11/12/2021
I co-chaired the 23rd Singapore-Shandong Business Council (SSBC) meeting with Shandong Vice Governor Ji Binchang yesterday.
SSBC was established in 1993, the 1st among the 8 provincial business councils that we set up with China. It has been an invaluable platform in driving closer relations between Singapore and Shandong.
Singapore and Shandong’s economic ties have remained strong and resilient. For example, our bilateral trade grew from RMB 15.6 billion (SGD 3.2 billion) in 2018 to RMB 35.9 billion (SGD 7.2 billion) in 2020. This was an average increase of more than 50% per year. Despite COVID-19, bilateral trade in the first 10 months of this year reached RMB 25.6 billion (SGD 5.3 billion). This was a growth of 107% over the same period in 2018.
Looking ahead, both sides agreed to deepen and strengthen collaboration in 3 key areas: Trade & Connectivity, Modern Services, and Sustainable Development. In particular, there is strong potential for our companies to partner each other on the development of environmental sustainability solutions and green project financing.
We also agreed to increase people-to-people linkages between both sides, especially between our youths, once the situation allows. It has also been more than 2 years since I last went to Shandong, and I look forward to visiting Shandong again! -- Hong Tat