SUZHOU - AFTER more than a decade of working together on the Suzhou Industrial Park (SIP), Singapore and China's Jiangsu province are now looking at doing joint projects overseas.

Singapore architecture and engineering firms could partner Chinese construction companies to build big projects such as airports or power plants in the Middle East, for instance, Minister of State for Trade and Industry Lee Yi Shyan said yesterday after a forum held by the new Singapore-Jiangsu Cooperation Council.

Having Singapore and Jiangsu enterprises pair up for joint overseas projects is one of the council's key tasks in the next year, and that was the main theme of yesterday's forum, which was attended by officials and businesses from both sides.

Launched on Thursday by the co-chairmen, Singapore Health Minister Khaw Boon Wan and Jiangsu party secretary Liang Baohua, the council aims to spawn a broad range of cooperation - economic as well as in education, tourism, business outsourcing and environment management. The council is one of Singapore's six with Chinese provinces.

'Singapore, being right in the middle of the Middle East and China...can play a very critical role in bridging the gap between both sides,' said Mr Lee, who is vice-chairman of the council along with Jiangsu Vice-Governor Zhang Weiguo.

Mr Ignatius Lim, secretary-general of the council's Singapore secretariat, said the Republic and Jiangsu are already talking about the possibility of setting up industrial parks overseas together.

Tapping on their respective strengths, Singapore will focus on master plans, while China - with its low-cost and vast supply of labour - will take care of construction management and building.

When the infrastructure is up, Singapore will market the parks to international investors, said Mr Lim, who is also IE Singapore's director of China strategic relations.

It may take time for companies to find complementary partners, said Mr Lim, but he hopes to see 'one or two success stories within the next six to 12 months'.

Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong and Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao had agreed to look into joint ventures overseas when they met in Beijing in April last year.

Getting China's homegrown companies to list on the Singapore Exchange (SGX) is another way in which Singapore helps Jiangsu and other Chinese enterprises enter the international market, said Mr Lee.

With the Hong Kong stock exchange being a 'very formidable competitor', he said Singapore is working to set up a 'green lane' to request Beijing's quicker approval for interested Chinese companies to list on the SGX.

Some 130 Chinese companies - 21 of them from Jiangsu - are currently listed on the SGX, making up almost half of listed foreign companies.

But several major listings by Chinese enterprises in recent years have gone to Hong Kong or New York instead.

Mr Lee called on Suzhou Mayor Yan Li in Suzhou last night. Mr Lee earlier opened a new 210-unit luxury service apartment development built by Singapore companies Frasers Hospitality and Yanlord Land Group in the provincial capital of Nanjing. He leaves for Singapore today.

Mr Khaw, who had been in Nanjing for a three-day visit, left for Singapore yesterday.

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