Minister Lee Yi Shyan at the Opening Ceremony of Asahi Kasei's S-SBR Plant

SPEECH BY MR LEE YI SHYAN SENIOR MINISTER OF STATE MINISTRY OF TRADE & INDUSTRY AND MINISTRY OF NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT AT THE OPENING CEREMONY OF ASAHI KASEI’S S-SBR PLANT ON 11 JULY, 2.30PM AT ANGSANA DRIVE JURONG ISLAND

Your Excellency Yoichi Suzuki, Ambassador of Japan to Singapore Mr Taketsugu Fujiwara, President & Representative Director, Asahi-Kasei Corporation

Distinguished guests 

Ladies and Gentlemen

Good Afternoon.

1.        I am honoured to join you on this joyous occasion to celebrate the opening of Asahi Kasei’s new Solution-Polymerised Styrene Butadiene Rubber, or S-SBR[1] plant on Jurong Island. This new plant marks another happy milestone in our strong and enduring economic partnership with Japan.

2.        Today, most of us arrived here by cars. If it were 1990, we would have to come here by boat. Those of you who are old enough amongst us would remember that there was no Jurong Island in the early 1990s. There were 7 distinct islands instead. Twenty years of persistent and far-sighted efforts have helped build Jurong Island become what it is today – a well-integrated energy and chemical cluster supported by a world-class comprehensive infrastructure.

3.        What was a “dream” then has now become a reality. In the beginning, to market such a dream was not easy. Potential investors had to accept that what Singapore had promised we would deliver. Deliver we did, in this case. In fact, in those early days, many Japanese companies were amongst the first to step forward with major investments. This trust continues to cement our relations with Japanese and many international companies till today. 

4.        The opening of the new S-SBR plant also marks the further integration of our chemical industry value chains on the island. I am pleased to note that at full operating capacity, the plant will be able to supply some 50,000 tonnes of S-SBR per annum, accounting for one third of the company’s total S-SBR production worldwide.  In fact, Asahi Kasei has also started in April this year, construction on an additional manufacturing line which will double the plant’s production capacity. This underlines Asahi Kasei’s confidence in Singapore and our pro-business infrastructure.

Partnering the industry for sustainability

5.        We operate in a world that faces increasing resource constraints. Achieving sustainable growth has become a key challenge for many industries and countries. Here in Singapore we like to work with companies to improve their energy efficiency. For example, under the Grant for Energy Efficient Technologies (GREET), we are working with companies on Jurong Island to invest in energy efficient equipment and technologies. This can range from simple defect rectification works to more complex technology upgrades such as retrofitting with more efficient chillers. We hope to help our companies reduce their energy reliance and carbon footprints. 

6.        New products and services can also contribute towards a more sustainable environment. The high performance green tires manufactured using Asahi Kasei’s S-SBR is one such example.

Staying competitive to capture the opportunities in the growth of Asia 

7.        To enhance the long-term competitiveness of the industry, we have launched the Jurong Island version 2.0 (JIv2.0) initiative. As part of this effort, the Government has been working closely with companies to better understand their feedstock needs. We have also been developing alternative feedstock options, such as liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) and “Biomass to Chemicals”. With these efforts, we are hopeful that companies such as Asahi Kasei will continue to choose to invest and operate on Jurong Island, cementing Jurong Island’s position as the leading chemical hub in Asia.  

Providing good careers opportunities for Singaporeans at all levels 

8.        The Energy and Chemicals industry is clearly an important part of our economy. It also provides a wide spectrum of good careers for Singaporeans, with three out of every four workers being locals. With one of the highest skill profiles amongst all manufacturing sectors here, the jobs created in this industry are also aligned with Singapore’s efforts towards building a highly-skilled workforce.

9.        Asahi Kasei’s new plant will create 80 jobs[2] in a wide range of functions. The diversity of Asahi Kasei’s operations is a good illustration of how employees in the industry would have opportunities to move between manufacturing, commercial or innovation roles at different stages of their careers.

Conclusion

10.   In closing, I would like to thank Mr Fujiwara for his personal commitment to and support of Singapore.  I would also like to extend my heartiest congratulations to the management and staff of Asahi Kasei on the opening of your new S-SBR plant.  We look forward to many years of fruitful partnership with Asahi Kasei.  Thank you.

[1]

S-SBR: Solution-Polymerised Styrene Butadiene Rubber, a synthetic copolymer consisting of styrene and butadiene. Its main application is in the manufacture of tires.

[2]

80 consist of 40 Singaporeans, 20 PRs and 20 foreigners.