n 14 September 1998, the staff of World Scientific (Singapore) bade a fond farewell to Tai Seng Industrial Estate, the site of our headquarters for the previous six years. Equipment, books and other belongings were packed up and transported to the new building at Toh Tuck Link. This building, at 6000 m2, is the largest World Scientific premises ever.

Office space has significantly expanded, in line with the rapid development of our operations over the past few years. There is a seminar room and a boardroom for office meetings, for visiting speakers to deliver lectures, as well as for the hosting of our various corporate events. Two smaller meeting rooms on the fourth and fifth levels allow staff to hold discussions on projects with more privacy. We have also devoted two levels of the building to warehouse space, in consideration of our intention to diversify into the area of warehousing. In addition, an exhibition center can be found on the first level, in which customers may browse through our books at leisure. With regard to staff welfare, a pantry and a staff room have been provided on the fourth and fifth levels respectively. The latter facility converts into a dining area during the lunch hour, and a karaoke room for special functions. Other facilities include two libraries, a roof garden, an outdoor seating area on the ground floor and a company carpark.

The new headquarters imbues the staff of World Scientific with a sense of pride, since we no longer share premises with other organizations, as we did at the previous location. Recent visitors have also commented that the new building is both modernistic and attractive. Our proximity to the two universities, and other academic and research institutions, is also a boon, because authors find it much more convenient to visit us and vice versa, as Director of Publishing Ms Lim Sook Cheng has opined.