Mr Teo Ser Luck at the Opening Ceremony of SDV’s Asia Pacific Green Distribution Hub

SPEECH BY MR TEO SER LUCK, MINISTER OF STATE FOR TRADE AND INDUSTRY, AT THE OPENING CEREMONY OF SDV’S ASIA PACIFIC GREEN DISTRIBUTION HUB, 03 DECEMBER 2012, 5:00 PM AT ASIA PACIFIC GREEN DISTRIBUTION HUB

His Excellency, Mr Oliver Caron, Ambassador of France to Singapore,

Mr Daniel Delva, Chairman SDV,

Mr Herbert de Saint Simon, CEO SDV,

Distinguished Guests,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Good Evening.

It gives me great pleasure to join you today to witness the official opening of SDV’s Asia Pacific Green Distribution Hub in Singapore.

SDV-Singapore Partnership

Singapore and SDV enjoy a partnership that spans close to three decades. Since its establishment here in 1983, SDV has continued to expand and deepen its activities in Singapore. Today, Singapore is home to SDV’s Asia Pacific Headquarters, with key freight management activities and specialized capabilities in various industry sectors like aerospace, healthcare, oil and gas and luxury retail.

This latest investment by SDV marks another critical milestone in the SDV-Singapore partnership. The Green Distribution hub will allow SDV to better serve its customers’ growing needs in Asia, both in terms of speed and sophistication.  I am also delighted to note that Singapore continues to be the global showcase hub for SDV in terms of excellence in service delivery, productivity and innovation.

Strong Growth In Consumer And Luxury Sectors Leads To A Wave Of Regional Distribution Centres In Singapore

Despite the uncertain global economic climate, Asia is still experiencing strong economic growth and the rise of the middle class represents tremendous opportunities for companies. Based on a recent OECD study, Asia will account for 80% of the growth in global middle class spending by 2030¹. Much of this growth will result in strong logistics spending in the region.

Singapore’s excellent physical and trade connectivity, coupled with its trusted hub status makes it a natural choice for high-value and time-sensitive regional distribution activities. Many of you might not know that a flight takes off or lands at Changi Airport approximately every two minutes and our PSA port handles 13 containers every minute. Singapore also has one of the most extensive trade agreements network globally, having concluded bilateral and multilateral FTAs with 24 trading nations.

This explains why many leading multinational corporations in the consumer and luxury sectors such as Louis Vuitton Moet Hennessy (LVMH), Diageo, Unilever and Remy Cointreau have chosen to locate their regional headquarters and logistics hubs in Singapore to design and manage their supply chains.

To effectively tap this strong growth in logistics outsourcing in Asia, many logistics companies are increasingly looking to Asia and specifically Singapore, to locate critical functions such as global account management, supply chain network planning, freight and trade management activities.

Increased Demand For More Sophisticated Logistics Services And Solutions

The pursuit of sustainable supply chain solutions will be a growing phenomenon amongst environmentally-conscious and socially-responsible manufacturers and brand owners. As such, the Green Distribution Hub is a timely investment by SDV to gain a first-mover advantage in serving the increasingly sophisticated and demanding customer needs in Asia.

I would also like to congratulate SDV for being the proud owner of the largest logistics centre in Asia with a LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Gold certification, an internationally recognized green building certification developed by the US Green Building Council². I was told that the key differentiating features of this warehouse include energy-saving fixtures such as innovative lighting technologies, sensors for controlling fresh air supply and an eco-efficient air-conditioning system.

As the world’s leading logistics hub³, Singapore is committed to grow its leadership in best-in-class supply chain practices globally. In the area of sustainable supply chain solutions, we are seeing increasing industry interest to innovate and adopt carbon-friendly operational practices. Such initiatives are supported by a ready pool of world-class supply chain talent and leading think-tanks like the Sustainable Supply Chain Centre of Asia Pacific (SSCCAP), the region’s first knowledge hub and intellectual property engine to drive sustainable supply chain development in Asia Pacific. Supported by industry players such as DHL, Accenture and Dell, the centre’s mission is to imbed sustainability in tertiary supply chain management curriculums both in Singapore and the Asia Pacific.

Conclusion

SDV’s commitment to establish its Asia Pacific Green Distribution Hub in Singapore is testament to the long-standing partnership between Singapore and SDV. I would like to take this opportunity to thank SDV for its continued confidence in Singapore and express my heartiest congratulations to Daniel and his team.

I wish you every success. Thank you.

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¹ Source: “OECD- The Emerging Class in Developing Countries 2010”. Global middle class spending will grow from USD21 trillion in 2009 to USD55 trillion

² Natural Resources Defense Council:

LEED Certification Information

³ The World Bank Logistics Performance Index 2012 ranked Singapore as the No. 1 Logistics hub globally amongst 155 nations.