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Singapore to cooperate with China on regional infrastructure projects

Minister for Trade and Industry Chan Chun Sing at the Belt and Road Initiative in Singapore on 25 Oct 2018. (Photo: MCI)
Minister for Trade and Industry Chan Chun Sing at the Belt and Road Initiative in Singapore on 25 Oct 2018. (Photo: MCI)

Singapore can be a launch pad for Chinese companies that want to venture into third-party markets, especially those in Southeast Asia, the Republic’s Trade and Industry Minister Chan Chun Sing said on Thursday at the inaugural Singapore-China Belt and Road Initiative investment forum.

China launched the plan in 2013 under President Xi Jinping, seeking to link Asia, Europe and Africa with a network of ports, highways and railways.

The two countries have also identified infrastructure connectivity, financial connectivity, third-party cooperation and professional services as areas to further enhance cooperation, the minister said.

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“Singapore’s capabilities in project structuring and financial and legal advisory, enable our companies to add value to Chinese enterprises’ infrastructure projects in the region,” Chan said in his speech to about 300 business leaders and government officials.

Singapore supports an inclusive, market-disciplined and transparent Belt and Road Initiative, Chan said. In 2016 and 2017, Singapore was the the largest overseas investment destination for China along the Belt and Road, capturing 22.3 per cent of total investment outflow from China to the Belt and Road countries.

“Tapping on Singapore’s robust infrastructure ecosystem, we hope to continuously refine the way we approach infrastructure development, to find new ways to mitigate risks, and to increase the bankability of projects,” Chan said.

Singapore can serve as a complementary and neutral venue for Chinese companies looking for an alternative venue for dispute resolution in Asia, the minister said.

The island-state on Tuesday launched a new agency called Infrastructure Asia, led by Enterprise Singapore and the Monetary Authority of Singapore, to support regional projects which need funding, and make them more appealing to financial institutions and private investors. A second initiative Singapore Infrastructure Dispute-Management Protocol was also introduced to help parties manage disputes and minimise the rise of time and costs overruns.

For multilateralism to remain relevant, the World Trade Organization rules must evolve to suit the modern-day context, Chan said. Projects with the greatest chance of success are those untainted by suggestions of non-economic considerations and poor financial management, he said, adding projects must be evaluated thoroughly according to market principles.

Given that protectionism will result in fragmentation of production and value chains, countries should work towards a more integrated and interdependent eco-system, he said.

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