P&G to invest SG$100m in new manufacturing facility in Singapore

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Consumer goods company, Proctor & Gamble (P&G) will be investing more than US$100 million into setting up a new manufacturing facility in Singapore.

According to media reports, the announcement was made at the company’s 35^th anniversary gala dinner, held earlier this week on 20 June 2023.

The investment, according to the company’s president for Asia-Pacific, Middle East and Africa, Stanislav Vecera, is a step towards solidifying P&G’s position as an epicentre for trade, technology and talent in Singapore. Moreover, according to Vecera, Singapore was chosen as the home of its next facility for several reasons. The reasons reportedly include Singapore's strategic location, business infrastructure, innovation and digital ecosystem as well as its talent, which made it a viable option.

Don't miss: P&G names new media partner in Singapore and Malaysia

Singapore’s deputy prime minister, Lawrence Wong also spoke at the gala and reportedly stressed on the importance of partnerships with companies like P&G. He also emphasised on the importance of developing strong trust between employers, workers, unions and the government. " By working together with all these partners, we build a reliable and trusted eco-system, one where the whole is greater than the sum of the individual parts, and where Singapore can always be relied upon to deliver results," he added.

Wong went on to note that the prior economic conventions that Singapore has relied on for growth, such as open markets, free trade and maximum efficiency, are no longer being prioritised due to national security concerns. "That's why we all feel a palpable sense of unease - the move away from an integrated global economy is accelerating, and no one knows where we are heading towards, or what will be the landing point for the new global order," he explained.

To combat the move away from an integrated global economy, Wong posited that Singapore aims to reframe its challenges into opportunities to work closely with partners.

MARKETING-INTERACTIVE has reached out to P&G for more information.

According to CNA, P&G has stood to benefit from Singapore's meticulous IP ecosystem which spurs investments in research and development. For instance, the company chose Singapore for its innovation centre, which is reportedly the largest private research facility in the city-state. With more than 450 scientists and engineers from 27 nationalities, the innovation centre houses more than 250 research laboratories that help develop P&G’s global product range, including brands like Pantene, Ambi Pur and Pampers.

Singapore is also home to P&G’s Asia Pacific headquarters, reportedly from which the brand manages its regional IP filings and leverages the country’s IP ecosystem to protect its innovations.

To strengthen its growth in Singapore and Malaysia, P&G also launched a vGrow programme for the first time in the neighbouring countries to help accelerate innovation by leveraging the collaborative start-up ecosystem with an "All in to WIN" mindset. Through the vGROW programme, P&G provided a "level playing field" to start-ups, new players and established business to get their best ideas and innovative solutions in for P&G business need.

This comes as the programme emphasises P&G's mission, a "Force for Growth" and "Force for Good", aiming to drive innovative solutions across multiple stages of its operations. It also aligns with the company's commitment to innovating superior products for its consumers and being a good corporate citizen through a wide range of programs, including environmental sustainability, ethics and responsibility, equality and inclusion, and community impact.

On the agency front, P&G appointed Starcom to manage its media planning and buying duties for TV and digital in Singapore and Malaysia for three years. MARKETING-INTERACTIVE understands that the agency will oversee 17 brands except SK-II, which remains with incumbent MediaCom. The appointment is understood to be effective 1 December and the RFI and RFP process lasted 12 months. It is also understood that the account returns to Starcom after 11 years.

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