A speech by The Duke of Cambridge at the Rolls Royce campus, Seletar, Singapore

Catherine and I are delighted to be with you. We have just had a fascinating tour of the Engine Assembly Building, where we have seen for ourselves why the Seletar Campus is such an exciting facility.‬‪

Here is cutting edge aerospace technology developed by one of the United Kingdom’s great global companies.

I know that Rolls-Royce sets as its standard that it should be ‘Trusted To Deliver Excellence’. There can be no doubt that Seletar will deliver exactly that.‬‪

It is no accident that Rolls-Royce has chosen to build this high tech campus in Singapore. This country’s welcoming business environment, highly skilled work force, and entrepreneurial energy, have made it a magnet for many hundreds of British Companies. Many of these, like Rolls-Royce, have made Singapore a hub for their Asia operations. British business now has some 25 billion pounds sterling invested here – a massive vote of confidence in this dynamic country. ‬‪

The Seletar Campus demands superlatives. It includes advanced manufacturing, training and research facilities, all under one roof. It will create 500 new jobs, increasing the Rolls-Royce workforce in Singapore to some 2,000 people. At full capacity, the facility will produce 250 TRENT 900 engines a year. This will involve manufacturing 6,000 wide chord fan blades, one of the most technologically advanced components of this, or indeed any other, aero engine. ‬‪‬‪

I am delighted that this occasion marks the production launch of the first of these wide chord fan blades; and the assembly of the first TRENT 900 engine here.

These are landmark achievements. There will be many more to come as Rolls-Royce expands its business throughout Asia.‬‪

My warm congratulations to you all in Rolls-Royce, and all in Singapore, who have had the vision to create the Seletar facility. It is a symbol of the relationship between this remarkable British company and this remarkable country.

But it is also striking evidence of the much broader partnership between Singapore and those several hundred British Companies who are doing business here to the benefit of both our nations.

It is a relationship we celebrate today and one which I am confident will continue to go from strength to strength. ‬‪

Thank you.