Kenji Fuji Yoshi, President of Mitsui Chemicals for their support and commitment in organizing SIS2006. We are confident that this scientific symposium will strengthen the cooperative spirit between Mitsui Chemicals and A*STAR in Singapore. I wish you all a most fruitful seminar.

Thank you.