As companies are turning to technology to revamp their offerings and seize digital opportunities during the COVID-19 pandemic, the digital-focused agreements between Singapore and Chongqing are more relevant now than ever.
17 Memoranda of Understanding (MOUs) between Singapore and Chongqing businesses were signed on the side lines of the Smart China Expo (SCE) Online, as businesses continue to explore opportunities amid the pandemic restrictions.
The MOUs ranged from collaborations in built environment and manufacturing to logistics and tourism for markets in Chongqing, Western China and Singapore.
Last year Singapore and Chinese companies signed 13 deals for the collaborative efforts to employ digital technologies in education, manufacturing and telecommunications at the annual Smart China Expo in Chongqing.
“Chongqing is a key node into Western China, Singapore is likewise, a gateway into South East Asia. It is heartening to see that business engagements have continued, despite COVID restrictions, enabled by moving from the physical onto the Digital domain,” said Mr Lew Chuen Hong, Chief Executive, Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA).
The annual SCE is Chongqing’s most significant platform for tech leaders and the digital community to promote innovation and forge partnerships. 32 Singapore companies and organisations participated in this year’s virtual exhibition, the first time the SCE has gone completely digital amid COVID restrictions. This was made possible by the International Dedicated Connectivity (IDC), launched in September last year, allowing for the live streaming of the conference.
The IDC provides high quality and low latency digital connectivity between Chongqing and Singapore, enabling new business opportunities and digital projects between Western China and Southeast Asia.
The Joint Innovation Development Fund
To further seed innovative collaborations, Singapore and Chongqing companies jointly submitted more than 30 joint proposals to the initial tranche of the Joint Innovation Development Fund (JIDF) over the past year.
14 joint proposals were subsequently endorsed by the Joint Evaluation Committee comprising industry and academia from Chongqing and Singapore.
The JIDF launched in 2019 is an RMB$40M initiative by IMDA, Enterprise Singapore and Chongqing Application Development Administration Bureau to promote the joint development of innovative products and solutions.
The fund aims to accelerate projects which show the most potential to be mutually economically beneficial for both companies and both countries.
