Chinese companies raise $10b through China-Singapore program

CHONGQING - Chinese firms have raised about $10 billion in cross-border financing deals through a China-Singapore intergovernmental program over the past three years.

A total of 105 cross-border financing deals worth $10.42 billion have been reached through the China-Singapore (Chongqing) Demonstration Initiative on Strategic Connectivity since its official launch in November 2015, according to Han Baochang, director of the program's administration bureau based in Chongqing municipality.

The deals involve various financing channels such as international commercial loans, real estate investment trust and foreign debt, Han said, adding that Chinese companies from various fields, including manufacturing, information technology, new energy and new materials, had participated in cross-border financing through the program.

The program has effectively reduced financing costs for businesses in China's western regions, including Chongqing, provinces of Sichuan, Shaanxi and Qinghai, Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, and Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region.

The China-Singapore (Chongqing) Demonstration Initiative on Strategic Connectivity aims to pilot cooperation in fields including financial services, aviation, logistics and information technology.

It is the third such cooperation initiative between the two countries, following the Suzhou Industrial Park established in the eastern province of Jiangsu in 1994, and the Tianjin Eco-city inaugurated in 2008 in North China.