Speech by Minister Lim Hng Kiang at the ICBC Forum at Four Seasons Hotel, Singapore

Mr Yi Huiman

Chairman, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China

His Excellency Chen Xiaodong

Ambassador of the People’s Republic of China

Mr Liew Mun Leong

Chairman of Surbana-Jurong Group and Changi Airport Group

Distinguished Guests

Ladies and Gentlemen

Good morning.

1.         It gives me great pleasure to join you today at this forum to discuss partnerships between Singapore and China in the area of infrastructure financing.  This forum is timely, as more Chinese companies look to internationalise into the region, which presents greater scope for both sides to forge more win-win partnerships.

Singapore and China’s Strong Bilateral Relations

2.         Singapore and China’s relations have always been forward-looking, innovative and pace-setting. Just two weeks ago, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong had a good meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the G20 Leaders’ summit in Hangzhou. Both leaders reaffirmed our long-standing bilateral cooperation and the demonstration effect of the third Government-to-Government project in Chongqing for China’s “Belt and Road” Initiative.

Infrastructure Opportunities in ASEAN

3.         China’s “Belt and Road” initiative and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) are strong reflections of China’s efforts to integrate into the regional and global economy. More Chinese companies are now expanding beyond China into South East Asia and the world. In the first half of 2016 alone, China invested about US$7 billion worth of non-financial Overseas Direct Investment (ODI) into over 60 countries along the “Belt and Road”. Of these, ASEAN was a key investment destination.

4.         ASEAN is an important market and holds promising growth potential for infrastructure players. There are several drivers for this.

5.         First, ASEAN is a growing market of 620 million people, with a projected average annual growth rate of 5.2% until 2020. By 2025, about half of ASEAN’s population will be of middle-class status.

6.         Second, ASEAN is increasingly integrated. The establishment of the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) in 2015 has created more business opportunities by eliminating barriers and improving market access for companies in the region. By 2030, ASEAN is estimated to become the fourth largest single market in the world, after the European Union, United States and China.

7.         Third, ASEAN is fast urbanising. This will generate tremendous demand for infrastructure development. By 2030, about 65% of ASEAN’s population will be living in urban areas. A joint study by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Asian Development Bank Institute (ADBI) estimated that Asia would require US$8 trillion worth of infrastructure investments from 2010 to 2020. In ASEAN alone, an estimated US$60 billion will be needed annually till 2022 to fulfil ASEAN’s infrastructure needs. As urban populations grow, ASEAN’s infrastructure market holds huge potential, particularly in areas such as transport, healthcare, water and sanitation.

8.         Despite strong market potential, infrastructure projects are generally perceived to be of higher risk and require long-term loan tenures. For these projects to be bankable, the region requires strong expertise in project structuring.  

Singapore as an Infrastructure Development and Financing Hub

9.         As a leading infrastructure development and financing hub, Singapore can bridge the gap in several ways.

10.       First, we offer the necessary breadth and depth of banking and capital market services. Singapore is the third largest foreign exchange market in the world. Since the appointment of ICBC as the Renminbi (RMB) clearing bank in Singapore in May 2013, Singapore has also become one of the world’s top offshore RMB clearing centres.

11.       IE Singapore’s Memoranda of Understanding (MOUs) with the ICBC, Bank of China (BOC) and China Construction Bank (CCB) have also set aside project financing amounts of more than S$90 billion for Singapore-based companies to undertake infrastructure projects in third-country markets along the “Belt and Road”.

12.       The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has also been working with commercial banks to develop infrastructure as an asset class. This will help to harness more private capital to support companies’ infrastructure financing needs.

13.       Second, Singapore’s project financing strengths are also complemented by a network of multilateral development banks and a vibrant ecosystem of professional services in infrastructure advisories, political risk insurance companies, and law firms with strong knowledge and extensive networks in ASEAN.

14.       Singapore also worked closely with the World Bank Group to set up the Global Infrastructure Facility (GIF) in April 2015 to structure complex infrastructure Public-Private Partnerships. The Asia Infrastructure Centre of Excellence (AICOE), set up in collaboration with the Asian Development Bank in 2014, also helps to create a strong pipeline of bankable projects.

15.       Singapore is also a founding member of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), which will help to support infrastructure development along the “Belt and Road”. There are currently more than 7,500 Chinese companies based in Singapore. Some, like Lenovo and China Minsheng Investment Corporation, have set up regional finance and treasury centres in Singapore to finance their regional expansion.

Chinese Companies can Partner Singapore to Tap Infrastructure Opportunities

16.       Singapore and Chinese companies can build on existing strong relationships to foster partnerships and tap infrastructure opportunities in ASEAN and beyond.   

17.       First, Singapore companies possess good track record and expertise across the infrastructure value chain. This includes expertise in master-planning, engineering design, procurement, construction and operations.

18.       For instance, Surbana-Jurong recently acquired SMEC Holdings’ infrastructure engineering design capabilities in urban transportation, energy and water in August this year. This will complement Surbana-Jurong’s offerings in urban planning, township and industrial development.

19.       In January this year, Charisma Energy Services and Sunseap were awarded a contract to build a solar farm with a capacity of 140 megawatts in Rajasthan, India. Hyflux, a home-grown water company, has also won multiple desalination projects in the Middle East over the past two years.

20.       Second, Singapore and Chinese companies share complementary strengths and can work together in third-country markets. For example, Singapore engineering company ISDN has partnered with China Huadian Engineering, one of China’s largest power and industrial players, to develop mini-hydropower projects across Indonesia since 2014. They are now looking to extend their partnership beyond Indonesia into other Southeast Asian countries.

Conclusion

21.       On this note, I would like to encourage more of such fruitful partnerships between Singapore and China. I would also like to encourage more Chinese enterprises to capitalise on Singapore’s reliable infrastructure support and financing ecosystem and build partnerships with Singapore companies. I wish you a fruitful forum ahead.

22.       Thank you.

新加坡贸易及工业部部长林勋强在工行论坛上的讲话

2016年9月19日，星期一，09:25

新加坡四季酒店宴会厅

尊敬的：

中国工商银行董事长易会满先生，

中国驻新加坡大使陈晓东阁下，

新加坡盛裕集团及樟宜机场集团主席廖文良先生，

各位来宾，

女士们、先生们，大家早上好！

1.            今天，我很高兴能与大家共同参加本次论坛，与各位共同探讨新加坡和中国在基础设施融资方面的合作契机。随着越来越多中国企业开拓海外的业务、进军东南亚市场，双方将会迎来更多共建双赢合作的机会。鉴于当前这个发展趋势，这次论坛可以说召开得正合时宜。

新加坡与中国深厚的双边关系

2.            新加坡和中国向来保持着与时俱进、具有创新性和示范性的合作关系。就在两周前，新加坡总理李显龙与中国国家主席习近平，借G20杭州峰会之际进行了友好会谈。双方领导人强调了两国长期以来的友好合作关系，以及以重庆为运营中心的中新第三个政府间合作项目对中国“一带一路”倡议所发挥的示范作用。

东盟的基础设施建设机遇

3.            中国的“一带一路”倡议和亚洲基础设施投资银行反映了中国融入区域和全球经济的决心和努力。如今, 越来越多的中国企业也已经开始“，扩展在东南亚和世界其他地区的业务。仅2016年上半年，中国在“一带一路”沿线的60多个国家，展开了约70亿美元的非金融类的对外直接投资，而东盟即是其中一个主要的投资目的地。

4.            东盟作为一个重要市场，对于基础设施建设企业来说具有很大的增长潜力，这里面存在几个驱动力。

5.            首先，东盟拥有人口6.2亿，市场规模正在不断增长，2020年之前的年均增长率有望达到5.2％。到2025年，大约一半的东盟人口将成为中产阶级。

6.            第二，东盟一体化建设日益完善。东盟经济共同体自2015年成立以来，在消除贸易壁垒、促进市场准入等方面取得一定的成效，进而为企业创造出了更多的商业机会。据估计，东盟到2030年将会成为全球第四大单一市场，仅次于欧盟、美国和中国。

7.            第三，东盟正在快速实现城市化，基础设施建设的需求巨大。到2030年，东盟大约65％的人口将会在城市居住。亚洲开发银行和亚洲开发银行研究所联合开展的一项研究显示，从2010-2020年，亚洲所需的基础设施投资高达8万亿美元，其中直至2022年，单单东盟的年均基础设施建设需求就将达600亿美元。随着城市人口的增长，东盟基础设施市场的潜力巨大，尤其是在运输、医疗、水务和卫生等领域。

8.            尽管市场潜力不容忽视，但一般观点是基础设施项目风险高、对长期贷款依赖严重。为了给这些项目顺利融资，该地区还需要掌握融资结构方面的专业知识与技能。

新加坡：基础设施建设和融资中心

9.            作为全球领先的基础设施建设和融资中心，新加坡将能在几个方面提供助力。

10.         首先，我们能提供广泛而深入的银行和资本市场服务。新加坡是世界第三大外汇市场。自2013年5月中国工商银行被指定为新加坡的人民币清算行以来，新加坡已跃升为世界领先的离岸人民币结算中心之一。

11.         新加坡国际企业发展局与中国工商银行、中国银行和中国建设银行签署的《谅解备忘录》，也为有意参与 “一带一路”沿线第三国市场的基础设施建设项目的新加坡企业，提供了超过900亿新元的项目资金支持。

12.         新加坡金融管理局也正与多家商业银行展开合作，将基础设施作为一种资产类别进行开发。这将有助于调动更多民间资本，满足企业的基础设施融资需求。

13.         第二，新加坡也拥有了紧密的多边发展银行的网络以及丰富多元的专业服务产业生态，能够为企业提供基础设施咨询以及政治风险保险方面的服务。我们的律师事务所也拥有专业的技能以及在东盟地区广泛的人脉。

14.         新加坡还与世界银行集团展开紧密合作，通过2015年4月设立的全球基础设施基金扩展的基础设施领域的公私合作关系。2014年与亚洲开发银行合作成立的亚洲基础设施卓越中心 (Asia Infrastructure Centre of Excellence) 也将增强更多项目的融资能力。

15.         新加坡也是亚洲基础设施投资银行的创始成员之一，而该行在推进“一带一路”沿线的基础设施建设方面扮演着重要的角色。目前，在新加坡落户的中国企业已超过7500家。其中，联想和中国民生投资股份有限公司等中国企业已在新加坡设立了区域金融与财务中心，为它们的区域的扩张计划筹措资金。

中国企业可与新加坡携手合作，抓住基础设施建设契机

16.         新加坡和中国企业可在现有的牢固关系基础之上，建立更加紧密的伙伴关，以便抓住东盟及其他地区的基础设施建设契机。

17.         首先，就整个基础设施价值链而言，新加坡企业拥有总体规划、工程设计、采购、施工和运营等方面的丰富经验和知识。

18.         例如在今年8月，新加坡盛裕集团就收购了SMEC控股。该企业在城市交通、能源和水务的基础设施工程设计方面的能力，，进而提升盛裕集团在城市规划、城市建设和工业发展方面的业务优势。

19.         今年1月，Charisma Energy Services联手Sunseap成功赢得合同，计划在印度拉贾斯坦邦建造一个140兆瓦的太阳能农场。过去两年间新加坡本土水处理公司凯发集团（Hyflux）也赢得了中东地区的多个海水淡化项目。

20.         其次，新加坡和中国企业通过优势互补，可在第三国市场开展合作。例如，新加坡工程公司ISDN已与中国最大的电力和工业企业之一中国华电工程展开合作，自2014年以来在印度尼西亚建设微型水电项目。现在双方正在探讨如何将类似的合作扩展到东南亚其他国家。

总结

21.         在此，我鼓励更多新加坡和中国企业携手合作，创建更多丰硕的成果，同时也希望中国企业能够利用新加坡可靠的基础设施支持和融资生态系统，与新加坡公司建立更深厚的伙伴关系。最后，预祝本届论坛圆满成功！

22.         谢谢。