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Roche launches US$500 mln manufacturing arm in Singapore

Roche, a Swiss drug-making firm, specializes in research-focused healthcare particularly in the areas of pharmaceuticals and diagnostics. The company opened its first biologics manufacturing site in the Asia Pacific region in Tuas yesterday. Its two facilities cost Roche US$500 million and will be used to produce drugs Avastin and Lucentis. Avastin is a targeted cancer therapy which treats various tumour types such as colorectal cancer, lung cancer, breast cancer, brain cancer and renal cell carcinoma, while Lucentis is used to treat patients with wet age-related macular degeneration, a leading cause of blindness in people over 55. On the selection of Singapore, Dr Patrick Y. Yang, Executive Vice President of Genentech Technical Operations, which is a wholly-owned member of Roche Group stated: “As we supply a global market, Singapore offers important advantages to Roche’s manufacturing network, including a skilled labor pool, nearby biotechnology expertise and a supportive business environment.” Finance Minister Mr Tharman Shanmugaratnam, who was also at the opening ceremony, said: “Singapore is proud to be Roche’s first site for biologics manufacturing in Asia. The site expresses a number of things that are making Singapore's future – cutting-edge manufacturing technologies, the commercialisation of science, a commitment to develop a top-quality workforce and the deepening partnerships that leading global players are forging with Singapore.” He added that Singapore was committed to building its biologics manufacturing sector, with six plants so far set up in the last four years. When these are fully operational, they are expected to create over 1,000 jobs for employees.

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SingPost delivers $40.5 mln profit

The mailman definitely delivers. Singapore Post Limited reported an increase in net profit by 8.3% to $40.5 million. The group’s mail revenue did decrease 4.4% to S$87.6 million on lower international mail contributions. So which part of Singapore Post’s business was reeling in the profits? The company’s logistics revenue increased 142.6%, benefiting from the first full quarterly contribution from Quantium Solutions, a full-service information technology consulting company, offering both consulting and technical support to middle-market businesses and government agencies. Without Quantium Solutions, it is believed that the group would have posted a 4% decline this quarter. And although revenue from Speedpost saw a decline, rental and property-related income continued to grow, rising 23.1% to S$10.1 million, with higher rental income from Singapore Post Centre and the leasing of space at the repurposed post office buildings. Group CEO of Singapore Post Limited, Wilson Tan is cautiously optimistic about the postal service industry. “Although the global economy is showing signs of recovery, the postal industry typically experiences a longer recovery runway. We are certainly not out of the woods yet and we continue to face unrelenting pressures from the operating environment.” He added: “We remain disciplined on cost management, and are focused on expanding Quantium Solutions’ business beyond cross-border mail and extending its core competencies in Asia Pacific. We will continue to reinvent ourselves and stay relevant to our customers, while actively pursuing new growth opportunities.”

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1,500 APEC leaders to participate in APEC CEO Summit next week

The APEC CEO Summit to be held in Singapore next week has 1,500 participants confirmed to attend. This is the largest attendance in record for the event since its inception in 1996.

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