SINGAPORE and China have successfully concluded negotiations for a free-trade agreement (FTA) and hope to sign the pact next month, the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) announced in a statement yesterday.

The agreement is significant as it is China's first such bilateral pact with an Asian country.

Deputy Prime Minister Wong Kan Seng, together with China's Vice-Premier Wang Qishan, announced this at the 5th Joint Council for Bilateral Cooperation Meeting in Tianjin, China, yesterday.

The trade agreement between China and Singapore covers several areas, including goods and services, investments and economic cooperation.

Both sides also concluded negotiations for a memorandum of understanding on labour cooperation, the statement added.

"The FTA will enhance our strong economic relations by further reducing and removing barriers to trade.

"This will create opportunities for businesses from both countries to grow their links in each other's markets," MTI commented in the statement.

Singapore and China had announced the launch of negotiations for the FTA at the 3rd Joint Council for Bilateral Cooperation Meeting in August 2006.

Formal FTA negotiations commenced in October that year and there have been eight rounds of negotiations.

Bilateral trade between Singapore and China amounted to $91.6 billion last year, according to MTI.

China is Singapore's third-largest trading partner, while Singapore is China's eighth-biggest.

In terms of investments, China is Singapore's top investment destination, and Singapore is China's seventh-largest investor. Singapore's cumulative actual investments amounted to more than US$33 billion (S$47 billion) as of the end of last year, MTI said.

Both countries enjoy close ties and have collaborated on major projects, such as an industrial park in Suzhou and an environmentally friendly "eco-city" in Tianjin.

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