PM Lee: Singapore will look after interests of oil firms

Assurance seeks not just to encourage them to stay here but to do more
Chuang Peck Ming, Business Times 15 Jul 10;

WHILE Singapore has made international commitments to reduce the emission of carbon dioxide, it will still look after the long-term interests of oil and chemical companies that have - or will - put their money in the country.

'That's the specific message I have for them,' Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said yesterday when he briefed Singapore reporters after wrapping up a two-day visit to Houston, home of many oil and chemical giants.

The reassurance, which Mr Lee personally gave to many of the chief executives of the oil and chemical companies, was made not just to encourage the companies to continue to stay in Singapore but also to do more there.

Mr Lee said it was useful to reiterate the point even to ExxonMobil, now building one of its biggest projects in Singapore.

He said ExxonMobil had gathered many of the industry players for him to meet during his visit. They included those in the oil supporting business whom Mr Lee said he found useful to talk to.

If Singapore wants to build a strong oil and chemical cluster, it will need also to attract the supporting firms to set up shop there, he said.

Mr Lee said his latest visit to the United States - he also stopped over in Idaho to meet up with chief executives of Fortune 500 companies - has been timely. The US economy is on the mend and it's also a time of change for the country, he noted. 'So it's been useful to get a sense of the mood of the business people (there),' he said.

While US CEOs are confident about their own businesses, Mr Lee said they are more cautious when it comes to the broader economy. Yet the CEOs don't see another dip in economic activity, even though growth is likely to be lower than expected.

'It's not a bad situation for us in Asia,' Mr Lee said. 'It means we have the basis for growth and to continue to transform and prosper in Asia.'

Senior Minister of State for Trade and Industry S Is- waran, who is accompanying Mr Lee, said the CEOs they met are excited about the opportunities in Asia.

Those that already have a presence in Singapore can see that it is in an advantageous position to tap the opportunities.

Mr Iswaran said the CEOs they met like Singapore's infrastructure, legal system, intellectual protection and the quality of its people - but they like to have more of such people to work for them.

Going forward, Mr Iswaran said, Singapore must ensure that it has a ready pool of talent to attract and keep businesses anchored there.

Support for petrochem players will continue: PM
Chua Chin Hon, Straits Times 15 Jul 10;

HOUSTON: Singapore's long-term support for the petrochemical industry will not flag even if a future international treaty should require the country to cut greenhouse gas emissions, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong has said.

Speaking to the Singapore media after a roundtable discussion here with energy giant ExxonMobil and other related industry players, Mr Lee said the Government had been successful in drawing these companies to Singapore over the years and hoped they would invest even more in future.

He added: 'The industry is one which is a significant emitter of greenhouse gases, and we want them to know that while we may have commitments to reduce our (carbon dioxide) emissions under any international treaty, we are conscious of their interests and we want to protect those interests and we would like them to continue to stay in Singapore. That was a specific message that I had for them.'

ExxonMobil is building in Singapore one of its largest projects ever, a new chemicals complex that consists of a steam cracker and multiple downstream process units. When it starts operating next year, the complex will add jobs as well as make Singapore's petrochemical industry more competitive.

But governments around the world are also facing growing calls to tackle climate change and curb greenhouse gas emissions. Although last December's climate change summit in Copenhagen failed to broker a global pact on cutting emissions, observers still expect a compromise to be reached at some point on reducing carbon dioxide emissions.

The potential impact of such an agreement on the energy and petrochemical industries, however, remains unclear.

During the roundtable discussion, Mr Lee said he reassured ExxonMobil that he and the Singapore Government continued to back the company and its project.

'They know it, but I think it is useful to reiterate the point,' he added.

Mr Lee's visit this week to Houston, the United States' energy capital, was his first as Prime Minister.

He said he was impressed by the multicultural city's vibrancy and diversity, and was told that Houston in fact shared many similarities with Singapore.

'(They are both) open, diverse, cosmopolitan, and have many different populations and a high inflow of immigrants,' he said, recounting a conversation where journalists of the Houston Chronicle daily compared their city to Singapore.

Demographic figures show that nearly 45 per cent of Houston's population comprises ethnic minorities, from African Americans and Hispanics to Indians and Chinese.

'There is a certain civic pride and confidence and a thrust to a better tomorrow,' Mr Lee said of Houston. 'And I think that is the way Singapore should be.'

Prior to visiting Houston, the Prime Minister addressed about 300 top executives and investors in the IT, media and knowledge industries at the annual Sun Valley conference in Idaho.

Senior Minister of State for Trade and Industry and Education S. Iswaran, who is accompanying Mr Lee on this trip, said many business leaders expressed their admiration for Singapore's infrastructure, legal system, intellectual property rights protection and the quality of its workforce. But they also said they would like a bigger talent pool.

'That, I think, is a consideration for us going forward,' said Mr Iswaran. 'How do we ensure that we continue to have talented Singaporeans augmented by talent from outside Singapore in order to attract and sustain these businesses?'

While in Idaho, Mr Lee also visited the Singapore F-15SG pilots and crews who are training with their US counterparts in the vast Mountain Home Air Force Base.

He left Houston for Singapore yesterday.