Speeches
Speech by Mr S Iswaran, Senior Minister of State, Ministry of Trade and Industry, and Education at the 2nd Jurong Island Open Day, ChemEX09 at 1.10pm on Saturday, 5 September 2009
Dr A Chockalingam, Chairman, Singapore Chemical Industry Council
Mr Derk Jan Hartgerink, Chairman, Chemical Industry Manpower Advisory Committee
Mr Terence Koh, Executive Director, Singapore Chemical Industry Council
Distinguished guests
Ladies and Gentlemen
Introduction
Good afternoon.
I am happy to join you at the annual Jurong Island Open Day—ChemEx 09. This is the second year that ChemEx is being held and it has once again been very well received with greater student participation compared to last year. Besides the more than 600 students present today, I am also pleased to note that over a dozen companies are supporting this year’s event. I would like to congratulate and thank all parties involved for a well organised event.
The Growth of Singapore’s Chemical Industry
The land that we stand on today is the outcome of an inspired vision to develop a thriving global chemical industry in Singapore. Less than 30 years ago, Jurong Island was merely a scattering of coral reefs and offshore islands. The amalgamation of seven smaller islands, in the 1980s, to form Jurong Island was a bold move and an engineering feat.
Today, Jurong Island is a magnet for petrochemical companies. Many have established their base here, in large part due to the island’s plug and play infrastructure, our forward-looking and investment-friendly policies, as well as our world-class port operations.
Jurong Island is now home to leading petroleum and petrochemical companies from around the world, such as ExxonMobil, Dupont, Mitsui Chemical, Chevron Texaco, Shell and Sumitomo Chemical. These companies have been our valued partners in Singapore’s growth story. Singapore started out in the 1970s with only three oil companies. Today we are one of the world’s top 10 petrochemical hubs, with 94 companies having invested more than S$31 billion in fixed assets —a remarkable transformation in a short span of time.
The chemical industry is a key pillar of Singapore’s economic landscape. Despite the current economic downturn, the industry has seen strong year-on-year growth over the past 5 years. In 2006, it overtook the electronics cluster to become the largest contributor to our manufacturing output. Last year, the industry posted a growth of 18% from the year before, delivering a strong output of S$98 billion. The total number of jobs in the industry has also risen by 11,100, double the growth in 2007.
By 2015, Asia would account for 50% of global demand for commodity chemicals, and Singapore is in a good position to benefit from this. As Singapore moves up the value chain from commodities to specialties, we gain an edge over regional competitors, and this leaves us well poised to benefit from the growing worldwide demand for petrochemicals.
Shell and ExxonMobil are two companies who see a bright future at Jurong Island, and they have signalled their confidence by investing in mega-projects. Shell’s single largest ever petrochemicals investment—the Shell Eastern Petrochemicals Complex—will partly be located here on Jurong Island. When completed next year, the island will contain one of the largest mono-ethylene glycol plants in the world. In 2011, ExxonMobil will also be adding a second large-scale steam cracker to the existing Singapore Refinery and Singapore Chemical Plant. This will make Jurong Island home to Exxon Mobil’s largest owned and operated petrochemical complex, as well as the largest integrated chemical and refining site in the world.
Students—The Future Leaders of Industry
Another important indicator of the commitment of Singapore’s chemical industry players is their willingness to invest in the next generation. The companies are making a special effort to reach out to our youth because they understand and appreciate the need for skilled manpower and talent.
The chemical industry offers good career prospects for young Singaporeans like yourself to realise your ambitions, be it as chemical engineers, research scientists, project managers or quality control executives. With Singapore positioned as the chemicals hub for the region and the world, you will have the chance to join ranks with the best regional and global talent in the industry. The famous chemist Louis Pasteur once said, “Chance favors the prepared mind.” We are committed to preparing you for bright opportunities and chances that lie ahead in the chemical industry, and the work of developing your talent starts now.
To this end, industry players remain key partners for our ITE, polytechnics, and universities. I understand that the Singapore Chemical Industry Council has been active in exposing you to the industry via career talks and open houses such as today’s ChemEx. In addition, companies of diverse backgrounds in the petrochemical, speciality chemicals and environmental industries, have collaborated with your schools to provide you with first-hand industry experience.
You would have had the chance to participate in the many industrial attachment or internship programmes offered, such as those with chemical companies like Singapore Petroleum Company, Pfizer and Croda. Some of you also worked on major projects with reputable research institutes such as the Institute of Chemical and Engineering Sciences and the Institute of Materials Research & Engineering (IMRE)—projects which challenge you to develop innovative solutions to pressing problems. Besides these, companies like Grundfos Industry and Kellogg Brown & Root, along with public agencies such as the Economic Development Board and the Ministry of Manpower, have organized talks to better acquaint you with the industry.
Quite a number of you would have spent some time as part of your course at the Chemical Process Technology Centre, or CPTC, which you visited this morning. CPTC provides strategic world-class learning facilities targeted at developing specialist manpower to support the growth of the global oil, gas and petrochemical industries.
As possibly the first learning facility with a life-size kerosene distillation plant, CPTC gives you an experience of real plant operations to enhance your understanding of the industry. Even as you pursue your career as professionals in the chemical industry, you can continue to upgrade your skills and enhance your knowledge at CPTC. Armed with the knowledge of new developments, you can harness the requisite resources to help you solve real industry problems.
Conclusion
I hope that what you see today will inspire you to pursue an exciting and rewarding career in this dynamic, progressive and fast changing industry. There is a Chinese saying—“As in the Yangtze River, the waves behind ride on the waves before, so each new generation excels the preceding one”. The success of Singapore’s chemical industry, and indeed that of our entire economy, was not the outcome of chance. It was the tenacity and vision of earlier generations of leaders—in government and industry—that has brought us to where we are today. The leaders of tomorrow will need to have the same visionary instincts and daring spirit to build on these accomplishments. I look forward to all of you playing an important role in this important journey for Singapore.
I wish you all an enjoyable and fruitful afternoon.
Thank you.