Financial services under Sino-Singaporean initiative benefit ASEAN members

The Thai subsidiary of Chongqing Hongjiu Fruit Co Ltd obtained a $3 million loan from Standard Chartered Bank (Thailand) in June to expand the company's fruit business.

"The loan has been mainly used to import fresh fruit from Thailand. It has played a crucial role in enhancing our purchasing capacity and expanding the market. Meanwhile, it has further benefited Thai fruit growers, as they have broader access to export their fruit and gain more profits," said Deng Hongjiu, chairman of the fruit company based in southwestern China's Chongqing.

The financing project was facilitated under the framework of the China-Singapore (Chongqing) Demonstration Initiative on Strategic Connectivity, which was launched in 2015. Financial service is one of the key areas of cooperation under the framework.

Data released at the fifth China-Singapore (Chongqing) Connectivity Initiative Financial Summit, which closed on Friday, showed that as of March this year, a total of $19.6 billion in cross-border financing projects had been implemented under the framework in the preceding seven years. Such projects were scattered across more than 10 provinces and municipalities in China, including Chongqing, Yunnan, Sichuan and Guizhou.

Held in China's Chongqing municipality and Singapore simultaneously on April 20 and 21, the summit focused on new missions for financial centers and new momentum for financial opening-up. It aimed to provide forward-looking views and policy guidelines for quality financial cooperation between China and Singapore, as well as between China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.

Cross-border financial services under the framework have also provided new opportunities for the New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor, a trade and logistics passage jointly built by western China provincial-level regions and ASEAN members.

"A financial services platform for the New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor has been co-established by the Chinese and Singaporean sides, which provides convenient and low-cost financial services for logistics, trade and manufacturing enterprises," said Liu Wei, director of the coordination center for logistics and operations of the New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor.

Through financial support, the development of the trade corridor has taken off.

Data from the center showed that from January to March, 36,000 twenty-foot equivalent units, or TEUs, valued at 5.56 billion yuan ($803.7 million), were transported along the trade corridor via Chongqing, up 39 percent and 25 percent year-on-year, respectively.

The trade corridor serves 393 ports in 119 countries and regions.

Apart from fruit from Thailand, more and more agricultural products from Laos and Cambodia, as well as seafood from Vietnam, have entered the vast Chinese market through the trade corridor.

"Enhancing financial cooperation and connectivity is an important part of promoting ASEAN-China economic integration. More connected financial ecosystems across the region will help businesses by lowering transaction costs, improving their access to financing and making it easier for businesses to manage their risks and finances," said Josephine Teo, Singapore's minister for communications and information and second minister for home affairs, at the summit via an online speech.

"All of these will have a positive effect on increasing trade flows and cross-border investments in new projects and help realize the immense potential of our region," she added.

Ruan Lu, director of the Chongqing Local Financial Supervision and Administration Bureau, said the cooperation between Chongqing and Singapore has promoted connectivity between the western regions of China and ASEAN members.

Chongqing and Singapore are expected to further strengthen financial cooperation and explore higher-level cross-border financial services in the future, Ruan said.