Mr Lim Hng Kiang at the Opening Ceremony of HP Labs Singapore, 24 Feb 2010

SPEECH BY MR LIM HNG KIANG, MINISTER TRADE AND INDUSTRY, AT THE OPENING CEREMONY OF HP LABS SINGAPORE ON WEDNESDAY, 24 FEBURARY 2010, AT 10.50 AM AT CONNEXISSOUTHTOWER, FUSIONOPOLIS

Mr. Shane Robison
Executive Vice President and Chief Strategy & Technology Officer, HP

Dr Prith Banerjee
Senior Vice President, Research, and Director, HP Labs

Ladies and gentlemen,

Good morning. I am pleased to be here today for the official launch of HP Labs Singapore. Today’s event marks a significant milestone in a long-standing 40 year partnership between HP and Singapore.

HP Labs Singapore - testimony of Singapore’s supportive R&D environment

As HP’s first corporate R&D lab in Southeast Asia, HP’s decision to base HP Labs in Singapore is yet another endorsement of Singapore’s attractiveness as an R&D location. We have a strong intellectual property protection regime, a ready pool of scientific and research talent, and a comprehensive ecosystem of universities and research institutes with industry-relevant capabilities. All of which makes us an ideal host for innovation and knowledge intensive activities.

Indeed, HP Labs joins a growing list of corporate labs, such as Nitto Denko, Vestas and Seiko Instruments that have chosen to be based in Singapore. Notably, these labs are housed in Fusionopolis alongside our A*STAR public research institutes. As our integrated R&D powerhouse, Fushionopolis exemplifies the emphasis we have placed on research and development (R&D). This national priority will help transform Singapore into a knowledge-based economy.

Co-locating scientific labs and other research organizations together offers unprecedented opportunities for the integration of scientific capabilities. It also helps further public-private collaborations critical for the development of novel products and technologies. In this regard, HP Labs Singapore can play a key role in helping to further diversify the scope of high end R&D activities performed here.

HP Labs Singapore – furthering Singapore’s drive to become a key innovator and adopter for internet related technologies

One of HP Labs Singapore’s key area of focus is upstream research in cloud computing and software services. Cloud computing holds the promise to fundamentally shift the way companies obtain software and computing capacity in the future. According to industry estimates, the global market for cloud services will increase to US$150 billion by 2013 [1]. HP is already collaborating with Intel and Yahoo! to provide an open source test bed that encourages cloud computing research under the Open Cirrus project. The establishment of HP Labs Singapore will be a further boost to Singapore’s efforts to become a key innovator and adopter of internet-related technologies.

As part of efforts to transform Singapore into a full-scale knowledge based economy, the Singapore Government recently launched the Next Generation Nationwide Broadband Network to enhance broadband connectivity within Singapore. Singapore has also become a major hub for major submarine cable systems. We have one of the highest submarine cable capacities in Asia, up to 52 terabits per second [2]. Our advantages in both local and international connectivity have made Singapore a key node for data center and network operators, as they scale up their capacity in Asia to address the exponential increase in Internet traffic.

Singapore’s excellent network connectivity, data hosting capabilities and reputation as a trusted hub are some of the key reasons why infocomm companies are basing themselves in Singapore to provide services based on internet-related technologies. This includes cloud services such as content hosting to a global audience. For example, under the facilitation of the National Grid Office, companies such as HP and SingTel have formed collaborations to develop platforms for commercial grid services.

HP as a strategic partner to Singapore

Collaborations such as these and the setting up of HP Labs in Singapore are testimony to the long term strategic partnership that HP has developed with Singapore over its forty years in Singapore. From setting up core memories and calculators manufacturing operations in Singapore, HP’s manufacturing activities in Singapore have expanded significantly to include a wide range of products such as personal computers, inkjet supplies, servers, storage and networking products. Beyond manufacturing, HP Singapore has also extended its operations to take on supply chain control tower functions. It has also steadily expanded its portfolio of developmental activities across its Printing and Imaging, and Enterprise Business units.

With the establishment of HP Labs in Singapore, HP has now gone a step further to expand its full value chain of activities here into upstream R&D. It is also a strong indication of the growing role of Singapore as a Global-Asia Hub where MNCs, global mid-sized companies and Asian firms innovate, manage and integrate their Asian and global business from Singapore.

Conclusion

In conclusion, I would like to thank HP for your continued trust and confidence in Singapore and I look forward to many more years of successful partnership between HP and Singapore. On that note, I would like to extend my heartiest congratulations to the management and staff of HP on the establishment of HP Labs Singapore. I wish you every success in your new venture. Thank you.

[1] According to Gartner.

[2] According to TeleGeography.