Partnership sparks urban development boom

Singapore and China look to build on burgeoning economic ties, Zhuan Ti reports.

When Singapore's founding prime minister, the late Lee Kuan Yew, first visited China in 1976, he paved the way for greater economic ties between China and Singapore, which continue to thrive today.

China is now Singapore's largest trading partner, with trade volume between the two countries reaching a whopping S$123.5 billion ($90.1 billion) in 2015, a 23-fold increase from S$5.2 billion in 1990.

China continues to attract large amounts of investment from Singapore companies, drawn by its large and fast-growing economy, and the development of large-scale projects such as the Sino-Singapore Suzhou Industrial Park and the Sino-Singapore Guangzhou Knowledge City.

In 2015, Singapore was China's largest foreign investor, with total investment of S$8.2 billion in more than 700 projects.

In recent years, China has undergone a strategic shift from a manufacturing-based economy to a knowledge and services-based economy.

Its services sector climbed to 50.5 percent of total GDP in 2015, representing the first time it accounted for more than half of the country's economy.

China is also undergoing rapid urbanization and could see up to 70 percent of its population living in cities by 2030.

The country's transformation opens up new opportunities for Singaporean firms to participate in the country's growth.

Pioneering experience

As Asia's leading provider of sustainable urban solutions, Ascendas-Singbridge has played a strategic role in China's economic transformation since entering the market in 1995 with its flagship Ascendas-Xinsu at Suzhou Industrial Park.

Leveraging Singapore's industrial development experience, Ascendas-Xinsu introduced the "ready-built facilities" concept that attracted the first batch of foreign investors to Suzhou Industrial Park.

To date, Ascendas-Xinsu has attracted over $1 billion in foreign direct investments and created some 10,000 job opportunities.

Ascendas-Singbridge continues to strengthen its presence across 11 cities in China, including Beijing, Shanghai, Tianjin, Guangzhou, Chongqing, Chengdu, Hangzhou, Suzhou, Xi'an, Jilin and Dalian.

Its business space developments include Ascendas Plaza, Dalian Ascendas IT Park, Ascendas iHub Suzhou, Singapore-Hangzhou Science & Technology Park, and Ascendas OneHub GKC within the Sino-Singapore Guangzhou Knowledge City.

These developments play host to more than 500 Chinese and multinational companies, such as Citi, Infosys, Intel, Konica Minolta, Nomura, Knowles, Qualcomm, Isoftstone, and Yidatech.

Miguel Ko, group CEO of Ascendas-Singbridge, said: "As we commemorate the 40th anniversary of the late Lee Kuan Yew's first visit to China, it is also important that we remain forward-looking. We have always been and will remain committed to playing an integral role in China's economic and social development.

"We are deeply attuned to the nuances and needs of the Chinese market. In line with the country's economic shift towards higher value-added activities, our expertise in creating total business environments will position us well in supporting the growth and development of China's high-tech, R&D and knowledge-based industries.

"Working closely with local partners, we look forward to leverage our core competencies and networks to provide increasingly innovative and sustainable end-to-end urban solutions to the local community."

Cities of the future

Beyond business space solutions, Ascendas-Singbridge has broadened its capabilities and is well positioned to undertake urban transformation projects spanning townships and mixed-use developments, providing a comprehensive suite of services and solutions across the urban development value chain.

With 20 years of experience in the market, it has spearheaded many innovative concepts to help transform China's business and industry landscape.

Key to Ascendas-Singbridge's business approach is a deep understanding of the importance in adopting a holistic approach that goes beyond developing working spaces to creating a vibrant and sustainable ecosystem where people can work, live, learn and play.

Essentially, Ascendas-Singbridge is building brand-new cities from the ground up, leveraging Singapore's successful developmental experience and software knowledge in areas such as transportation, public policy and health care.

In alignment with China's strategic shift to create a knowledge and innovation-based economy, Ascendas-Singbridge is developing the Sino-Singapore Guangzhou Knowledge City (SSGKC), which is poised to be a living showcase of a sustainable smart city that will spark Guangdong's economic transformation.

A Sino-Singapore collaboration project that is enterprise-led, market-driven and government-supported, SSGKC integrates best-in-class infrastructure and real estate development with urban management systems, innovative technologies and supporting policies and programs that will draw both talents and knowledge-based industries.

When completed, the 123-sq km SSGKC will support a 500,000-strong community and provide close to 300,000 job opportunities.

"Singapore, as a city state, has long been regarded as a model of urbanisation, which other countries want to emulate," Ko said.

"Ascendas-Singbridge is also promoting that Singapore model around the region. Our role in Guangzhou Knowledge City is to create an environment that is built to Singapore standards, to create a project which is at a premium to others in Guangzhou.

"Building a new city is a long-term project, which may take 20 to 30 years to complete. At the same time, Ascendas-Singbridge has the real estate development capabilities to create business space environments that will cater to the immediate needs and demand of a growing industry.

"This is part of what we do, with the development of Ascendas OneHub GKC in SSGKC, an integrated business park with residential and commercial space."

Comprising business, residential and commercial space with lifestyle amenities, Ascendas OneHub GKC aims to become a vibrant community that hosts local and multinational corporations, innovative start-ups and companies and organisations in hi-tech software development, as well as R&D sectors.

Located at the Southern Start-Up Area of SSGKC, two multi-tenanted buildings within Phase 1 of the 30-hectare Ascendas OneHub GKC have been completed. They will soon welcome their first tenants, including Singapore Centre, Nicolabs Biotech, Dentalthon Medtech, Sang Choy International and Bank of China.

Besides SSGKC, Ascendas-Singbridge has also made good progress at its latest and largest project in China, the Sino-Singapore Jilin Food Zone (SSJFZ).

SSJFZ aims to address the increasing concerns over food quality and safety in China. The project comes at an opportune time to help provide safe, high-quality food for both local consumption and export.

Envisioned to become a world-class, integrated and sustainable model food zone, SSJFZ is the first agricultural collaboration between Singapore and China, and is currently being built to be both a Foot-and-Mouth Disease-Free Zone with an Integrated Food Safety System meeting international standards, thereby ensuring the integrity of the food supply chain.

With extensive knowledge and skill sets in end-to-end integrated urban developments, Ascendas-Singbridge is China's preferred partner to usher in a new era of competitiveness and collaboration for its economic and social transformations.

"Spurred by China's new growth strategies, such as the Belt and Road Initiative and the 'Internet Plus' initiatives, immense opportunities in sustainable urban development lie ahead," Ko said.

"Ascendas-Singbridge is poised to ride on the country's economic transformation by undertaking large-scale and complex urban development projects, as well as providing a wide range of integrated business space solutions for companies involved in the manufacturing, science and technology, information technology, R&D and retail sectors."

Contact the writer at zhuanti@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily 05/10/2016 page6)