CHINA continues to be an exciting market for Singapore companies, with possible tie-ups to develop integrated townships and manage the environment, said Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong.

'Many Singapore companies have strengths in these areas as they have participated in Singapore's own development,' he said in a recent interview with China's semi-official news agency China News Service.

The report was published on Thursday, in conjunction with China's 60th anniversary celebrations. His reply was released to the Singapore media on Friday.

Asked to comment about China's achievements in the last 60 years, Mr Goh said the country's transformation has been extraordinary.

When he first visited China in 1971 as a young executive from Singapore's national shipping line Neptune Orient Lines, the cultural revolution was raging.

'Never did I imagine that China would embrace market economy from 1978 and achieve so much in so short a time,' he said, adding that the bigger change is how the Chinese have embraced modernisation based on market principles.

Among all the Chinese leaders, SM Goh said he has no favourites but he is impressed by the late leader Deng Xiaoping, whom he has met twice.

'He opened China to the outside world and brought about the transformation of the country,' said Mr Goh who admired Mr Deng's foresight and down-to-earth qualities.

With China's rapid rise, it has become the top investment destination for Singapore companies. They have invested US$38 billion in a wide range of sectors in China as at the end of last year (08).

More than 2,650 Chinese companies have also set up a base in Singapore, with 150 of them listed on the Singapore Stock Exchange.