Mr Lim Hng Kiang at the Launch of Seagate’s 3rd and Official Opening of 2nd Woodlands Media Manufacturing Facility

SPEECH BY MR LIM HNG KIANG, MINISTER FOR TRADE AND INDUSTRY, AT THE LAUNCH OF SEAGATE’S THIRD WOODLANDS MEDIA MANUFACTURING FACILITY AND OFFICIAL OPENING OF ITS 2ND WOODLANDS MEDIA MANUFACTUIRNG FACILITY ON 28 SEPTEMBER 2006, 9.30AM, AT WOODLANDS AVE 7

Mr Jerry Glembocki

Senior Vice President of Recording Heads and Media Operations

Ladies and gentlemen,

Good morning. I am glad to be here today with the world’s number one producer of hard disk drives as you commit to your third hard disk recording media plant in Singapore. This is yet another demonstration of Seagate’s faith in us as well as the continued value that you see in Singapore.

Even more cause to rejoice is that we are also celebrating the opening of “Woodlands 2”, Seagate’s second media manufacturing facility, where we are at right now, as well as Seagate’s tenth year of media manufacturing operations in Singapore. During this decade, I understand that 500 million units of media have been produced.

If we look back, Seagate has been instrumental in building not only our hard disk drive industry, it has also been pivotal in developing the base of supporting industries in this area. Today, Seagate not only carries out its manufacturing activities here, it also carries out its R&D and headquarter activities here.

With its decision to concentrate three media plants in Singapore, Seagate is once again telling the world that Singapore has what it takes to be its central media manufacturing hub. Seagate will be making a multi-million dollar investment for the third media plant alone. This will potentially result in the creation of 3,000 new jobs when the plant is fully operational

Singapore is Well-Positioned to Latch onto the Growth of the Hard Disk Drive Industry

For Singapore, the hard disk drive industry has always been a significant one. In 2005 alone, the industry contributed about 20%, or S$14 billion, to the electronics output, and employed some 20,000 people.

Globally, better times lie ahead. According to the research agency, IDC, the hard disk drive industry is expected to grow to US$40 billion in the year 2009, from about US$28 billion in 2005. Singapore is in a very good position to latch onto this robust growth.

How Singapore has developed in this industry over the last 10 years serves as a good preview of what is to come in the next 10 years. While Singapore has built up strengths in hard disk drive manufacturing throughout the years, it has also expanded and moved up the value chain of activities.

Specifically in the area of R&D, companies can tap on our pool of research talent and engineers readily and engage in collaborative efforts with research institutes such as the Data Storage Institute. The Data Storage Institute was established in 1992 to support the hard disk drive industry. Today, it has become one of the top 5 research institutes in the world in the area of storage technology. Not only does it help the industry to train the necessary research manpower, it also works with the industry to challenge new technology frontiers. Earlier this year, Seagate added to the buzz by announcing a doubling of its R&D headcount from 200 to 400 researchers.

It is also our strong capabilities and the availability of sophisticated talent that encourages companies to use Singapore as a test bed for new products. In this respect, it is no industry secret that Seagate has been using Singapore as launch pad for its drives, meaning that all drives are pilot-tested and first produced in Singapore.

Gaining Leadership in Hard Disk Media Manufacturing

In recent years, I am proud to say that Singapore has garnered a leadership position in the manufacture of hard disk media, a key component of hard disk drives. Hard disk media is a key component of the hard disk drive system in which data is stored and from which it is retrieved. It involves sophisticated thin-film deposition processes that are both capital- and knowledge-intensive. Because of the type of capabilities required, Singapore is in a good position to develop this industry.

Besides Seagate, which has made Singapore their key media production centre, Showa Denko and Hoya also have significant hard disk media operations here. These three companies combined practically create a new hard disk media sector in Singapore. In 2005, Singapore already accounted for 25% of the world market share for disk media. With Seagate’s new investment into their third media plant, Singapore’s lead as a key manufacturing location for hard disk media globally will widen.

The hard disk media industry is expected to create significant employment opportunities in the years to come. Our Data Storage Institute is well-positioned to train the necessary manpower for this growing hard disk media industry.

Singapore is committed to remaining a key player in the hard disk drive industry and Seagate is an integral part of this journey. I am confident that both Singapore and Seagate can build on our long-established partnership to forge ahead.

In closing, please join me once again in congratulating Seagate on this happy occasion. Thank you.