Confectionary giant Mondelez International yesterday opened a state-of-the-art facility in Jurong that will focus on innovation and developing new products and technologies for some of its iconic brands like Clorets, Halls, Cadbury Dairy Milk chocolate and Oreo biscuits.

Mondelez is the world's No. 2 confectionery group after Mars, which makes M&M candies. Its Singapore technical centre is part of the US snack firm's US$65 million (S$85.4 million) investment in nine research, development, quality and innovation (RDQI) hubs in the world - and the first fully operational one in Asia.

"These hubs will improve speed, efficiency and effectiveness, while increased scale will enable us to more quickly meet consumer needs," said Mr Rob Hargrove, Mondelez executive vice-president of research, development, quality and innovation.

It will be home to up to 75 experts - scientists, developers, engineers, analytical chemists and other specialists - from all over the world and will see Mondelez's RDQI team work closely on innovations with more than 35 sites across across its Asia-Pacific, Middle East and Africa (Amea) manufacturing network.

The centre is equipped with multiple technical capabilities such as a pilot facility, a packaging creative studio and a range of research labs.

Executive vice-president and Amea president Maurizio Brusadelli said: "Singapore's fantastic infrastructure, thriving RDQI ecosystem and the collaborative approach of government organisations and public-private partnerships make it a perfect place for innovation."

Representatives from the Economic Development Board and the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*Star), which supported the development of the centre, were present at yesterday's launch.

A*Star chairman Lim Chuan Poh said: "This centre is the latest addition to the rapidly expanding food and nutrition innovation cluster in Singapore... A*star certainly looks forward to building a long-term partnership with Mondelez International."

Mondelez also hopes to attract Singapore's diverse pool of young tech talent, Mr Hargrove said.

Five other technical centres already in operation are two in the United Kingdom, and one each in Poland, Brazil and the US. The other centres - in India, Mexico and China - are due to open later this year.

Mondelez has had a presence in Singapore since the mid-80s, and its Amea operations have been headquartered here since 2016.