Suzhou Industrial Park (SIP) 10th Joint Steering Council Meeting

SUZHOU INDUSTRIAL PARK (SIP) 10TH JOINT STEERING COUNCIL MEETING

Singapore and China today reaffirmed the success of the Suzhou Industrial Park (SIP) and reiterated their commitment to the park's continued development. Both sides will work together to ensure SIP remains one of the leading industrial parks in China, with continual improvements in its economic performance, industrial structure, infrastructure, and ecological environment

This was discussed at the SIP 10th Joint Steering Council (JSC) Meeting held in Tianjin on 4 Sep 2008. Co-chaired by Singapore Deputy Prime Minister Wong Kan Seng and PRC Vice-Premier Wang Qishan, this high-level political platform oversees bilateral cooperation in SIP, a flagship project that was started in 1994

In the last 14 years, SIP has attracted a total of 3,331 companies to invest US$27.2 billion in the park. Of these, 77 were Fortune 500 companies which invested in 122 projects in the park. In the latest Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) survey, SIP was again ranked amongst the top development zones nationwide.

In 2007, SIP recorded GDP of RMB 83.6 billion, fiscal revenue of RMB 7.6 billion and newly registered foreign investment of US$4.77 billion. In the first six months of 2008, growth continued to be strong, with GDP reaching RMB 50.2 billion. The JSC also noted the good progress SIP has made in its infrastructure development, as well as in science and technology (S&T) development. As an indication of SIP’s increasing emphasis on S&T, R&D investments have reached 3.4% of SIP’s GDP in 2007.

Over the years, bilateral cooperation in SIP has expanded to new areas such as Business Process Outsourcing, logistics and facilitating the internationalization of Suzhou companies. At the JSC Meeting today, both countries agreed to deepen their cooperation in new and existing areas. Singapore also reaffirmed its commitment to ensuring that its software transfer to SIP remains relevant. Since the last JSC, Singapore has trained over 150 officials in Singapore, bringing the total trained to date to 1,910.

2009 marks the 15th anniversary of the SIP project. The JSC discussed plans mark this important milestone, through celebratory events in Suzhou and Singapore. Both sides agreed to work together to make the 15th anniversary celebrations a success. The JSC also welcomed the plans by China-Singapore Suzhou Industrial Park Development Co (CSSD), the joint-venture company which develops SIP, to list in China next year.

MINISTRY OF TRADE AND INDUSTRY
4 SEPTEMBER 2008