SINGAPORE CAN PLAY MEANINGFUL ROLE AS BRIDGE FOR INDIA AND CHINA

SINGAPORE, March 28 (Bernama) -- Businesses here should leverage on their
global positioning in South-East Asia and strong economic connectivity to serve
as a bridge for China and India.

Senior Minister of State for Trade and Industry and Education, S. Iswaran,
said the city-state could play a meaningful role in the growing needs and
opportunities in these two large economies.

"China and India are rising economic giants within Asia and key drivers of
the global economy.

"They constitute one-third of the world population, and contribute nearly
eight per cent of the global gross domestic product," he said at the Singapore
Indian Chamber of Commerce & Industry (SICCI) conference here Monday.

Iswaran said SICCI would sign a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the
Enterprise Development Centre @ SICCI’s Shanghai Representative Office.

"With the MOU, Indian companies in Singapore can work with SCCCI and the EDC
Shanghai Representative Office to explore business opportunities in China," he
said.

He said the MOU was an important step in facilitating inroads by Indian
companies into China using Singapore and EDC Shanghai Representative Office as a
staging post.