India, China commerce chambers in Singapore sign MoU

Thanks to an investment and business potential Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed between leading industry chambers representing Indian and Chinese firms in Singapore today, more than 400 Singapore-based Indian origin companies would be able to avail benefits that were not available to them earlier.

The MoU was signed by the Singapore Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SICCI) and the Shanghai Representative office of the Singapore Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCCI), to leverage the latter's resources for the exploration of new business and investment opportunities in China.

The number of India-based companies with offices in Singapore exceeds 4,000 as against 3,000  China-based businesses with offices in Singapore supporting their operations in Asian markets.

Under the terms of the two-year MoU, SCCCI's Shanghai office would be used to build up businesses in China which would benefit over 800 SICCI members, more than half of which are regional investment offices of companies from India according to SICCI chief executive officer Harmek Singh.

There are also substantial potential investment opportunities in China's automobile and biotech industries, education and information technology sector, energy projects, infrastructure development, material supply chain and logistics.

In his opening remarks at the one-day conference, Singapore's senior minister of trade and industry S Iswaran, stressed on the role of Singapore in supporting the high-growth economies of both India and China.