Japan-based Sumitomo Rubber Industries (SRI) has decided to set up a natural rubber (NR) procurement subsidiary in Singapore to ensure a stable supply of the high-quality raw material after suspected declines in production by major Asian producers. A recent statement claimed the new unit, Sumitomo Rubber Singapore, will officially start operations in April 2020with a capital of US$18 million. Previously, the procurement of NR was handled by the NR Division of the company’s tyre subsidiary in the Republic, Sumitomo Rubber Asia (Tyre).
The statement also claimed that the Singapore unit will govern SRI’s sustainability efforts with regards to NR, including its contributions to the Global Platform for Sustainable Natural Rubber (GPSNR). The Sumitomo Rubber Group was a founding member of GPSNR, which was launched in October 2018 as a multi-stakeholder platform; the Group has since been actively engaged in various sustainability activities to ensure the future of NR.
Meanwhile, in securing stable supplies of NR, SRI mentioned that its corporate environment will undergo “a series of major changes,” which could include mergers and market withdrawals within the industry. These stand to create greater risks of monopolies, price fluctuations and “other potential issues in various markets.”