Minister Lim at the official opening of the Singapore Centre in London

SPEECH BY MR LIM HNG KIANG, MINISTER FOR TRADE AND INDUSTRY, AT THE OFFICIAL OPENING OF THE SINGAPORE CENTRE IN LONDON AT 12.30PM ON FRIDAY, 21 SEPTEMBER 2007 AT THE STRAND, LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM

Mr Michael Teo, High Commissioner

Friends from the Media,

Colleagues, Ladies and Gentlemen

Good afternoon

Introduction

I am happy to join you today for the official opening of the Singapore Centre in London - the fourth and largest of our consolidation of the overseas offices of the Singapore Tourism Board, Economic Development Board and International Enterprise Singapore. Besides our three economic agencies, I am pleased that Contact Singapore and the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore are also joining us at this location.

This consolidation of the various agencies under one roof will provide Singaporeans living in London, businesses looking for opportunities in Singapore, and Londoners hoping to visit Singapore a one-stop service to gain quick and seamless access to the Singapore Government services they desire. It will also enhance the Singapore Brand Concept and create greater visibility for our agencies operating in the key cities.

The “Singapore Centre” Concept

The “Singapore Centre” Concept is not new. Three Singapore Centers have already been opened last year - in Guangzhou in June, Chengdu in October and Los Angeles in December. The idea was first mooted in July 2004 by a multi-agency taskforce to study the feasibility of the consolidation of overseas centers. The consolidation of our overseas offices will allow agencies to reap benefits in terms of long-term cost savings and greater synergies from cross-agency collaboration.

Indeed, physical co-location should only be the first step. We should explore practical ways for agencies to cooperate, integrate and aggregate resources or services even further in the next stage of development. The Singapore Centre in London is expected to generate yearly savings of £44,000 in rental, as the rental paid for this new premise is lower than the combined rental of the various agencies in their previous locations. In addition, the Singapore Centre is expected to generate savings of about £120,000 arising from the lower operating costs and shared office facilities.

In the Pipeline

Besides our existing Singapore Centers in Guangzhou, Chengdu and Los Angeles, we will be looking to further consolidate our other Singapore overseas offices. The Singapore Centre in Dubai is set to open next year. It will house the International Enterprise Singapore and Singapore Tourism Board in one central location. With the success of this model, we are looking to replicate such Centers in China, India and other key Asian cities over the next two years.

Conclusion

On this note, I am happy to declare the Singapore Centre in London open. The Centre represents a whole new paradigm for projecting the Singapore Brand internationally. I am confident that with co-location of the Singapore overseas offices, we will be able to achieve greater synergy, closer cooperation and collaboration as a networked Government. Thank you.