Singapore and China will embark on new areas of cooperation in Suzhou Industrial Park (SIP), a flagship project that was started in 1994.
At the SIP 9th Joint Steering Council (JSC) meeting in Singapore today, both parties agreed to pursue new initiatives ranging from areas such as business process outsourcing, logistics to facilitating the 'Go Global' efforts of Suzhou companies.
The meeting was co-chaired by Singapore's Deputy Prime Minister Wong Kan Seng and PRC's Vice-Premier Wu Yi.
Both sides noted that the industrial park has already surpassed the 10-year performance targets set during the 7th JSC meeting in 2004 and agreed to set new 10-year targets 'to steer the SIP towards a hi-tech and high value-added economy', said a media statement from Singapore's Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI).
According to MTI, the SIP's service sector's value-add to the local economy would reach 40% by 2014 while R&D spending would constitute 5% of the local gross domestic product (GDP). In addition, 75% of total industrial value would be created by hi-tech industries.
About Suzhou Industrial Park
The SIP's GDP grew by 18.8 per cent to reach RMB68 billion and it attracted US$1.6 billion in utilised foreign direct investment (FDI) last year. Its economic growth averaged 23 per cent over the past three years.
To date, Singapore has trained over 2,000 officials from Suzhou, covering areas that are in line with China's developmental needs such as environmental management, urban planning and logistics.
During the meeting, the JSC also endorsed new directions aimed at promoting the continued strong growth of the SIP and enhancing the overall competitiveness of the industrial park.
For instance, the JSC endorsed Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) special tax incentives for the SIP and flexible working hours for BPO companies with special production needs operating in the park.
The JSC also discussed ways for SIP to promote the development of transportation operations in Suzhou and endorsed a proposal to allow airlines to issue Air Waybills originating from SIP's virtual 'SZV' airport code to encourage more airlines to set up offices in Suzhou.
Both sides also discussed the role Singapore can play for Suzhou companies going global and agreed to work together to broaden cooperation to tap on Singapore's experience in other parts of Jiangsu province as well as in western and central China.
