Singapore and Shandong Solidify Tourism And Trade Relationship

Singapore and Shandong province work towards tourism infrastructure as key collaboration.

• MOS Lee Yi Shyan and Shandong Vice Governor Cai Limin co-chaired 14th Singapore-Shandong Business Council meeting in Jinan, Shandong today.

• Four company / organisation signings take place for partnership with Shandong, including one contract agreement worth S$100 million in Penglai of Yantai city and one involving a cultural eco-city in Qufu.

Shandong province may be a major exporter of agricultural products in China, but business opportunities stretch far beyond this sector. At the 14th Singapore-Shandong Business Council (SSBC) meeting held in Jinan today, Singapore and Shandong have outlined these three key areas of collaboration for the year ahead:

i) Modern services (with focus on tourism, food sourcing / trading / manufacturing, and vocational and technical education);
ii) Urban solutions (with focus on infrastructure and environmental services);
iii) Knowledge transfer, cultural and social exchanges.

The meeting was co-chaired by Mr Lee Yi Shyan, Minister of State (MOS) for Trade & Industry and Manpower, and Mr Cai Limin, Shandong Vice Governor. IE Singapore is the Singapore secretariat of the SSBC. Following the council meeting, MOS Lee and Vice Governor Cai witnessed four signings by Singapore-based companies / organisation:

i) Contract agreement signing between Sun Isles Resort & Clubs Pte Ltd (owned by Prime Group International) and Penglai Economic Development Zone (EDZ) with estimated investment value at S$100 million;ii) Letter of Intent (LOI) signing between RSP Architects Planners & Engineers and Qufu Planning Bureau in master planning for the cultural eco-city in Qufu;
iii) Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signing between Luye-Pharm (Singapore) Pte Ltd1 and Yantai Hi-Tech Economic Development Zone (YHTDZ);
iv) MOU signing between Singapore Food Manufacturers’ Association (SFMA) and Rushan Bureau of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation (BOFTEC).

Said MOS Lee, “Singapore and Shandong have a long standing relationship dating back to 1993 when the Council was established by then PM Goh Chok Tong. In 2008, Shandong’s GDP of RMB3.11 trillion (12.1% growth) was second only to Guangdong province in the whole of China. With the impending adoption of the Yellow River Delta Development Strategy （黄河三角洲区域发展战略）and Shandong Blue Peninsula Economic Zone （山东蓝色经济区战略）by the Central Government, Shandong is poised to accelerate its development with new policy incentives. The province is now actively seeking investments from Singapore companies in various areas, including modern services, urban solutions and green energy. The meeting also discussed Singapore’s involvement in developing a cultural themed project in Qufu – the hometown of Confucius.”

MOS Lee is currently in Shandong on a business mission organised by IE Singapore. He is accompanied by Mr Sam Tan, Parliamentary Secretary for Trade & Industry and Information, Communications & the Arts, as well as 28 businessmen from 16 Singapore-based companies and 12 government officials. The mission provides a good opportunity for the Singapore businessmen to get updates about Shandong’s developments. The trip started yesterday in Jinan and will end tomorrow in Yantai. Yesterday, MOS Lee has called on Shandong Governor Jiang Daming and met with Shandong Vice Governor Cai Limin. He will call on Yantai Party Secretary Sun Yongchun tomorrow.

Focus areas for 2010: Tourism infrastructure

Having gained success in Singapore, companies from the tourism infrastructure cluster are starting to look beyond Singapore for investment opportunities. With strengths in the development and management of hotels / resorts / serviced residence, tourism attractions, retail infrastructure and more, Singapore companies can provide relevant experience and capabilities to help Shandong boost its tourism value. Collaboration in this area has made good headway with two project signings by Singapore-based companies RSP Architects Planners & Engineers and Sun Isles Resort & Clubs Pte Ltd at the SSBC meeting. (Please refer to Annex 2 for details) Food sourcing / trading / manufacturing

Shandong is the top agricultural and food stuff exporting province of China with export value of US$9.9 billion (24.6% of China’s agri-exports) in 2008. China also passed a new Food Safety Law which took effect from 1 June 2009. The rich resources of the province and renewed emphasis of food safety for China could translate to potential opportunities for Singapore companies to trade and procure
products from Shandong. Infrastructure and environmental services

As Shandong looks towards sustainable urban development, Singapore’s infrastructure and environmental services would come in relevant for the province. Singapore’s development years have equipped Singapore companies with capabilities in sustainable urban solutions, such as long-term master planning, infrastructure services, water and wastewater treatment and management, etc. Knowledge transfer, cultural and social exchanges

Besides pure economic collaboration, the non-economic aspect also plays an important, long-term role in deepening understanding between both sides. These can be seen from our joint activities with Shandong in culture and sports. In terms of culture, the Confucius Institute2, together with NTU and Shandong University, has planned activities for next year, which include:

i) “The official cuisine of the Kong Family”, which is a collaboration with the

Shandong Qufu Confucius Cultural Centre;
ii) A Confucius movie co-organised with Cathay Organisation followed by a series of Confucius-related cultural activities;

iii) Cultural camps, visits and curriculum exchanges related to the teachings of Confucius, which are collaborations with Shandong University.

Singapore, despite being a small country, places much emphasis on sports development. Shandong is established in terms of sports management and development, having organised the recent 11th Chinese National Games （第十一届全运会）and winning the bid to host the 3rd Asian Beach Games in 2012（2012 年第三届亚洲沙滩运动会）. The SSBC has therefore linked up the Singapore Sports Council to the Shandong Sports Bureau to promote interaction between both parties and other Shandong municipal-level sports bureaus. Some of the activities planned between both parties for next year include discussions and experience sharing in sports medicine, joint training between the Shandong and Singapore badminton teams, as well as exploring opportunities for sports industry development.

Good progress achieved over the past year

The SSBC has achieved good progress since 1993. Highlights include Hyflux’s water treatment project in Linyi, which is scheduled for completion in the last quarter of 2010; PSB Academy’s collaboration with Qingdao Technical College where PSB Academy offers Diploma programmes to local students, which started in 2003 and has since been extended for another five years from 2008. Beyond economic cooperation, the social and cultural exchanges have also been frequent. As of October 2009, the Shandong Manpower Training Programme3 under the SSBC has seen about 1,700 Shandong officials being trained in Singapore on Urban Township Planning and Development, Modern Port Logistics Development, Infocomm Outsourcing Development, Economic Park Management Development and more. In 2009 itself, a total of 142 officials were trained.

In addition, the Confucius Institute, NTU (CI-NTU) has been organising yearly trips for teachers and students in Singapore to visit Shandong. In the past four years, more than 300 Chinese teachers from primary and secondary schools, international schools and private institutions and students from NTU, Raffles

Junior College, Tampines Primary School and more have visited Shandong for cultural exchange programmes.

Bilateral trade and investment

In 2008, bilateral trade between Singapore and Shandong amounted to US$2.96 billion, an increase of 74.8% over 2007. Singapore’s exports to Shandong amounted to US$1.6 billion while imports from Shandong reached US$1.36 billion. Singapore was Shandong’s 16th largest trading partner in that year. In the first nine months of 2009, bilateral trade amounted to US$1.06 billion. (Source: Shandong Department of Commerce)

In 2008, Singapore’s actual foreign direct investments (FDI) in Shandong increased by 87.8% from 2007 (US$460 million) to hit US$810 million with 39 projects. This made Singapore the third largest investor in Shandong in 2008. In the first nine months of 2009, Singapore’s actual FDI in the province reached US$358 million with 24 projects. As of end September 2009, the cumulative actual
FDI amounted to US$3.67 billion, with a total of 1,224 projects. (Source: Shandong Department of Commerce)

About International Enterprise Singapore
International Enterprise (IE) Singapore is an agency under the Ministry of Trade and Industry spearheading the development of Singapore’s external economic wing. Our mission is to promote the overseas growth of Singapore-based enterprises and international trade. With a global network in over 30 locations and our 3C framework of assistance – Connections, Competency, Capital, we offer services to help enterprises export, develop business capabilities, find overseas partners and enter new markets. At the same time, we work to position Singapore as a base for foreign businesses to expand into the region in partnership with Singapore-based companies. Please visit www.iesingapore.com for more information.

About the Singapore-Shandong Business Council
The Singapore-Shandong Business Council (SSBC) was established since November 1993 by the Government of the Republic of Singapore and the Provincial Government of Shandong, People’s Republic of China, to strengthen economic and trade cooperation between Singapore and Shandong. The SSBC is jointly chaired by Mr Lee Yi Shyan, Minister of State for Trade & Industry and Manpower and Mr Cai Limin, Vice Governor of Shandong Province. In addition, the Council has both public and private sector members from both sides, who form the respective Secretariat to carry out the initiatives of the SSBC.

Functions of the SSBC:

• Identify business opportunities for trade & investments and other areas of cooperation

• Facilitate the implementation of projects encouraged by the Governments of Singapore and Shandong

• Promote the exchange of information on matters relating to investments and other areas of cooperation

Topics: agri exports, bilateral trade, China, economic development, Economy, food sourcing, Governance, green energy, infrastructure, Jinan, manufacturing, modern services, Shandong Province, Singapore, Singapore-Shandong Business Council, social exchanges, SSBC, Sun Isles Resort & Clubs Pte Ltd, tourism, tourism infrastructure, trading, urban solutions, wastewater management, wastewater treatment

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