Plans are afoot to turn the area into a hotbed for
                 technopreneurs, with all the bandwidth they need

                 IMAGINE the Buona Vista area as a
                 technopreneurial hotbed.

                 Start-ups could be operating from bungalows in
                 Wessex Estate, Rochester Park, old army buildings
                 and even the Alexandra Hospital, when it moves
                 elsewhere.

                 All this at low prices to make it easier for
                 technopreneurs to start their business.

                 Trade and Industry Minister George Yeo said
                 yesterday that unoccupied bungalows in Wessex
                 Estate and Rochester Park would be renovated.

                 The ministry will also consider refurbishing old
                 buildings in the army camps in the area when they are
                 vacated, along with buildings in Alexandra Hospital.

                 This Science Hub will have all the bandwidth the
                 technopreneurs need, he said. A dedicated agency,
                 possibly a statutory board, will be established to
                 guide its long-term development.

                 Many start-ups are already operating in this area and
                 more are moving into incubation units set up by
                 Jurong Town Corporation in the Ayer Rajah
                 Industrial Estate, Brigadier-General (NS) Yeo said.

                 Singapore's universities and research institutes,
                 especially the Institute of Moleular and Cell Biology
                 (IMCB), have made good progress in the life
                 sciences, he said.

                 IMCB was lucky to have world-famous experts
                 helping it, he said, mentioning its "godfather",
                 Cambridge scientist Sidney Brenner.

                 After retirement, Dr Brenner moved to California. He
                 taught at Berkeley and San Diego, helping to set up
                 many new companies there that are now household
                 names.

                 One of them is Lynx, which discovered a way
                 recently to detect defective genes found in cancers
                 and other diseases.

                 The company is now worth a fortune.

                 "It is remarkable that what started as a retirement job
                 should become such an exciting proposition," BG
                 Yeo said, adding: "Happily, we have investments in
                 Lynx too."

                 Caltech president David Baltimore, a Nobel laureate,
                 and his wife, Dr Alice Hwang, chairman of IMCB's
                 scientific board, supported the institute and guided the
                 work of its director, Dr Chris Tan, and his team.

                 Today, IMCB has an international reputation because
                 of their help, he said.

                 Over the years, he said, Economic Development
                 Board chairman Philip Yeo, who also chairs the
                 IMCB, had built close personal relationships with top
                 people in the life sciences in many countries.

                 "With their help, we will build up our capabilities in
                 this most important field," BG Yeo said.

                       Adapted from The Straits Times, 12 Mar 2000.