Chemicals Industry is a key pillar of Singapore’s manufacturing industry. Thousands of high value-add jobs in technical as well as non-technical fields are expected to be created in this industry in the next five years with major investments announced to date costing in excess of S$10 billion. ExxonMobil’s multi-billion steam cracker, Invista’s US$100 million plant, Shell’s millions of dollar extraction unit and S$4.4 billion petrochemical complex are just some examples of the major investments.

Singapore is looking to build on its traditional strength as an oil refining centre and petrochemicals hub. Besides being one of the top oil refining centre and top three oil trading centre globally, Singapore is also consistently one of the top three bulk liquids ports annually. Given the government’s unwavering support for the industry through investments in infrastructure and related technology, Singapore is an attractive global manufacturing, distribution and marketing centre for many of the world’s leading petrochemicals and specialty chemicals giants including ExxonMobil, Shell, BASF and Sumitomo Chemical

As testimony to the attractiveness of the synergistic environment and cost-competitive infrastructure established to attract investment from major players in the industry, the dedicated and vertically integrated Chemicals Complex on Jurong Island is home to more than 80 multinational companies with facilities costing more than S$24 billion.

To move up the value chain and improve the R&D capability of the industry, the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR) and Economic Development Board (EDB) established the Institute of Chemical and Engineering Sciences (ICES) to train R&D personnel in the various related fields to lay the foundation for future technology and infrastructure growth. This commitment to research has helped to persuade many existing companies with presence in Singapore as well as start-ups to set up new R&D facilities here. The emphasis on R&D has attracted niche market leaders in the specialty chemical sector to set up operations in Singapore. For instance, currently eight out of the nine top flavours and fragrances companies have operations in Singapore.