Singapore's Participation in the Growth of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Greater Bay Area and Shenzhen Cluster

Mr Desmond Choo asked the Minister for Trade and Industry with China's launch of the blueprint for Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Greater Bay Area and Shenzhen given greater autonomy for development, how can Singapore and its companies participate in the growth of the cluster.

Mr Chan Chun Sing: In October 2020, the Chinese Government released a five-year implementation plan for comprehensive pilot reforms across diverse sectors in Shenzhen. These reforms to promote Shenzhen and the broader Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA) 1 into a vibrant world-class city cluster offer opportunities, and new areas of collaboration for Singapore companies to work with GBA enterprises.

Singapore companies keen to explore these opportunities can leverage Singapore's strong economic ties with GBA cities through various government platforms and projects. These cover many areas of cooperation spanning trade and investment, smart cities, financial services, talent strategy, innovation, and intellectual property (IP). Through these platforms and projects, which provide regular touchpoints with the Chinese government and enterprises, Singapore companies can actively engage and collaborate with potential GBA partners.

For example, at the Guangdong provincial-level, we have the annual Singapore-Guangdong Collaboration Council (SGCC) meetings co-chaired by Minister for Transport Ong Ye Kung and Guangdong Governor Ma Xingrui, which brings together leaders, government officials and private sector representatives from Singapore and Guangdong.

In Guangzhou, close to 50 Singapore companies have established a presence in the China-Singapore Guangzhou Knowledge City (CSGKC), using it as a useful entry point to tap growth opportunities in the GBA. The International IP Innovation Service Centre (ISC) in the CSGKC 2 also provides Singapore companies access to IP services in China that assist them in penetrating markets in the GBA and beyond, while enabling Chinese enterprises to leverage Singapore’s IP offerings to expand internationally.

More recently, the Singapore-China (Shenzhen) Smart City Initiative (SCI) launched in October 2019 3 serves as an important pathfinder collaboration for Singapore and Shenzhen companies and agencies to work together in the digital space. Notably, industry-led initiatives such as the OneSME platform, launched in September 2020 under the SCI, will help Singapore's SMEs expand their overseas reach and tap on a larger ecosystem of buyers, sellers, and business partners across China.

Singapore companies are encouraged to tap on our strong existing networks, including our platforms and projects with GBA cities and businesses, to leverage the GBA's development to capture new opportunities and forge new areas of growth.

Note(s) to Question No(s) 30:

1 The GBA comprises nine cities in Guangdong, as well as Hong Kong and Macao, with an estimated Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of US$1,680 billion in 2019. Source: Hong Kong Trade Development Council Research.

2 The ISC was established in July 2020 with the support of Intellectual Property Office of Singapore (IPOS) International, which is IPOS’ enterprise engagement arm.

3 The SCI was launched at the 15th Joint Council for Bilateral Cooperation (JCBC) in October 2019. The JCBC, which is co-chaired at the Deputy Prime Minister-level, is the apex bilateral cooperation platform between Singapore and China. The SCI comprises three pillars: (i) digital connectivity; (ii) innovation and entrepreneurship; and (iii) talent exchange and development.