Swiss food and beverage giant Nestle has announced plans to invest more than US$4.37 million (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 will open its fourth Asian R&D centre later this year in India. This will add to its 32 R&D centers worldwide, three of which are in Asia – Singapore, Shanghai, and Beijing. The company also plans to set up its main training centre for the whole of Asia in Singapore.
Nestle Singapore managing director Valerio Nannini said, “The S$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.”
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.
Singapore is also home to Nestle's 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.
