SPEECH BY MINISTER OF STATE FOR TRADE AND INDUSTRY, MR LEE YI SHYAN, FOR THE EDB COMBINED HEADQUARTERS AWARD CEREMONY ON THURSDAY, 1 JUNE 2006 AT 0935 HRS AT THE ARTS HOUSE

Distinguished Guests,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Introduction

Let me warmly welcome you to The Arts House. It is indeed apt that this ceremony is held at the Arts House today. Allow me to elaborate.

Before becoming the Arts House, this same building was the Court House, the Old Court house, the Assembly House and, not so long ago, the Parliament house. When the management of the Arts House took over, they decided to keep the word “house” because of its historical context. To keep with the theme, the management decided to name the various rooms in this building as we would for the various rooms in our houses, like “the living room” and “the loft”. We are currently in the “chamber”. The point of doing this, as I understand, is to create a feeling of homeliness within these walls.

It is therefore very fitting that we are gathered in this same building, to recognize the various companies who have decided to call Singapore their home. Having lived abroad for some period of time myself, I can fully understand the difficulties associated with setting up a home ; or finding a home away from home. That these companies have chosen to make Singapore their home, is indeed a strong endorsement for Singapore.

Singapore: An Ideal Home to Diverse Companies from all Geographies.

Singapore is an ideal home for companies from varied geographies, of varying sizes, and which engage in widely different business activities. The fact that more than 60% of the 7,000 MNCs here have set up their headquarters to manage a wide range of corporate functions for their regional, as well as global operations, is enough testimony that Singapore is an ideal location for companies and industries to converge and do business together. In some ways, the 8 companies who are receiving the Headquarters award today, form a microcosm of this diversity.

First of all, Singapore is home to companies with origins all over the globe. Geographically, the 8 recipients of the Headquarters award today also hail from very different parts of the world – USA, UK, Sweden, Japan, Germany, Taiwan and Singapore.

Secondly, Singapore is also home to companies from different industries. Again, our 8 companies present here today, mirror this diversity. Apart from locating strategic control, critical decision making capabilities and shared services here, many of them have decided to use Singapore as their base for higher value-added activities. Here, they are undertaking activities such as R&D, intellectual property management and the setting of global standards. In fact, a couple of these companies are implementing innovative business models out of Singapore. They also engage in very different businesses, from publishing to precision engineering to automotives.

Going Forward: Entrenching Singapore as the Best“Home” for Headquarters

Through the years, we have worked hard to build a quality physical and business infrastructure, continuously upgraded our workforce, and made sure that efficiency was our calling card. In particular, we have also taken pains to ensure that we have an environment conducive for Headquarters to set up in Singapore. Among other things, we have a stable political climate, strong linkages to other markets in the region, and a reputation for strong corporate governance. But above all, we are a safe and cosmopolitan society that each individual can call home.

Despite these accomplishments, we are not resting on our laurels. In fact, EDB has set a target to attract 500 world-class regional and international headquarters to be awarded the EDB HQ status by 2010. Currently, about 385 companies are now in the programme. We are well on our way of achieving this target.

Conclusion

Finally, I would like to offer my heartiest congratulations to each and every one of the 8 companies receiving the International Headquarters award today. Thank you for your confidence in and endorsement of Singapore. Thank you for making Singapore your home. You are now an integral part of Singapore’s success story.