Mr Lee Yi Shyan at the Inauguration Ceremony of Merck Sharp and Dohme’s Asia Pacific Regional Headquarters

SPEECH BY MR LEE YI SHYAN, MINISTER OF STATE FOR TRADE AND INDUSTRY AT THE INAUGURATION CEREMONY OF MERCK SHARP AND DOHME’S ASIA PACIFIC REGIONAL HEADQUARTERS AT PARKVIEW SQUARE ON21 AUGUST 2007, 6:15PM

Mr. David Anstice

Executive Vice President, Strategy Development

Merck & Co.

Mr. Ramesh Subrahmanian

Senior Vice-President, Merck & Co. and President, Asia Pacific, Merck Human Health

Distinguished Guests,

Ladies and Gentlemen.

I am delighted to join you this evening for the inauguration ceremony of Merck, Sharp and Dohme’s (MSD) Asia Pacific Regional Headquarters.

The Biomedical Sciences Industry in Singapore

Biomedical sciences is a strong growth engine for our manufacturing sector as well as an important pillar of the Singapore economy today. In 2006, the biomedical sciences manufacturing output grew by an unprecedented 30% to reach S$23 billion, contributing more than 6% towards Singapore’s GDP. It has grown at a CAGR of 24% since 2000.Commitments by companies in R&D and Business Services also achieved exceptional growth to reach a record high of almost S$220 million in total business spending.

The biomedical sciences industry provides well-paid and high value-added jobs for employees from a broad range of qualifications. This is an attractive industry that we believe will continue to attract the best and brightest of Singaporeans, and there are job opportunities in all parts of the value chain. In manufacturing alone, we expect more than 1,500 jobs to be created in the next 3 years as the plants that are currently under construction become operational.

Our commitment to growth

The Singapore government is strongly committed to continue to develop this industry to spearhead future growth in Singapore. We are making significant investments to build up our 3 ‘Cs’ – Human Capital, Intellectual Capital and Industrial Capital – which form the foundations of this innovation-driven, knowledge-intensive industry.

We are keen to work with companies, like Merck, to implement what we term as the 4 ‘E’s – Excel, Expand, Extend and Explore. Singapore provides an environment that enables companies to excel, allowing their Singapore-based operations to be best-in-class. We hope that companies will take advantage of this, and expand the depth and extend the breadth of activities in Singapore. Lastly, we invite companies to explore new frontiers with us, as we continue to evolve and advance.

Conclusion

Singapore has had a long-standing relationship with Merck. In 1993, Merck created its first footprint in Singapore with the setting up of a sales office. Today, Merck is one of the largest pharmaceutical investors in Singapore, with more than S$1 billion in fixed asset investments, employing a total of more than 500 people at its commercial and manufacturing operations.

We are very pleased that Merck chose Singapore as its Asia Pacific base. This is indeed a strong endorsement of Singapore’s competitiveness as a preferred location for Regional Headquarters. In closing, I would like to congratulate Mr David Anstice, Mr Ramesh Subrahmanian and your outstanding team on the inauguration of this Asia Pacific Regional Headquarters. This will certainly add another chapter to the very successful partnership between Merck and Singapore! We look forward to working with you to further grow the Merck activities throughout the entire value chain.

Thank you.