Guangdong province is restructuring its economy, and this opens up business opportunities for Singapore companies in the education, infocomm technology, port and logistics sectors, said the Singapore-Guangdong Collaboration Council.
The council held its inaugural meeting on Thursday, where nine memoranda of understanding and agreements were signed.
Guangdong province is moving up the industrial value chain by shifting away from a skills-based economy to a knowledge-based one.
Guangdong province is restructuring its economy, and this opens up business opportunities for Singapore companies in the education, infocomm technology, port and logistics sectors. (Channel NewsAsia)
Singapore companies, including small businesses, are keen to explore new opportunities in Guangdong's emerging sectors beyond manufacturing, as Singapore could share its expertise in talent development and high tech industries.
Already, more than 1,000 Singapore companies are in the province.
Co-chair of the collaboration council, Acting Minister Lui Tuck Yew, is in Guangzhou with more than 160 representatives from over 130 Singapore companies.
Mr Lui said: "Guangdong is now at a stage where they are transforming their economy and transiting to a new phase of development. Moving away from traditional areas of manufacturing and trying to, I think, rely more on their knowledge base, high tech, low polluting industries and sectors.
"Singapore, I think, had undergone a series of such transformations in the past, and we continue to transform. I think our experience and expertise will come in useful.
"The collaboration council is an attempt to bring together key leaders in Guangdong, both from businesses and the provincial government, together with some of our business people and agencies, to sharpen focus on the areas we can collaborate."
Among the contracts signed include one between Singapore's Jurong Consultants and the government of Sanshui district. Under the agreement, Jurong Consultants will master-plan an industrial and a logistics park.
Jurong International has completed over a hundred planning projects in China to date, and this latest project was made easier by the council.
Tang Tat Kwong, group president and chief executive officer of Jurong International, said: "On the bigger scale, you find government efforts open up wider opportunities for Singapore companies and service providers like us to make ourselves useful in helping them position for growth, develop plans and infrastructure."
Going forward, Jurong International said it sees opportunities not just in southern China, but also in neighbouring provinces like Fujian due to improving cross-strait relationships with Taiwan.
According to the council, another focus area is helping Chinese companies internationalise.
"We are also interested to bring some Guangdong enterprises to Singapore, to help them understand the opportunities of how they can use Singapore as a base to grow their business," said Mr Lui. "Perhaps even to list, to do more of their activities using Singapore as a launch pad."
He added that companies from both sides could work together in third countries by leveraging on Singapore's existing networks.
(By Ng Baoying)
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