Singapore seeks to become consumer-products hub

17 July 2008 20:05  [Source: ICIS news]

NEW YORK (ICIS News)--Singapore plans to market itself as a growing manufacturer and development hub for high-value-added consumer products and ingredients, a government official said on Thursday.

Singapore’s Economic Development Board (EDB) last year established a consumer cluster, intended to attract brand-based international consumer-product corporations that want to develop, test-bed and launch new products and concepts in the Asian market.

EDB plans to focus on areas such as personal and household care, food and beverages, flavours and fragrances, specialty ingredients and lifestyle-based products, officials said.

“Compared to its neighbouring cities, which are generally more homogenous in terms of demographics, Singapore’s cosmopolitan makeup makes us an ideal location for companies to base development centres of new products that are meant for the Asian market,” said Evon Phua, deputy director for EDB’s consumer businesses.

Phua said EDB’s vision is for Singapore to be Asia’s lifestyle lab.

“The market opportunity in the consumer area is growing tremendously,” she said. “More than half of the world’s population lives in Asia, where there has been a consumer boom because of its increasing wealth and urbanisation.”

Some of the world’s top flavour and fragrances companies have already set up their research and development (R&D) and manufacturing facilities in Singapore, Phua said.

Regional bases have also been established in Singapore by such consumer product companies as Procter & Gamble (P&G), Unilever, Johnson & Johnson, Beiersdorf and Nestle, she said.

In December, P&G started its first Asian perfumes production plant in Singapore, which is expected to produce more than 3m kg/year of perfume for the company’s Asian brands.

P&G spokesman Ross Holthouse said the perfumes will be shipped to 14 P&G manufacturing plants throughout Asia.

“Leveraging Singapore’s status as an innovation hub, P&G’s perfume plant will play a significant role in propelling its global business as the incubator for P&G perfumes worldwide,” Holthouse said.

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By: Doris de Guzman
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