09 October 2009

Your Excellency, Ms Janne Julsrud , Ambassador of The Royal Norwegian Embassy, Singapore,

Mr Ragnar Horn, Chairman of RS Platou,

Mr Peter Anker, CEO of RS Platou,

Distinguished guests,
Ladies and gentlemen,
Good morning.

1 It is my pleasure to join you at RS Platou's shipping and offshore seminar organised in celebration of RS Platou's 20th year in Singapore. I would like to extend my warmest congratulations to RS Platou on this occasion. I understand that we have with us this morning a number of global investors and industry leaders from all over the world. Let me extend to you a very warm welcome.

RS Platou in Singapore
2 RS Platou is a prominent player with established shipbroking operations and expertise in the tanker, dry bulk, container and offshore markets. It was amongst the first international shipbrokers to establish operations in Singapore in 1989. Starting small some 20 years ago, RS Platou Singapore has since grown to over 50 staff, of whom more than 40 are brokers. Today, its Singapore office serves as the regional office for Asia. Over the years, RS Platou has been an important partner of Singapore's growth as an International Maritime Centre. I would like to take this opportunity to thank RS Platou for its contributions and continued commitment to the Singapore maritime cluster.

Singapore's development and growth as a shipbroking centre

3 Singapore's maritime industry contributes some 7 per cent of Singapore's Gross Domestic Product and employs more than 100,000 people in over 5,000 maritime establishments. As an International Maritime Centre, Singapore is home to a pool of international shipowners and leading maritime service providers, including shipbrokers.

4 As a major petrochemical and oil trading hub, Singapore has traditionally served as an attractive base for tanker brokers. But beyond this, Singapore has also enjoyed strong growth in offshore shipping operations and related services in Singapore. The output of Singapore's marine and offshore industry grew by 18 per cent to a record high of S$15.4 billion in 2008. Like every other industry however, our maritime sector has not been spared the effects of the economic slowdown, but I have every confidence that we will emerge from this period even stronger than before.

5 We believe that Singapore's leading position in jack-up rig building and FPSO conversion , and her close proximity to oil exploration and drilling activities in Australia, Vietnam, Malaysia and the Middle East will underpin the growth of the marine and offshore industry. In recent years, local and foreign offshore shipping companies that have set up significant operating bases in Singapore include DOF Subsea, Ezra, Prosafe, SMIT, Sevan, Swiber and Swire Pacific Offshore.

6 Tapping on the growth potential of the offshore sector, maritime service providers, ranging from banks and insurers to brokers like RS Platou have chosen Singapore, given her strategic position in the heart of Asia, as the springboard to leverage on these regional opportunities.

Increasing sophistication of the shipbroking sector

7 In many ways, RS Platou's Singapore story over the last 20 years mirrors the growth in vibrancy of Singapore's shipbroking sector. Today, we have about 20 leading shipbroking companies from Norway, Germany, UK and US with significant operations here. Apart from numbers, Singapore's shipbroking sector has also expanded in scope and sophistication of services offered. Most of the major Singapore-based shipbrokers have ventured beyond the traditional role of chartering ships and facilitating sale and purchase transactions into providing value-added services such as shipping finance, research and consultancy and freight derivatives broking.

8 In 2006, RS Platou established RS Platou Finans Singapore to capture the growing demand for finance and alternative financing instruments in the Asian shipping and offshore markets. I understand that this outfit has successfully matched its regional clients' projects with funding from global banks and investors; and concluded sale and leaseback deals with companies in the shipping and offshore sectors. Amidst the current challenging economic environment, I am encouraged to learn that RS Platou is pursuing plans to further expand its suite of services in Singapore.

9 Going forward, to facilitate maritime enterprises and organisations wishing to set up or expand into new lines of maritime business in Singapore, the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (or MPA) has supplemented its Maritime Cluster Fund with an additional S$45 million for the purpose of supporting business development.

10 Besides growing business capabilities in the maritime cluster, it is critical that we also develop the relevant manpower capabilities. MPA has been working closely with industry partners and education institutions to develop a pipeline of maritime talent in support of industry growth. The continual development of maritime manpower capabilities is timely to strategically position ourselves for the upturn. In this respect, our strategy is to focus on three key areas, namely, developing a pipeline of maritime-ready manpower; upgrading the knowledge and skills of those already in the industry; and reaching out to our youths and public through various publicity and outreach programmes.

11 To this end, we added S$50 million to MPA's Maritime Cluster Fund to incentivise industry partners to co-fund postgraduate scholarships, staff training attachments and maritime courses. I encourage the industry to continue tapping on the Maritime Cluster Fund for the training and upgrading of your employees in order to better position yourselves for recovery and future growth.

Conclusion

12 RS Platou's shipping and offshore seminar today provides an excellent platform to facilitate discussions on pertinent issues facing the industry today, even as we prepare for a better tomorrow. The Singapore Government remains committed to growing maritime services in close partnership with industry. We welcome your feedback and I look forward to learning about the outcome of your deliberations.

13 Before I conclude, let me congratulate RS Platou once again on a very successful 20 years in Singapore. Let me also wish RS Platou many more rewarding years ahead. Thank you!