Singapore, Kuala Lumpur committed to keep supplies flowing across Causeway

SINGAPORE and Malaysia have a shared commitment to keep supplies flowing in from across the Causeway - and Singapore's supply chain is resilient enough to withstand any potential disruptions going forward, according to Minister for Trade and Industry Chan Chun Sing in a Zoom media conference on Wednesday morning.

Responding to a media query, Mr Chan said he has been in touch with his Malaysian counterpart after Kuala Lumpur declared a state of emergency and movement control order - and both sides agreed to continue to work to keep the supply chain going between the two countries. And so far, he noted, there have been no disruptions.

"Over the last two days, there have been no disruptions to our supply chains and goods have continued to flow freely between our countries," Mr Chain reaffirmed in a subsequent Facebook posting.

Mr Chan also pointed out that Singapore has continued to diversify its supply sources, build up stockpiles and boost local production of essential supplies in anticipation of any disruptions caused by unforeseen external developments. The effort has been given a more urgent boost in the past year because of the Covid-19 pandemic, he said.

Mr Chan said the government is quietly confident but not complacent of the resilience of Singapore's supply chains and it is reviewing it on a daily basis.

The online media conference was called after the minister's visit to DuPont Singapore, where the US chemical giant announced it has completed the construction of a new enzyme blending plant here.

A NEWSLETTER FOR YOU

Friday, 8.30 am

Asean Business

Business insights centering on South-east Asia's fast-growing economies.

Sign Up

DuPont declined to reveal the cost of the investment, but Mr Chan said the new facility will serve the Asia-Pacific region with "advanced enzymes that improve the sustainability of conventional processes by reducing the use of chemicals, enabling energy efficiency, water efficiency and waste reduction".

He said the new plant would bring new capabilities to Singapore, helping in its efforts to build Singapore as a speciality chemical hub in the region.

Special chemicals is a fast-growing business in the region which will provide Singaporeans good jobs and high pay, according to him.

Mr Chan said that increasingly, global players in the industry are drawn to set up shop in Singapore not just because of investment incentives but also because of the close nexus between public laboratories and companies in research and development, the intellectual property protection provided, the talent pool, the reliability of supplies and the cluster of local supporting firms.