Much room for China-ASEAN economic cooperation (2)

Tan Lui Hai, economic counselor at the Singaporean Embassy to China, said Chinese investment in Singapore is diversified, but the amount is relatively small.

He said Singapore, a country that presents few language and cultural barriers to China, welcomes more investment, especially from Chinese small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

The development of China's service industry will create new business opportunities for service-savvy Singaporean enterprises, and the mature investment environment in Singapore can also facilitate Chinese investment programs, according to Tan.

To back cooperation with the ASEAN, Xu Ningning, executive secretary general of the CABC, said at the briefing that China has set up a 10-billion-U.S. dollar fund to provide financial support to SMEs with investment ambitions in ASEAN member states.

Moreover, authorities are mulling policies such as favorable loans and tax cuts for Chinese enterprises to go abroad in ASEAN members, according to Xu.

Domestic enterprises can also stay informed on the latest investment information and business situations in the ASEAN through working conferences and other channels, Xu said.

The Malaysian and Singaporean chambers of commerce said they are willing to share business opportunities in the ASEAN with their Chinese friends.

China and ASEAN members should further open up their markets and step up efforts to create a more favorable environment for closer economic cooperation, Xu said.

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