Publishing and Printing in Singapore

On the map, Singapore is often located by its name rather than its land mass of only 692 square kilometers. A small dot in the Indian Ocean, it is an island-state where the longest road trip takes less than 45 minutes and on which 6,400 residents share each square kilometer.

But the adage "good things come in small packages" is never truer than when applied to this tiny island. It boasts a muscular alliance of industry, efficient infrastructure and political stability: a combination that turns a place with no oil fields and natural resources into one of the world's largest oil refining centers and the second busiest port in the world (after Hong Kong). On the average, it services 140,000 vessels from more than 200 shipping lines in a year: a huge volume of cargo-handling activity that translates into economies of scale and highly competitive rates. The recent Asian Freight and Supply Chain Awards gave the island-state another huge feather in its cap: it was voted the best seaport in Asia for the 17th time, and its international airport, Changi, the best airport. Overall, it is a well-oiled entrepot boasting efficient customs clearance, a boon to companies manufacturing on the island and distributing their goods to the rest of the world.

Singapore has long been the choice for multinational corporations—some 7,000 of them, in businesses ranging from financial services to consumer products and pharmaceuticals—as a base for their regional headquarters and manufacturing operations. The labor-intensive portion may have moved on to lower-cost China or Indochina, but the city remains the center for their R&D and high-value manufacturing activities. Singapore's secure and sophisticated legal and financial environment further strengthens its pro-business climate. Add strict adherence to international standards on intellectual property, environmental concerns and labor laws, and it has all the prerequisites for a service, manufacturing and distribution hub.

As is usual with such a land-strapped state, its industries invariably strive for high productivity and maximum efficiency to extract the most out of every square meter. Expansion is measured not by size but in terms of new technology that can shave minutes from existing workflow and that can increase output or enhance product quality and service levels. The objective is never to compete on scale or pricing—for surely no one can outdo China on either count—but to continually improve on quality, turnaround time and service.

Since English is the official language, local suppliers have an easier time navigating the international market, and vice versa. Infrastructural support from the government makes it even better. Take the publishing and printing industries as an example: two government bodies—the Media Development Authority of Singapore (MDA) and International Enterprises Singapore (IE Singapore)—are actively supporting and promoting local publishers and printing/color-separation suppliers on the international stage by way of organizing exhibitions and exploring nontraditional export markets. Suffice to say that the government is throwing its weight behind these industries in all possible scenarios.

In the following pages, PW talks to 19 suppliers to get a snapshot of the publishing and printing/color-separation industries and to take a peek at the direction they are heading. Bear in mind that this review is not exhaustive nor a popularity contest, as we missed some companies owing to clashing schedules or because they did not appear on our radar. Neither is this report intended to endorse, recommend or promote any particular supplier.

Lastly, a note to all Frankfurt Bookfair attendees out there: most of the companies reviewed here will be at the fair and some will be exhibiting at the Singapore Pavilion (jointly organized by MDA and IE Singapore) or at their own booths. Make sure you pay them a visit!