Asia Pulp and Paper (APP) is one of the many largest companies in Singapore. Situated at 7 Shenton Way in Asia City, Singapore, it is only about a 5-minute walk from the nearest station on Singapore’s Mass Rapid Transit (MRT).
Factors to consider for a good Asia pulp and paper industry in Singapore
1. Availability of Raw Material
The most important factor in any industry is the availability of raw material. A good Asia Pulp and Paper is a paper mill that produces newsprint. Located in a city where there are many raw materials available, Asia Pulp and Paper has an advantage over other companies. The infrastructure to transport the raw materials to the mill is good which makes it possible for Asia Pulp and Paper to produce its own paper. This is the main reason why it is one of the largest companies in Singapore.
2. Strong Management Team
Singapore has many educated managers in its small area. This gives Asia Pulp and Paper a lot of managerial advantage over other companies. The management team must have good experience and up-to-date knowledge about the company to be able to keep it running smoothly for a long period of time until further expansion plans can be realized in other countries like Malaysia, Indonesia and Vietnam.
3. Local and Foreign Investors
Investors from local as well as foreign countries are essential for a good Asia Pulp and Paper in Singapore to expand. For example, a few years ago, APP had a joint venture with an American paper company known as Vanderbilt Paper Corporation. The main purpose of the joint venture was to develop Asia Pulp and Paper into a world-class paper mill. As a result of this development, Asia Pulp and Paper was able to have a better view on how the American paper industry operates on a daily basis. Because of this, Asia Pulp and Paper was able to improve many new ways of making paper from the Americans.
4. Strong Support From Political Parties
The amount of support derived from the political parties is one important factor to consider for a good asia pulp and paper industry in Singapore. This can be seen in the year 2004 when there was a new government formed. One of the first decisions made by the new government was to give more support to Asia Pulp and Paper. This new government’s symbol was a lion. Being the largest papermaker in Singapore, APP used a lion as its symbol too as a gesture of goodwill. This helped APP gain more support from the new government and maintain its status as one of the largest companies in Singapore.
5. Low Taxes
One factor that is often overlooked is taxes. The government needs to collect taxes from companies so that they will be able to maintain their operations. The tax level should however not be too high, because if taxes are too high, costs of operations will get higher which will eventually lower the businesses’ profits. If this happens, companies won’t be able to expand their operations and they may not even be able to survive. The government in Singapore has been trying very hard to reduce the tax burden on companies so that more local and foreign investments into Singapore can become possible.
