Consumer goods giant Procter & Gamble (P&G) is planning to set up an innovation centre in Singapore, only its fourth such facility in the Asian region.

The others are in China's capital Beijing, Kobe in Japan and Bangalore, India.

P&G Asia associate director Anthony Rose said the centre will focus on beauty and grooming products, as well as corporate research and development.

So far, details of the centre, including the cost and location, are limited.

However, Mr Rose said the centre is due for completion in 2013, with work to commence over the next few months. A more detailed announcement will be made towards the year end, he added.

P&G owns a host of well-known fast-moving consumer products. Its beauty and grooming brands include Braun, Burberry, Dolce & Gabbana, Gillette, Hugo Boss and Olay.

Mr Rose said that Singapore is an emerging global hub for life sciences and biotechnology, and is an attractive setting for an innovation centre.

The Republic is ideally located to bring P&G closer to key emerging market consumers in South-east Asia, he added.

P&G is also set to expand its research and development (R&D) capabilities elsewhere in the Asian region.

It will be increasing R&D investments in Asia and will strategically locate R&D resources throughout the region.

P&G will expand its research presence in Beijing with a primary focus on household care. Beijing will also serve as the regional engineering centre.

The company will also sharply define areas of focus for innovation efforts at its sites in Kobe and Bangalore.

Its technical centre in Kobe will be converted into a specialist hub centre focusing on fabric and home care solutions and P&G Prestige Products - its fine fragrance and cosmetics division.

The Bangalore specialist hub centre will turn its efforts to innovation techniques such as modelling and simulation.

The Indian site will also focus on P&G's model for developing innovations, not just in-house, but by collaborating with external third-party specialists - called Connect and Develop.

These plans 'will allow us to support our fast expansion and growth in Asia, so that we can reach and more completely serve more consumers', said P&G Asia group president Deborah Henretta.

According to P&G's statement yesterday, the investments will enable the consumer goods giant to accelerate its pace of innovation via access to emerging technologies and top innovators.

It will also allow for stronger collaboration across product categories and provide greater career and development opportunities for research and development employees whose numbers in the regions are also anticipated to increase.

P&G, which operates in about 80 countries, was ranked 12th among the 'world's most innovative companies' by BusinessWeek last year.

Source: The Straits Times © Singapore Press Holdings Ltd. Reprinted with permission.