JAKARTA, SAWIT INDONESIA – Wilmar International Limited, Asia’s leading agribusiness group and the National University of Singapore (NUS) have established a new joint research laboratory to conduct cutting-edge clinical nutrition and synthetic biology research to create healthier food products as well as to devise green production technologies for industrial enzymes and biochemicals.
The new WIL@NUS Corporate Laboratory was officially launched today by Mr Heng Swee
Keat, Minister for Finance and Chairman of the National Research Foundation Singapore
(NRF). Based at the NUS Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, the S$110 million research facility
is jointly set up by Wilmar, NUS and NRF. This laboratory seeks to strengthen Singapore’s
innovation system by conducting industry-relevant research and development.
Wilmar’s Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Mr Kuok Khoon Hong, said, As a Singapore headquartered company, Wilmar is very honoured to be able to leverage the world-class clinical research capabilities of NUS in this academic-industry collaboration. “We hope that this gathering of great minds will result in the development of new technologies that can enhance the quality of our food products and at the same time reduce our carbon footprint. This way, consumers worldwide will benefit,” he said according to official releases.
NUS President Professor Tan Eng Chye said, “This win-win partnership combines NUS’ strong
expertise in biomedical sciences and translational medicine with Wilmar’s rich industryexperience and global networks to address two pressing real-world challenges – lifestylerelated diseases and sustainable production of industrial chemicals. We look forward toworking closely with Wilmar to create and commercialise scientific innovations to improve health outcomes as well as generate societal and economic benefits for Singapore, Asia andbeyond.”
NRF Chief Executive Officer Professor Low Teck Seng said, “The partnership between Wilmar and NUS is significant as it builds on Singapore’s growing research expertise in synthetic biology, nutrition and food science. The WIL@NUS Corporate Laboratory leverages the deep knowledge and strong capabilities in NUS, and will see researchers work with industry to create products that have high value for health, nutrition and industrial use. Companies are investing more in R&D to create new products and businesses for growth. We will continue to
support industry-academia partnerships to translate cutting-edge technologies into health and economic benefits for Singapore.”
foto: National University of Singapore