Innovation center taps rising Chinese tech sector

The Singapore Manufacturing Innovation Center officially opened in Guangzhou, Guangdong province, on Monday. It is expected to play an important role in promoting Sino-Singapore cooperation in high-tech industries going forward.

The center is located in the co-working space within Ascendas OneHub in the Sino-Singapore Guangzhou Knowledge City.

It is a one-stop shop to facilitate partnerships between Singapore Industry 4.0, also known as I4.0, technology solutions providers and Chinese enterprises looking to adopt such solutions.

A grand ceremony inaugurates the Singapore Manufacturing Innovation Center in Guangzhou, Guangdong province, on Monday.

The center was launched by International Enterprise Singapore and Ascendas-Singbridge as a joint initiative.

It aims to help Singaporean companies to tap rising demand in China, boosted by the Made in China 2025 strategy aimed at leveraging technology to upgrade traditional industries and develop the advanced manufacturing sector. The center is a first-of-its-kind, promoting the co-creation of innovative technology solutions among Singapore companies and Chinese enterprises.

International Enterprise Singapore has partnered with Ascendas-Singbridge to bring together a pioneer batch of five Singapore technology companies with complementary capabilities to anchor the new center.

They are Akribis Systems, a motion control solutions specialist; Barghest Building Performance, an energy efficiency technology provider focusing on intelligent building space; K-One, an innovation solutions provider focusing on sustainability, environmentally friendly and value-added solutions; Plant Werx, an industrial information technology provider; and, SESTO Robotics, autonomous technology specialist delivering automated guided vehicle solutions.

"Singapore has a strong knowledge-intensive manufacturing sector, which accounts for 20 percent of our GDP. Because of this, our local technology solutions providers have gained relevant expertise and a track record in transforming the traditional manufacturing sector," Lee Ark Boon, CEO of International Enterprise Singapore, said.

"These companies can partner and co-create solutions with Chinese manufacturers as they move up the value chain.

"The center serves as a onestop shop for Singapore and Guangdong enterprises to collaborate on I4.0 solutions, and scale up in other parts of China," he added.

Nina Yang, Ascendas-Singbridge's CEO for Sustainable Urban Development, said: "As the master developer of Sino-Singapore Guangzhou Knowledge City, Ascendas-Singbridge is pleased to jointly launch the Singapore Manufacturing Innovation Center with IE Singapore."

Located in the heart of the Pearl River Delta region - one of the world's most important manufacturing and industrial hubs - the center is strategically positioned.

"This is in line with our commitment to play a meaningful role in supporting economic and social development in key cities across China and around the region," she said. Chen Xiaohua, head of Guangzhou's Huangpu district and executive vice-director of Guangzhou Development District Administrative Committee, said the launch of the innovation center will be a new start for expanding Sino-Singapore cooperation in new and high-tech industries in Guangdong.

The Sino-Singapore Guangzhou Knowledge City aims to establish itself as a model zone for Sino-foreign economic cooperation under the country's Belt and Road Initiative, said Chen.

Michael Leong, CEO of SESTO Robotics, said: "The center's strategic location, with a well-connected transportation network and robust infrastructure, provides us with an excellent base for reaching out to the Chinese companies requiring quality and intelligent automation solutions."