Speech by Mr Tharman Shanmugaratnam, Minister for Finance and Minister for Education, at The Opening Ceremony of Chemoil's Helios Terminal on 28 February 2008, 10.45am, Jurong Island, Singapore

Mr Clyde Michael Bandy,
Chairman and CEO, Chemoil Energy Ltd

Distinguished Guests,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

When Bob Chandran invited me to officiate at the Opening of Chemoil's Helios Terminal, I agreed because I'm impressed by the remarkable drive and energy that he was putting into making Singapore a major hub for Chemoil's business. Today, Chemoil moves up and on, continuing Bob's vision that it should build on its strengths and position itself as a leading energy supplier globally.

The Helios Terminal comes at a time of exceptional growth for the marine, petroleum and petrochemical complex of industries in Singapore. We remain a global leader in oil refining. We are also the preferred bunker port of call globally, and among the top 3 bulk liquid ports in the world. And the petrochemical industry is poised for a whole new phase of growth, with ExxonMobil planning its second petrochemical complex on Jurong Island, costing about US$4 billion, Shell Eastern Petroleum now planning butadiene extraction plant to complement its US$3 billion petrochemicals complex that will be completed in 2009.

Chemoil is today one of the largest independent physical suppliers of marine fuel in the world.

The completion of the Helios Terminal, which has a storage capacity of 448,000 cubic metres with 18 storage tanks, signifies Chemoil's commitment to invest in Singapore in the long-term. The investment not only increases Chemoil's own global footprint but complements Singapore's initiative to develop our storage capacity as the world's largest bunker fuels port. It adds to what we are doing to keep Singapore's place as a premier maritime destination.

Like Chemoil, no one could have predicted what Jurong Island has become today - a home to leading petroleum, petrochemical, specialty chemical and supporting companies with more than S$26 billion in fixed assets investment on the island^[1].

But keeping Singapore a competitive and attractive business destination is continuous work. If we move slowly we fall behind. We have to keep building on our strengths - our connectivity, our reliability, our high-skilled workforce and our openness to people and enterprises from all over the world. We have to ensure that our tax system remains competitive, for companies small and big, local and foreign. And we have keep adding to the vibrance and diversity of our city. It is what brings major global events to Singapore like the inaugural Summer Youth Olympic Games in 2010.

I congratulate Chemoil on its remarkable journey to date. I am sure the opening of the Helios terminal will mark the start of greater collaboration between us in Singapore. As we dedicate this opening ceremony of the Helios Terminal to Bob Chandran, let us set our sights high and work relentlessly to achieve our dreams, the way he always did.

^[1] JTC Corporation, 2007