1 Belt, 1 Road plan key to ties between China, S’pore
CHINA’S “One Belt, One Road” initiative and its wider internationalisation efforts will be central to Sino-Singaporean business cooperation, according to Singapore’s Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean.
Singapore is strategically located on the Maritime Silk Road and is now connected to a key node of the “belt” through the Chongqing Connectivity Initiative, he said.
The One Belt, One Road push aims to revive the ancient Silk Road trading routes and boost regional links.
“We can further strengthen business partnerships and people-to-people links with China’s Belt and Road initiative,” said Teo, who is also coordinating minister for national security. He was speaking at a Business China Awards dinner in the island republic on Tuesday.
He said that last year, for the first time, China’s outward investment exceeded foreign direct investment in China.
Singapore has supported China’s internationalisation efforts in several ways, such as in financial cooperation to boost the internationalisation of the yuan and Chinese enterprises, he said.
Companies in Chongqing can now issue yuan bonds in Singapore to fund their activities, opening up China’s financial sector and increasing the use of the yuan in the region.
“Singapore has also been working closely with Chinese and Singapore banks to syndicate financing to Belt and Road projects, particularly in Southeast Asia,” he said.
He noted that International Enterprise Singapore had signed agreements with major Chinese banks to provide 90 billion Singapore dollars (Bt2.24 trillion) of trade financing for Singaporean and Chinese companies in Belt and Road projects.
In its seventh year, the awards, jointly presented by Business China and OCBC Bank, recognise outstanding professionals, businesspeople, entrepreneurs and organisations.
This year, historian Wang Gungwu, 86, received the Business China Excellence Award for his significant contributions in shedding light on the historical links between China and Southeast Asia.
The Young Achiever Award went to Jenny Lee, 44, a venture capitalist who is managing partner of GGV Capital, Shanghai. She was one of two Singaporean women, along with Temasek Holdings chief executive Ho Ching, to be named in Forbes magazine’s list of the 100 most powerful women in the world.
The Enterprise Award went to the Bank of China, which was lauded for promoting Sino-Singaporean ties via excellent services to the business communities in both countries.
