Singapore:
An EMS hub
Singapore’s pro-business and transparent governance
is attracting the world’s top EMS providers to shift
their base into the country.
The Machinist reviews their contribution
Manufacturing has become
a key pillar of Singapore's
economy since the 1990s'
outsourcing boom. As part of the
global electronics assembly value
chain, the republic has been
building up a vibrant electronics
manufacturing services (EMS)
community on its shores.
EMS companies have being
recognised for their arsenal of
capabilities including printed
circuit board (PCB) assembly, final
box-build assembly and testing. In
recent years their activities have
being expanded to give a broader
scope to the value chain.
These comprise of front-end
design, logistics and supply chain
management, HQ and shared
services along with the after-sales
services of return and repair.
According to research firm
iSuppli, EMS providers - with their
cost competitiveness, operational
efficiency and global footprint - are
likely to feature heavily in original
equipment manufacturers' (OEMs)
supply chains in the future. The
research firm has also predicted
that the global EMS revenues will
surge ahead at a compound annual
growth rate of 9.5 per cent from S$
170.4 billion (US$ 100.7 billion) in
2003 to S$ 278.2 billion (US$ 164.4
billion) by 2007.
Today, Singapore hosts some of
the world's top 10 EMS players
such as Flextronics International,
Solectron Corporation, Sanmina-
SCI Corporation, Celestica Inc, Jabil
Circuit and Benchmark Electronics
in addition to prominent local
players such as Venture
Corporation, Lurong Hi-Tech
Industries, Beyonics Technology
and COB Technology.
In 2004, the EMS industry in
Singapore had a manufacturing
output of S$ 5.2 billion (US$ 3.1
billion) and value added (VA) of S$
621 million (US$ 367 million). With
this strong pool of EMS providers,
Singapore is primed to offer
complete manufacturing solutions
to new and existing OEM players.
Opportunities in high valueadded
manufacturing
Exciting manufacturing
opportunities are rapidly surfacing
in the new sectors of medical
devices, aerospace and industrial
equipment, which are still in the
nascent stage of OEM outsourcing.
The medical devices sector
includes instrumentation,
diagnostic equipment and medical
consumables. Flight navigation
control modules and anti-collision
electronics control modules are
the in-demand products for the
aerospace industry, while the
industrial equipment sector
includes the manufacturing of
semi-conductor equipments,
wafer probes, servers
....CONTD
