2. Speeches
Speech by MOS Gan Siow Huang at the Opening Ceremony of Callebaut Global Innovation Centre
10 February 2026
Good morning,
Distinguished guests, partners, friends, and the Barry Callebaut management
Introduction
1. I admit that I am a chocolate lover. Chocolate is not just about food. It is about memories, it is about special moments, with family and friends. Barry Callebaut is not just creating chocolates for chocolates’ sake; you are creating happiness and joy. Thank you very much and congratulations to Barry Callebaut for the launch of this Global Innovation Centre (GIC).
2. Barry Callebaut has been part of Singapore’s story for nearly three decades, since establishing its first and largest regional industrial chocolate factory here in 1997 with 60 employees. Over the years, you have grown with Singapore. You’ve expanded your Singapore office’s coverage from Asia-Pacific to include the Middle East and Africa regions, with around 300 employees today across commercial operations, manufacturing and R&D activities. So yes, indeed, before this GIC was set up, you are already innovating.
3. This is a testament to how Singapore’s value proposition has evolved. We now offer global companies, like Barry Callebaut, an integrated business proposition which encompasses trading, manufacturing, innovation, and AI capabilities.
Singapore’s Food Innovation and AI Ecosystem
4. Beyond our role as a global trading and manufacturing hub, Singapore has deliberately built a strong food innovation and AI ecosystem to partner companies to capture growth amid an increasingly competitive and uncertain global environment.
5. Let me put this into context. Behind every chocolate bar lies a complex commodities trading system which keeps cocoa moving globally. Singapore plays a key role in international cocoa trade, with approximately 15% of global cocoa trade flows conducted here. As Asia’s cocoa hub, we are home to major players across the entire cocoa and chocolate value chain, including Barry Callebaut, Delfi, ECOM Agroindustrial, Mondelez International, and Olam Group.
6. But the industry is evolving rapidly. Consumer tastes are shifting, competition is intensifying, and companies must innovate faster and smarter. Here is where Singapore and AI comes in.
7. On innovation, Singapore aims to be the regional hub for agri-food tech innovation. Our position as a gateway to fast-growing Asian markets, combined with supportive infrastructure, makes us an attractive base for food innovation. We have built a vibrant agri-food ecosystem with a network of venture capital firms, accelerators, research institutions, and MNCs supporting companies at every growth stage.
a. Today, Singapore ranks 4th globally in the Global Startup Ecosystem Index, rising from 16th just five years ago.
b. We are also home to over 200 agri-food tech startups working on areas such as alternative foods, functional ingredients, precision agriculture, and much more.
8. I am pleased that Barry Callebaut is tapping into this ecosystem, such as participating in Enterprise Singapore’s inaugural Foodtech Frontier Challenge, developing new cocoa solutions, healthier chocolate products, and heat-resistant chocolate – a crucial endeavour in our tropical climate! This is exactly the kind of innovation and collaboration we wish to see more of.
9. On AI, Singapore remains deeply committed to supporting companies on their digitalisation and AI journeys to unlock sustained growth. We have stepped up our efforts significantly in this space. You will hear more of this in the upcoming Budget.
a. We deliver tailored AI support to firms, helping them identify high-impact use cases and facilitating partnerships to co-develop solutions. Barry Callebaut is a good example of such a successful partnership with Enterprise Singapore in action.
Building Talent for the Future
10. However, none of this will work without the right people. As technological disruption reshapes industries, we continue to build a strong talent pipeline in emerging, in-demand areas such as R&D and AI. Singapore is committed to remain an attractive location for companies to develop such talent as they deepen and expand their activities here.
11. On R&D, Singapore has announced our Research, Innovation and Enterprise (RIE) 2030 Plan to develop high-quality talent including researchers, engineers, data scientists, entrepreneurs, and programme managers. This would nurture local talent whilst attracting top international talent to strengthen our R&D ecosystem.
12. Barry Callebaut is contributing meaningfully to this effort through this new GIC. Over the next three to five years, it aims to grow the GIC into a much larger and more connected ecosystem.
13. These company-led efforts are complemented by our national push to deepen skills in such emerging areas. As AI accelerates and becomes even more embedded across more business models, we aim to triple Singapore’s pool of AI practitioners to 15,000 in the coming years.
14. We are also partnering with educational institutions to blend traditional strengths with new capabilities. For example, NTU’s International Trading Programme now incorporates data analytics, and I am pleased that Barry Callebaut is supporting these efforts. These industry partnerships ensure our curriculum development stay aligned with evolving industry needs. This is how we hope to build a future-ready talent pipeline that will drive our next phase of growth.
Conclusion
15. What excites me most about today is seeing a global leader like Barry Callebaut choosing Singapore as its innovation hub. Thank you for choosing Singapore as a partner for this journey.
16. It reflects our success in building an ecosystem where trading meets innovation, where traditional industries embrace AI, and where global companies can access Asian markets while developing cutting-edge solutions.
17. Once again, congratulations to Barry Callebaut on this significant milestone. We look forward to many new creations and innovations coming out from this GIC.
18. Thank you.