Singapore EDB in talks with ‘multiple’ firms for petchems

10 March 2005 22:19  [Source: ICIS news]

WASHINGTON (CNI)--Singapore’s Economic Development Board (EDB) is in discussions with “multiple companies” toward further petrochemical and chemical projects in Singapore, the top EDB chemicals official said here Thursday.

 

Aw Kah Peng, director of the EDB chemicals cluster, told CNI today that her unit is in discussions with a number of companies on potential petrochemical and specialty chemical projects for Singapore. She declined to be more specific, saying the companies involved reserve the right to make announcements when project arrangements are completed.

 

However, she said, “We expect that during the rest of this year and into the better part of next year we will be coming to decision points on many of these projects, and there will be announcements.”

 

She said EDB is working to adapt existing Singapore government financial incentives to new projects development. “We are making adjustments as companies come to us with particular projects,” she said.

 

Aw said EDB will continue its standing practice of making direct financial investments in selected projects, but only if companies behind a project seek investment participation by EDB.

 

“We certainly are willing to make use of EDB’s development capital fund for companies who feel they need EDB as a partner,” she said. Typically, she added, “we take a very minor share in a project, perhaps 10-15%, just to get things started and to raise the ‘comfort level’ for companies that may be new to Singapore.”

 

EDB previously has invested in petrochemical projects initiated by Teijin, Petrochemical Corp of Singapore (PCS) and Chevron Philips Chemicals Asia.

 

Aw said the EDB chemicals cluster can draw on EDB’s capital fund, which now totals about $2.5bn (Euro1.9bn), to take a minor share in selected chemical projects. She noted that in earlier such share investments by EDB, majority investors “have very quickly bought us out of the project, which is fine because we’re not a venture capital firm.”

 

She said Singapore EDB will continue active pursuit of additional petrochemical and chemical projects. “Petrochemicals are very important to Singapore,” she noted, “and they account for almost 30% of our overall manufacturing base.”

 

“Petrochemicals and specialty chemicals have continued to gain weight” as part of the Singapore manufacturing base, she said. “We continue to develop Jurong Island and the business environment to support chemicals.”

By: Joe Kamalick
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