SPEECH BY MINISTER FOR TRADE AND INDUSTRY, MR LIM HNG KIANG, AT THE SINGCHAM-SBF CHINESE NEW YEAR NETWORKING RECEPTION HELD ON SATURDAY, 5 FEBURARY 2011 AT 3.00 PM, EAST INDIA ROOM, RAFFLES HOTEL

His Excellency Mr Wei Wei

Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the

People's Republic of China to Singapore

His Excellency BG Chin Siat Yoon

Singapore’s Ambassador to the People’s Republic of China

Ms Dorothy Ng

Chairperson, Singapore Chamber of Commerce & Industry in China

Mr Teng Theng Dar,

Chief Executive Officer, Singapore Business Federation

Ladies and Gentlemen

Introduction

I am happy to be here this afternoon celebrating the Lunar New Year with you.

Bilateral economic relations between Singapore and China are strong.As the world continues to recover from the global economic crisis, bilateral trade between China and Singapore has risen more than 25 per cent to 95.3 billion Singapore dollars in 2010. China is currently our third largest trading partner, second largest source of tourist arrivals and top investment destination.

Looking ahead, we expect both the China-Singapore Free Trade Agreement and the ASEAN-China Free Trade Agreement to continue to spur even stronger economic cooperation in this region.

China’s Growth

Despite the recent global economic downturn, China remains one of the world’s fastest growing economies. Its GDP grew 8.7 per cent in 2009.Last month, China announced GDP growth of 10.3 per cent for 2010.

Many Singapore firms are well aware of China’s immense potential as the world’s largest consumer market. Over the years, many have made inroads into the Chinese market. Our early investments were mainly in the coastal cities, such as those in Jiangsu, Shandong and Guangdong.Since then, other Western and Central China regions have emerged as new growth areas and Singapore is strengthening our economic engagement in these regions too.

In November last year, IE Singapore opened its newest Overseas Centre in Wuhan, Hubei Province.Our Singapore companies can also leverage on the seven business councils, co-chaired by Singapore and China, to further business interests. These councils are established platforms that help to promote economic cooperation and facilitate networking between the business communities of both countries

SingCham and SBF

In this regard, the Singapore Chamber of Commerce & Industry (SingCham) and the Singapore Business Federation (SBF) are important conduits for Singapore businesses seeking to operate in China.SingCham, for example, helps to promote and develop a cohesive group of Singapore communities based in China and helps them stay connected to Singapore.

I am pleased to know that, with the support of the Singapore Embassy in Beijing and IE Singapore, SingCham has expanded by establishing chapters in several provinces around China.Membership has also been growing steadily to reach 200 members.SingCham is now one of the biggest foreign chambers in China.

SingCham’s partnership with SBF is an excellent example of the way forward. With more than 17,000 companies under its wing, SBF is able to provide a large base for the sharing of collective knowledge and experience for companies that are expanding internationally.

Conclusion

As China’s development gathers pace, new opportunities will continue to emerge. I look forward to seeing more Singapore companies tap on organisations such as SingCham and SBF to venture further into the Chinese markets. As we celebrate Chinese New Year or Spring Festival (春节), as it is now commonly known in China, I would like to take this opportunity to wish all members of SBF and SingCham a prosperous Year of the Rabbit.

祝愿大家新年快樂，幸福安康，吉祥如意！