SINGAPORE - Fuji Oil has opened a new US$4 million (S$5 million) research and development (R&D) centre at Science Park II.

The 1,900 square metre facility will focus on developing food products.

The R&D centre - Fuji Oil's first outside Japan - will employ 20 people, including 14 researchers.

It will integrate "product development, application development and marketing under one roof" and work closely with Fuji Oil's research teams worldwide, together with Fuji Oil's new R&D facility in Osaka.

The centre is next to the Fuji Sunny Plaza facility, which collaborates with customers and gathers feedback on products.

Chief executive Hiroshi Shimizu said in a statement: "Fuji Oil has selected Singapore to establish this facility to leverage on its ideal position as the hub of Asia to springboard its business to Southeast Asia; the greater Asian region including India and the Middle East and the African markets.

"The Asian R&D centre will be equipped with state-of-the-art facilities to enable our researchers to breed new ideas, spawn new technologies and generate new pipelines of food products."

Ms Thien Kwee Eng, assistant managing director of the Economic Development Board, who attended the opening, noted in a statement: "We look forward to having Fuji Oil leverage Singapore's burgeoning ecosystem of R&D capabilities for nutrition, food science and technology.

"This will help bolster Singapore's position as the leading location in Asia to grow global brands and accelerate Asia-centric product development activities."