P&G Singapore Innovation Center Celebrates Anniversary with S$12 Million Investment

Singapore Innovation Center (SgIC) marks five years of breakthrough R&D across its leadership brands like Pantene,Head & Shoulders,SK-II,Olay,Vicks and Febreze.

P&G announces S$12 million investment to develop the Next Billion Dollar Opportunities from Singapore through GrowthWorks,a corporate intrapreneurship and venture-building unit.

SINGAPORE,March 7,2019 -- Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG),today celebrated the fifth anniversary of its Singapore Innovation Center (SgIC),further reinforcing its commitment to advance Research and Development across its leadership brands from Singapore. Deputy Prime Minister & Coordinating Minister for Economic and Social Policies,Mr Tharman Shanmugaratnam was the Guest-of-Honour at the event.

(left to right) Dr Raj Thampuran; Managing Director,A*STAR,Ms. Kathy Fish; Chief Research,Development & Innovation Officer,Procter & Gamble,Mr. Tharman Shanmugaratnam; Deputy Prime Minister & Coordinating Minister for Economic and Social Policies,Mr. Magesvaran Suranjan; President of Asia Pacific & Indian Subcontinent,Middle East and Africa,Procter & Gamble and Ms. Thien Kwee Eng; Assistant Managing Director,EDB celebrated the fifth anniversary of P&G’s Singapore Innovation Center (SgIC).

Established in 2014 with an initial investment of S$250 million,the SgIC employs 500 researchers,engineers and PhDs in the state-of-the-art facility. Uniquely designed to allow P&G to test,formulate and launch products faster,SgIC spans the entire innovation chain in multiple product categories with capabilities in consumer research,formulation,fragrance design,new materials,process development,equipment design,packaging design,performance testing,and safety assessmentin categories like Hair Care,Skin and Personal Care,Home Care and Personal Health Care.

"We have made significant progress since DPM Tharman inaugurated the Singapore Innovation Center five years ago. Through the product innovations spearheaded by SgIC,we have improved the lives of consumers in Singapore and around the world," said Magesvaran Suranjan,President,P&G Asia Pacific and Indian Sub-Continent,Middle East and Africa. SgIC has led innovation end-to-end -- from developing new products like SK-II RNA Power,Pantene Micellar,Head & Shoulders Supreme,Joy Miracle Clean and Vicks Baby Rub,to new experiences like Olay Skin Advisor,to new packaging designs like SK-II Festive bottles.

On its fifth year,SgIC reinforced its aspiration to lead breakthrough research and development from Singapore. P&G announced a S$12 million investment to develop the Next Billion Dollar Opportunities in partnership with the Economic Development Board (EDB). GrowthWorks is set up as an intrapreneurship development and venture-building unit in Singapore. It will transform P&G's innovation approach to strengthen business growth and to create new sources of competitive advantage. It will enable new brands,new technology platforms and new business models with a dedicated team of 'intrapreneurs'. This investment includes a seed fund of S$8 million for its 'intrapreneurs' to run lean experiments and closely collaborate with Singapore-based enterprises. P&G aims to grow at least three new businesses with billion-dollar opportunities,which are created,validated,incubated,scaled and globally-headquartered in Singapore.

"At P&G,we are raising the bar on delivering 'irresistible superiority' in our products,packaging,communication and experiences," said Kathy Fish,Chief Research,Development & Innovation Officer,P&G. "We are also innovating the way we innovate by accelerating the speed and quality of our learning. GrowthWorks brings together the entrepreneurial spirit of a lean start-up and the scale and resources of a corporation. We aspire to innovate faster for our Asian consumers,and to continue contributing to the innovation ecosystem here in Singapore," added Kathy.

GrowthWorks makes P&G one of the first large corporations in Singapore to commit significant resources and build critical capabilities towards developing new businesses from Singapore. It will also be P&G's largest commitment towards its GrowthWorks programme outside of the United States.This follows EDB's recently announced intention to work with corporations in Singapore to grow Corporate Entrepreneurship and create new ventures. In this partnership with P&G,EDB will participate in the strategy,network and risk-sharing capital of P&G endeavors.

"The P&G SgIC has been a strategic partner in our efforts to place Singapore at the forefront of innovation and creating diverse jobs for Singaporeans. We are pleased that SgIC will be extending its capabilities with GrowthWorks to accelerate and enable greater commercialization success from its research & development and innovation efforts. We are excited by the new ventures that P&G will create and grow from Singapore as a result,and welcome more corporates to undertake such efforts in Singapore to create new growth opportunities for their global business," said Thien Kwee Eng,Assistant Managing Director,Singapore Economic Development Board (EDB).

The latest milestone in SgIC's 5-year history,GrowthWorks is another example of how SgIC continues to grow and innovate with its partners:

P&G's deep R&D partnership began in 2008,and was further expanded in 2013 through the signing of a Master Research Collaboration Agreement with A*STAR to drive product innovations that create value for consumers.Today,the agreement enables P&G to work with Singapore's strong ecosystem of research entities and institutes of higher learning.

In 2016,P&G partnered with The Logistics Institute-- Asia Pacific of the National University of Singapore to jointly innovate on Supply Chain Management through close connections between the industry and academia.

In 2017,P&G partnered with Singapore Polytechnic (SP) and Workforce Singapore to create training and job opportunities as Associate Researchers for diploma graduates.

Also in 2017,P&G launched its E-Center,a new digital innovation center in partnership with EDB. The first of its kind outside of the U.S.,the E-Center uses technology to transform key areas of its operations: Analytics,Supply Chain Management and e-Business. The P&G Asia Pacific Planning Center,which is the heart of the company's Supply Chain operations,is located in SgIC.

In 2018,P&G forged a new partnership with A*STAR's Advanced Remanufacturing and Technology Center (ARTC) to integrate new technologies to become a Manufacturer of the Future.

The P&G Singapore Innovation Center will continue to advance Research & Development and improve everyday life in meaningful ways through its Billion Dollar Brands.P&G GrowthWorks will accelerate the speed and quality of innovation to create the next Billion Dollar Opportunity from Singapore to the rest of the world.

About Procter & Gamble

P&G serves consumers around the world with one of the strongest portfolios of trusted,quality,leadership brands,including Always®,Ambi Pur®,Ariel®,Bounty®,Charmin®,Crest®,Dawn®,Downy®,Fairy®,Febreze®,Gain®,Gillette®,Head & Shoulders®,Lenor®,Olay®,Oral-B®,Pampers®,Pantene®,SK-II®,Tide®,Vicks®,and Whisper®. The P&G community includes operations in approximately 70 countries worldwide. Please visithttp://www.pg.comfor the latest news and information about P&G and its brands.

Photo - https://photos.prnasia.com/prnh/20190307/2396250-1