SINGAPORE - US-listed Agilent Technologies opened a new global solution development centre on Thursday, as part of the firm's S$85 million investment and expansion plan in Singapore.

Announced last July, the five-year plan attests to Agilent's commitment to Singapore, said Agilent Singapore vice president and country general manager Chow Woai Sheng at the opening of the new centre.

Agilent provides laboratories with instruments, analytics and solutions and employs about 520 staff in Singapore.

Bringing together Agilent's products and services, the new 11,000 sq ft facility will develop full laboratory solutions and workflows for customers in fields such as pharma, biopharma, lipidomics, and food testing.

The centre is part of Agilent Singapore's 225,000-square foot site in Yishun.