Singapore companies in the education, technology and healthcare sectors are gaining headway in China's Sichuan province, according to IE Singapore on Monday.
The trade promotion agency said 12 local companies inked 15 memoranda of understanding (MOUs) and agreements with Sichuan counterparts on strategic partnerships and projects. They include Ademco Security Group, which signed an agreement with Chengdu company Colourful Cloud to collaborate on an educational management system, and YCH, which is partnering Sichuan Vocational and Technical College of Communications to train logistics talent.
The agreements were signed at a meeting of the Singapore-Sichuan Trade and Investment Committee (SSTIC) on Monday in Chengdu, Sichuan. It was co-chaired by Mr Ng Chee Meng, Acting Minister for Education (Schools) and Senior Minister of State for Transport, and Sichuan Vice-Governor Zhu Hexin.
Collaborations will include a new focus on technology and innovation, in line with Singapore's push to help companies develop capabilities to overcome digital disruption and capture new opportunities, IE Singapore said.
Mr Ng noted in a statement that Sichuan continues to be an attractive investment location for Singapore companies, with opportunities in modern services such as education and healthcare.
"These are areas Singapore companies are strong in and can make a difference, be it offering new concepts or added options for the local community," he said.
"As both Sichuan and Singapore develop, we want to work closely on new areas important for supporting an innovation- and services-oriented economy, including technology and talent development."
Sichuan's conducive environment for entrepreneurship and innovation creates a good platform to exchange and nurture ideas, he said, adding that this is in line with Singapore's strategy to help companies build capabilities to ride on opportunities created by disruptive technology.
More than 150 government and business representatives from Singapore and Sichuan attended the meeting.
In conjunction with the meeting, Mr Ng and Manpower Minister Lim Swee Say, an adviser to the SSTIC, are in Sichuan on a two-day business mission with a delegation of more than 100.
Last year, Singapore's actual investment in Sichuan reached US$850 million (S$1.2 billion), bringing its total cumulative actual investment to US$5.91 billion with 535 projects.
