SPEECH BY MR S ISWARAN, MINISTER OF STATE FOR TRADE AND INDUSTRY, AT THE OFFICIAL INAUGURATION OF DHL LOGISTICS REGIONAL OFFICE, AT GATEWAYTOWER WEST, ON MONDAY, 16 APRIL 2007, AT 11AM

Mr John Allan, CEO, DHL Logistics

Mr Peter Landsiedel, CEO, DHL Global Forwarding Asia Pacific

Mr Humberto Florez, CEO, DHL Exel Supply Chain Asia Pacific

Distinguished guests

Ladies and gentlemen,

I am pleased to be here today at the official opening of DHL’s regional office in Singapore. DHL’s Singapore story has come a long way, since the beginning of its operations here more than three decades ago.

DHL’s strong partnership with Singapore and its continued confidence in Singapore

Today, DHL is the world’s foremost third-party logistics provider and the largest logistics player in Singapore. It is a reflection of the close partnership between DHL and Singapore that the scope of DHL’s activities in Singapore has grown exponentially.Singapore is now one of DHL’s two primary air express hubs in the Asia-Pacific. We are glad that you have chosen to “Think Global” through Singapore.

Singapore has also enjoyed a close partnership with Exel. With Exel now part of the DHL family, we are very pleased to host DHL Logistics’ regional office and your key operations for the Asia Pacific region.

Today’s event marks yet another milestone in the longstanding collaboration between DHL and Singapore. The joint location of the regional management team from DHL Global Forwarding, DHL Exel Supply Chain and the group’s Global Customer Solutions in Singapore will yield significant synergies and further drive DHL’s growth in the Asia Pacific.

Singapore: The leader in Asia Pacific for sophisticated supply chain solutions

Singapore is the leading logistics hub in Asia Pacific today. 17 of the world’s top 25 Third Party Logistics Providers have significant operations here. Many MNCs such as Motorola, IBM, Verifone, Yamaha and Lenovo have also chosen Singapore to be their preferred hub for global supply chain management and control tower activities.

As supply chains become increasingly complex in this globalised economy, the Singapore government strives to work closely with our logistics companies to develop competencies in innovative and sophisticated supply chain management (SCM) solutions.We believe this will make Singapore the SCM thought-leader in this region.

DHL has been one of our strongest supporters in SCM thought-leadership. Its partnership with Singapore is not confined to financial investments but also includes expertise, capability and knowledge transfer, underscoring the company’s commitment to moving Singapore up the value chain of the global logistics industry. The most recent example is the location of the DHL Supply Chain Centre of Excellence for the Asia Pacific in Singapore.

I am excited by this combination of best-in-class SCM expertise and practical logistics operations know-how. I believe this latest development by DHL will bring tremendous value to your clients such as HP, Dell, Sun Microsystems, Infineon, Qimonda, ON Semiconductor and Freescale, as you deliver innovative SCM solutions to meet their needs.

Singapore: A preferred location for regional management activities

Singapore is home to over 7,000 MNCs today, of which more than 60% have regional management activities in Singapore. DHL’s continued confidence in Singapore as the preferred location for regional management activities is a strong endorsement of Singapore’s strategic position within the Asia-Pacific and our conducive business environment. I would like to assure you that the Singapore government remains firmly committed to providing the most attractive conditions for businesses in Singapore. And, I am convinced that DHL will continue to regard Singapore a key node for your new business activities.

Conclusion

I would like to offer my congratulations to the management, staff and partners of DHL on the opening of the new Regional Office for DHL Logistics.I look forward to the further strengthening of the DHL-Singapore partnership and I wish DHL every success in your business endeavours.

Thank you.