Singapore - Nestle to invest more than S$5.5m to strengthen R&D base in S'pore

 SINGAPORE: Swiss food and beverage giant Nestle celebrates its 100th year in Singapore.

Brands such as Milo, Nescafe and Maggie continue to be staples in many Singaporean households, but the company said it has to keep up with customers through innovation.

A century on, 95 per cent of of all Singaporean households still have at least one Nestle product in their homes.

Nestle plans to invest more than S$5.5 million to strengthen its R&D base in Singapore.

This will be used to further develop its MILO, coffee mixes, culinary and out of home products.

Singapore will also become the lead centre for quality control of all markets in Asian, Oceania and African markets.

Nestle also plans to set up its main training centre for the whole of Asia here.

Singapore was chosen for its well-connected infrastructure, deep talent pool and stable economy.

The company employs more than 600 people in Singapore and operates a major manufacturing facility in Jurong, which houses Nestle's largest malt extract manufacturing plant in the world.

It added that Singapore is also home to the Commodity Purchasing Competence Centre where key raw materials including oils, coffee, cocoa, grains and sugar are purchased for the region.

Singapore is also the base for Nestle's Regional Treasury Centre, where operations responsible for the cash management, funding, forex and risks management in 23 countries are based.

Nestle Singapore managing director Valerio Nannini said: "The $5.5 million will be used to create a consumer centric environment. We are basically extending the building where the consumer will interact with our R&D and marketing community in order for us to tap into future products and future thinking for new products and businesses.

"Regarding the job creation, it's still early because firstly, we still have to build the place. We then have to see how things will develop. We are looking for the best people to work in this centre."

- CNA/fa

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