Mr S Iswaran at the Exxonmobil’s “The 1 Leading Race”, 22 Sep 2010

SPEECH BY MR S ISWARAN, SENIOR MINISTER OF STATE FOR TRADE & INDUSTRY AND EDUCATION, AT THE EXXONMOBIL’S “THE 1 LEADING RACE”, WEDNESDAY, 22 SEPTEMBER 2010, 1410 HRS

Mr Kwa Chong Seng, Chairman and Managing Director, ExxonMobil Asia Pacific Pte Ltd

Mr Eric Carmichael, Asia Pacific Marketing Manager, ExxonMobil Lubricants and Specialties

Distinguished guests,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Introduction

Good afternoon. I am happy to join you for ExxonMobil Asia Pacific’s Formula One celebrations. It is indeed heartening to see that ExxonMobil and the Vodafone McLaren Mercedes team have gone the extra mile to share the F1 race festivities with your employees as well as the beneficiaries of the South West District’s Kindergarten Financial Assistance Scheme (KiFAS).

Singapore SingTel Formula 1 Grand Prix – a Community Event

The Singapore SingTel F1 Grand Prix has been a major and transformative development in Singapore’s tourism landscape in the last five years.As the world’s first and only F1 night race, it has helped to significantly brand Singapore as a premier lifestyle destination and a vibrant global city. Locally, the Singapore Formula 1 Grand Prix has also generated great excitement. Apart from the fans and spectators attending the race, there are many opportunities for the wider community to soak in the atmosphere through the many fringe activities that take place during the F1 season.

This afternoon’s “1 Leading Race” is one such community event. Indeed in terms of community outreach, the ExxonMobil “1 Leading Race” has literally brought the race to these children with a local twist - dragon boat style - and giving them the opportunity to get up close to, and interact with, their F1 idols such asLewis Hamilton.

ExxonMobil Singapore

ExxonMobil has had a long and illustrious history in Singapore. Since its establishment here in 1893, its presence in Singapore has expanded tremendously. Singapore is now ExxonMobil’s main manufacturing base in Asia, with operations from oil refining to chemicals manufacturing, including headquarters functions. ExxonMobil is also Singapore’s largest manufacturing investor with over US$7 billion in fixed assets which is reflective of its strong confidence in Singapore.

In addition to its significant investments in Singapore, ExxonMobil has also been a strong supporter of local community events and programmes in a host of fields such as education, the arts, the community and the environment. These include organising the Caring Teachers’ Award with the National Institute of Education; sponsoring the Outstanding Social Worker Award with the National Council of Social Service; and working with the Raffles Museum of Biodiversity Research on a public education programme. For the last seven years[1], ExxonMobil has also been a key corporate partner of the South West District and provides assistance to lower income students for their school-going expenses.

ExxonMobil’s strong commitment to serve the community is further exemplified by today’s launch of a Mobil 1 scholarship for the most outstanding student in ITE College West’s Technical Engineering Diploma in Automotive Engineering Course. It is certainly heartening to see the local community and corporations not just embrace the F1 festivities but also use it as a platform to serve important social causes.And this scholarship will endow some of our youth who aspire to be part of the developing motorsports industry scene in Singapore with the opportunity to do so.

Conclusion

I would like to thank ExxonMobil for its continued commitment to Singapore and Mobil 1 for making today’s community event possible. I’d also like to thank Lewis Hamilton and the Vodafone McLaren Mercedes team for generously taking the time to give these children the unique opportunity to experience some of the thrills and excitement associated with F1. I wish the dragon boat teams the very best in your race across the Singapore River.And I wish you all an enjoyable F1 race weekend ahead. Thank you

[1] The partnership with South West CDC started out as a meals bursary in 2003, but evolved into a transport bursary scheme in 2006 (till present).