MITA Building, 140 Hill Street, 2nd Storey, Singapore 179369

Tel: 837-9666

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Mr Ko Nishimura

Chairman Solectron

Ladies and gentlemen

I am delighted to join all of you this afternoon for this happy occasion. Every time another company sets up its HQ here, we celebrate together. We are glad to welcome Solectron to a growing community of global businesses that now call Singapore their home.

Solectron is said to be the world’s top electronics manufacturing services company. Solectron’s decision to anchor its Asia-Pacific headquarters in Singapore and establish a manufacturing solutions hub here is proof of Singapore’s attractiveness as a good location for world-class companies. Solectron will play a big role in developing Singapore’s manufacturing sector for the long term.

With new technologies, new business methods and a fast-changing global economic environment, the way business is done today is very different from the past. What worked in the past may not work in today’s or tomorrow’s economic environment. Singapore is therefore reviewing its economic strategy in a fundamental way.

In recent months, we have been talking about building up the services sectors like healthcare and education. While we should grow the services sectors to seize new opportunities and help diversify our economy, our long-term commitment to the manufacturing sector remains unchanged.

Manufacturing generates more spin-offs than services. For example, one job in the manufacturing sector creates two to four supporting service jobs. Over the years, we have built up a strong manufacturing capability which is now at the cutting edge in many areas. We will continue to build on these strengths.

The key is to make Singapore an attractive global hub for knowledge-driven businesses and investments. We will continue to improve the cluster development model that has served us well over the years. We will keep improving the infrastructural support for MNCs like Solectron. The way forward for the manufacturing sector is in developing high value-added activities. We must keep moving our manufacturing activities up the value chain to include more sophisticated production activities and increase the proportion of ‘brain work’. Research, development and design will become more and more important.

We must recognise the growing overlap and convergence of manufacturing and services. The way Solectron’s activities cut across manufacturing and supply chain facilitation is a good example of this. We encourage more companies to integrate their decision-making, marketing and supply chain management activities in Singapore. In this way, Singapore becomes more and more a "brain centre" for their activities, offering a secure and supportive base for the command and control of MNC operations in the wider region.

Solectron and Singapore share a common vision of the future. Solectron’s long-term commitment to Singapore reflects Solectron’s confidence in Singapore’s long-term support of the company’s competitive needs.

Solectron’s manufacturing solutions hub takes in the entire value chain of activities from new product development (NPI) to order fulfilment. These activities mean an increase in investment here and the creation of many good jobs. Solectron’s vote of confidence in Singapore’s workforce is particularly good news in these difficult times.

Solectron’s high value-added activities will also create opportunities for other industries, such as procurement, supply chain management and IT services. Solectron’s expanded presence will lift the stature of Singapore’s electronics manufacturing services industry in the world and strengthen our manufacturing hub position.

Synergistic links within and across industries are precisely what we are trying to achieve in Singapore’s Enterprise Ecosystem. In such an ecosystem, every player contributes to a supportive environment which in turn helps it to thrive, all in a virtuous circle.

For example, Solectron’s dynamic management and engineering team, state-of-the-art equipment and world-class quality assurance standards will raise the overall capability and know-how of Singapore’s EMS industry which will in turn facilitate Solectron’s operations in the region.

Solectron’s Headquarters in Singapore adds to the existing pool of some 3,000 foreign companies which already have their headquarters here. This is about half of the 6,000 multinational corporations based in Singapore.

Singapore’s economic strategy is to be a vibrant hub for both manufacturing and services. At the core, we are a hub for people and ideas. Thus, over the years, Singapore has evolved from an entrepot to a global manufacturing base and will become increasingly a knowledge hub for new, high value-added activities.

I wish Solectron every success in Singapore. Solectron’s success is Singapore’s success. Thank you.