137 projects worth 21.9 bln USD signed through China-Singapore program

Altogether 137 cooperative projects worth 21.9 billion U.S. dollars have been signed through a China-Singapore inter-government program over the past three years.

This was revealed at a press conference for the third anniversary of the China-Singapore (Chongqing) demonstration initiative on strategic connectivity held Wednesday in southwest China's Chongqing Municipality.

The initiative was launched in November 2015, aiming to pilot cooperation in fields including financial services, aviation, logistics and communications.

According to Han Baochang, director of the management administration of the initiative, China and Singapore have established diversified cross-border financing channels.

Western provinces and cities including Chongqing, Sichuan and Shaanxi have raised more than 5.15 billion U.S. dollars in 62 cross-border financial deals so far.

Six banks have established global or regional capital operation and clearing centers in Chongqing, showing that the two sides have strengthened cooperation in investment funds covering logistics, big data and new energy, managing around 7.7 billion yuan.

The number of flights between Chongqing and Singapore has increased from five to 14 per week, Han said, adding air travelers between the two areas increased to 190,000 in 2017, up 30 percent year-on-year.

A new sea-land trading route has shaved off 12 days for transporting cargo between Chongqing and Singapore.

Han said that the two sides have also strengthened cooperation in Internet of Things, cloud computing and big data. The two sides have signed an MOU to deepen cooperation in communications and media.