Singapore has taken multiple measures to boost chemical exports

Recently, officials from Singapore's Economic Development Board (EDB) said that the country will continue to strengthen Jurong Island's position as an energy and chemical production center and increase its market share
in Asian chemical exports.
In the next two years, there will be more renovations, expansions and new construction projects in Singapore, with total capital expenditure likely to exceed S$1 billion, and major investment projects by many enterprises will progress steadily
.

Singapore's chemical industry (excluding refined petroleum products) accounted for 36% of manufacturing output in 2021, reaching S$52.
5 billion, the highest since 2018, with prices and demand returning to pre-Covid levels
.
Major chemical investment projects in Singapore, such as the expansion of the Nest biorefinery, the Arkema polyamide 11 (PA11) production facility, SABIC's polyethyleneimine (PEI) polymer plant, Baker Hughes' oilfield chemical plant and BASF's antioxidant plant expansion, are progressing
in Singapore.

Although global construction and commodity costs are rising in the second half of 2022, the long-term view that Asia remains the world's largest driver of chemical demand remains unchanged, and the pace of related investment has never slowed down
, EDB officials said.
These investments also reflect the fact that
Singapore is a chemical production hub in Asia.
On this basis, Singapore has implemented a number of measures to enhance its chemical export capacity
.

Singapore is an investment destination and export hub
for many chemical companies.
During the pandemic, the fragility of international supply and distribution chains was fully exposed
.
In order to prevent supply chain disruptions, Singapore pays more attention to the supply chain needs of multinational companies by providing them with specialized chemicals and materials
.
In addition to the impact of the pandemic, Singapore is working to overcome prevailing geopolitical uncertainty, continuing to work with economies within and across regions, and reaffirming strong trade links and market access
.
EDB officials mentioned that the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), initiated by the 10 ASEAN countries and inviting China, Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand to participate, came into effect
in January this year.
EDB officials said companies are welcome to take advantage of agreements such as RCEP when deciding to invest and build new manufacturing capacity to build more diversified and resilient supply chains
.

At present, the main export market of Singapore's chemical industry is still Asia
.
EDB officials said the country will work to boost chemical exports
to emerging regional economies such as India and Indonesia.
It is expected that the demand for chemical imports in India and Indonesia will increase
rapidly with the economic growth.
As can be seen from the trade data, Singapore's exports of chemicals, plastics and rubber to Indonesia and India account for 20%
of total exports.
Singapore will continue to work closely with global and regional chemical companies to meet the changing needs
of the Indian and Indonesian markets in three areas.
First, product application development and technical support
tailored to the unique industrial and consumer needs of India and Indonesia.
Second, working with chemical companies to increase production capacity
in growth areas such as food and nutrition, health and hygiene, and automotive transportation.
Third, leverage the current situation of Indian and Indonesian companies investing in Singapore to promote and host new partnerships
.
Outside Asia, Singapore will leverage its national reputation and global innovation and talent to strengthen its position in the global chemicals value chain
.

Singapore's Jurong Island is home to more than 100 global chemical companies with an investment of more than S$50 billion, and its green transition is under great pressure
.
To this end, the Singapore government will achieve green growth through industry transformation and comprehensively enhance Jurong Island's competitiveness
in the refining, petrochemicals and specialty chemicals sectors.
In 2021, the Singapore government released the ten-year plan of the "Singapore Green Blueprint 2030", which aims to achieve Singapore's long-term goal of net zero emissions
.
One of the goals is to make Jurong Island a sustainable energy and chemicals industrial park, i.
e.
sustainable Jurong Island, through decarbonisation and sustainable growth, as a new engine
of employment and growth.
This target reflects Singapore's continued commitment to the energy and chemical industries and will ensure that Jurong Island maintains its competitive edge
in refining, petrochemicals and specialty chemicals.
EDB officials say it is conceivable that in the future, more sustainable Jurong Island will continue to be one of the world's
most important energy and chemical export hubs.
By 2050, local production of sustainable products will quadruple and achieve carbon reductions
of more than 6 million mt/year.

At present, a number of multinational companies are investing in green chemical production
in Singapore.
For example, Nest announced a €1.
5 billion expansion plan that will make the Singapore plant its largest renewable refinery
.
Arkema's new high-performance bio-based PA11 plant is expected to come on stream in 2022 to produce bio-based PA11 material
made from castor oil.
Shell is building a pyrolysis oil conversion and upgrading plant to convert plastic waste into cracking feedstock for its petrochemical plant on Wugong Island, which will produce 50,000 tons of treated pyrolysis oil
per year.

In addition, EDB officials said Singapore launched a roadmap
for the transformation of the energy and chemicals industry in 2017.
The main objective at that time was to improve productivity, efficiency and operational safety on Jurong Island, including transforming existing energy and chemical companies through the adoption of innovative technologies such as advanced manufacturing and the Industrial Internet of Things, and enabling the transformation and upgrading
of these multinational enterprises.
At present, progress in these areas is also going well
.
BASF's US$45 million agricultural solutions production facility, scheduled to be completed in 2022, is designed to handle six different formulation technologies and will provide the company's patented crop protection products
to farmers in the Asia-Pacific region.
Firmenich Fragrances also established a culinary and smart protein innovation hub
in Singapore in 2021.
As a regional R&D hub in Asia, the new center of expertise for alternative proteins in meat and dairy products will create and develop sustainable and innovative solutions to meet the needs
of the Asian market.