Speech by Minister Lim Hng Kiang at the Signing Ceremony For JTC Space @ Tampines North

​Speech by Mr Lim Hng Kiang, Minister for Trade and Industry (Trade), at the Signing Ceremony for JTC Space @ Tampines North, on Wednesday, 19 October 2016, 10.40 AM

Mr Lawrence Leow, Chairman of the SME Committee,

Mr Jeremy Fong, Chairman of the Singapore Precision Engineering and Technology Association,

Mr Png Cheong Boon, CEO of JTC,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

1.            A very good morning to all of you. I am pleased to be here today at the signing ceremony for JTC Space @ Tampines North.

Innovative industrial facilities to support manufacturing companies

2.            The Government is constantly looking for ways to help manufacturing companies improve their competitiveness and grow. Over the years, we have supported companies with various schemes and projects, including JTC’s innovative industrial facilities.

3.            Some of the innovative facilities bring similar companies together, especially SMEs, to facilitate business collaboration. They also have shared facilities and services to help companies reduce their upfront capital investment and operating costs. Examples include the recently completed Surface Engineering Hub at Tanjong Kling, the upcoming Food Hub at Senoko, and the recently announced Metals, Machinery & Timber Hub at Kranji.

4.            Other facilities, such as JTC Space @ Tanjong Kling and JTC Space @ Gul, have high technical specifications that can support a wide range of industries and activities. JTC Space @ Tampines North is the newest addition. The technical specifications and structural design of this facility will allow manufacturing companies to install heavier machinery, which will support the adoption of advanced manufacturing technologies such as robotics and additive manufacturing. These features will also provide greater flexibility for companies to expand their space as they grow and reconfigure their space to seize new opportunities.

5.            The Government will continue to support our manufacturing SMEs through infrastructure solutions that can help facilitate their growth.

Transfer of HDB’s industrial land and properties to JTC

6.            Apart from providing innovative industrial facilities, we also want to make it easier, and quicker, for companies to find the most suitable premises for their business needs. This is especially important given the increasingly competitive and fast-changing manufacturing landscape.

7.            Over the years, HDB and JTC have both been providing industrial land and facilities to support manufacturing companies. While they have been coordinating their efforts closely, the Government will now go a step further to transfer HDB’s industrial land and properties, as well as HDB’s industrial property functions, to JTC. With this transfer, companies will only need to approach a single agency to access the full suite of public sector industrial facilities. JTC will also be able to better match companies’ space needs across the different stages of their growth with a larger supply of industrial land and space, including its innovative facilities.

8.            In addition, by consolidating all industrial land and facilities under a single agency, the Government will be able to undertake more holistic and comprehensive master-planning of industrial estates across Singapore. This will enable us to better cluster complementary activities and integrate activities along the value-chain.

9.            We can see a good example of how this will take shape in the coming years, right here at JTC Space @ Tampines North today. Guoxin Manufacturing and Royal Bussan, which are long-time partners and HDB’s tenants, will be shifting to this development to strengthen their collaboration. The two companies currently work together to produce furniture fittings, with Guoxin Manufacturing producing the metal components and Royal Bussan producing the plastic components from separate locations. By taking up adjacent units in the development, the companies will be able to reduce transport time and cost, and improve their operational efficiency. We hope to facilitate more of such clustering and collaboration through the consolidation of industrial facilities under JTC.

10.         From the organisational development perspective, the consolidation of industrial planning functions under JTC will also allow us to pool planning and technical experience and expertise under one roof. This will allow us to improve industrial master-planning and operational efficiency.

11.         The consolidation requires careful implementation. We are paying close attention to the impact on the affected tenants and lessees. JTC and HDB will engage them and the business associations over the next two months to understand and address any concerns they may have about the transition, as well as their future industrial space needs. We want to ensure a seamless transition for the affected companies. The HDB officers currently serving them will be transferred to JTC, and will continue to serve the customers. We will ensure a smooth transition. The transfer will take place in the first quarter of 2018.

Conclusion

12.          By consolidating public sector industrial facilities under one agency, the Government aims to better support the space needs of manufacturing companies, and also make better use of infrastructure to help them strengthen their competitiveness.

13.         We will need to work closely with both the companies and business associations in this process. I am happy to learn that JTC Space @ Tampines North was developed with feedback from SBF and the SME Committee. As JTC continues to develop innovative facilities for manufacturing companies, I encourage you, and other associations, to continue to share your feedback, so that we can better understand and address the needs of companies.

14.         Finally, let me congratulate JTC, Crizto Singapore, Guoxin Manufacturing and Royal Bussan on the signing today. I wish you great success in the years to come. Thank you.