NUMBERS OF S TUDENTS B Y AREA OF S TUD Y
Source: Ministry of Education Singapore, Education statistics digest 2013
Thousands of students
Accountancy
Architecture & Building
Business & Administration
Dentistry
Education
Engineering sciences
Fine & applied arts
Health sciences
Humanities & social sciences
Information technology
Law
Mass communication
Medicine
Natural, physical &
Services
28
Intake
Enrollment
Graduates
10 4 0 6 1416 12
strong reputation too, adds further value to their selling power.”
Commercial considerations saw Transerve move from a primarily retail-
focused business to a greater emphasis on the rental of its accommoda-
tion units. “Originally, the containers Transerve produced sold for 20-
30,000 SGD, or 15-23,000 USD each,” says Robert Liu, CEO of Transerve.
“Now, some of our customized units- kitchens for example- sell for
100-200,000 SGD, or 77-160,000 USD. The most specialized units, such
as the extreme environment units are purchased by our customers for
two million SGD, or 1. 6 million USD. Sales are not the sole preserve of
the business however, as rental of units to companies- often for use in
drilling camps- is another useful source of income. Alongside the rental
of accommodation units, this is supported by lease of tanks, gen-sets,
our fabrication is for ourselves- rental of units allows us to remain cost
competitive, yet satisfy customer needs.” All of Transerve’s living units
are customizable; the more specialist units are an area where their
company is seeking to gain further market penetration, as they are more
profitable.“ One prime example of this would be our extreme environ-
ment modules, which can handle temperatures of as low as minus 50
degrees Celsius. This is useful offshore at Sakhalin, for example,” Liu
explains.
SURVIVAL OF THE FITTEST
Enterprises in Singapore don’t just tinker with their
product offering to remain competitive; companies
often have to entirely rearrange, reorganize and restructure their strategic operation. The willingness
of both indigenous companies and new entrants to
embrace this need for change is one of the generating
engines of the fluidity and dynamism that powers the
Singaporean economy. “Around ten years back, IHC
Merwede’s workshop here in Singapore was formed,”
says Francis Tang, managing director of IHC Asia
Pacific. “It remains focused on the dredging and parts provision work.
This business was fueled by a large infrastructure boom in Singapore:
land reclamation and dredging being a significant part of this. All the
significant dredging players were operating here and when their vessels
required servicing, IHC Merwede was well placed to provide this service.
The workshop remains focused on this market sector, which is a particular
strength of IHC Merwede: 70 percent of the world’s dredgers are built
in Holland by the company.”
IHC’s recent move towards the offshore sector was prompted by a
desire to move to take advantage of further opportunities. IHC, like a
number of companies, saw diving support ship vessels as a route into
the region, with Singapore providing a particularly useful central hub
for these operations.
WHY SINGAPORE
Robert Liu, CEO of Transerve Cabins , a native Singaporean business, whose
principal offering is offshore selling and leasing accommodation units, explains the factors that make the Singapore hub a commercial success.
The CEO tells of the products his company is offering from Singapore. “There are many conditions
that these containers must be designed to face. Our
units are ABS/DNV/A60 fire rated/ zone 2/blast rated.
We can install all kinds of protection and electronic
systems into the accommodation units to make sure
they are comfortable. All our living units are customizable; the more specialist units are something we are
seeking to gain further market penetration in retailing, as they are more
profitable. One prime example of this would be our extreme environment
modules, which can handle temperatures of as low as minus 50 degrees
Celsius and operate in high salinity environments. This is useful offshore at
Sakhalin, for example” explains Liu.
Factor Source of benefit Implication
Tangibles
• infrastructure
Skilled;workforce
•;Short;supply;chain
•;Excellent;connectivity
•;High;productivity
•;Efficient;delivery;of
projects
•;Access;to;right;equipment
•;Access;to;neighbouring
markets;;worldwide;busi-
ness;connection
Intangibles
•;Legal;framework
&;governance
• English
•;Presence;of;stock
exchange
• Security
•;Ease;of;communication
•;Access;to;capital
Robert Liu, CEO,
Transerve
Francis Tang,
managing
director, IHC
Asia Pacific
