Dr Derek Goh, Chairman and CEO

Distinguished guests

Ladies and gentlemen

Good morning.

1.                  I am pleased to be here today to officiate at the opening of Serial System’s new building.  I would like to congratulate the company on this remarkable milestone in their growth.

2.                  Singapore has been actively promoting the growth of entrepreneurship in recent years, as we position ourselves to become a creative and diversified economy. This is one of our strategies to create greater wealth and value for Singapore. To help realise this, we put much effort into creating a conducive environment for start-ups and enterprises to grow and thrive here.

3.                   Singapore already has many successful local enterprises.  Hyflux, Osim and Qian Hu are just some of the many local enterprises that have successfully developed their international businesses from their home base, and continue to reap the benefits of operating from here.

4.                  Serial System, too, is a proud member of this growing group of successful local enterprises.  A leading player in semiconductor and components distribution, your move into this new building will enable you to consolidate all your operations under one roof, allowing you to achieve a “one-stop shop” strategy for your distribution business.

5.                  Dr Goh founded Serial System as a sole proprietorship in 1988.  After four years of strong growth, he incorporated it as a private limited company.  Every entrepreneur’s dream is to list his company, and he did that in 1997.  Today, Serial System has operations in China, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Korea, Taiwan, Thailand and the US.  Last year, Serial System had revenues of $324 million and profits of S$3.1 million, with more than 80 percent of its revenues coming from its North Asian operations.

6.                  This new building will enable the company achieve further operational efficiencies, paving the way for stronger growth opportunities for the company.

Singapore Continues to Cultivate the Environment for Enterprises to Grow

7.                  It is our hope that we will see more local companies embark on the same successful path that Serial System has taken.  To encourage this, we will continue to encourage our people to be more entrepreneurial in mindset.  We have revised our school curricula, relaxed the rules, cut red tape and business costs and further invested in our infrastructure to support the formation and development of enterprises.

8.                  All these initiatives will enable Singapore to continue to be the location of choice for enterprises, both local and foreign, which want to grow and reach international markets.

9.                  Going forward, we are continually on the look-out for how we can make our business environment even more conducive for enterprises to grow.  EDB has just successfully concluded Global Entrepolis @ Singapore, which was held last week. This is an annual platform for enterprises from all over the world to network, find partners, access funds and seal deals.

10.             We will continue to work towards creating a conducive environment for enterprises to grow. But at the same time, we hope that more entrepreneurs will step out to seize the world of opportunities that is out there.

11.             Once again, I congratulate Serial System on the opening of your new building today.  I wish you every success, and look forward to your continued growth both in and out of Singapore. 

12.             Thank you.