The epidemic has forced global exchanges to be interrupted, why do these Singaporean hard technology companies still come to Shanghai?

In July, the wholly foreign-owned Raffles Hospital Shanghai opened operations in Qiantan, Pudong. "From the beginning of the project establishment and preparation, the shanghai municipal government at both levels and the Singapore Enterprise Board have given us great support." Dr. Xie Fengcai, Vice President of Raffles Medical Group Greater China from Singapore, introduced that the hospital hired a number of foreign doctors to introduce the concept of family general practitioners, hoping to give Shanghai citizens a more international medical experience.

Raffles Hospital Shanghai is the fruit of a comprehensive cooperation between Shanghai and Singapore over the years. Since the first meeting of the Shanghai-Singapore Comprehensive Cooperation Council was held in 2019, the two sides have continuously strengthened their reference exchanges and promoted pragmatic cooperation in the fields of "Belt and Road" construction, financial cooperation, people-to-people exchanges, scientific and technological innovation, and business environment. Yesterday (16), the third meeting of the Shanghai-Singapore Council was held in the "cloud", and the two sides said that they would jointly promote the continuous improvement and upgrading of cooperation and exchanges between the two places and jointly write a new chapter in shanghai-singapore all-round cooperation.

Investing in Shanghai is investing in the future

In July, Raffles City On the North Bund opened, the third Raffles City-branded commercial complex built by CapitaLand Singapore in Shanghai. Yang Qinfu, deputy CHIEF Executive Officer of CapitaLand Investments China, who has his family based in Shanghai, has seen himself as a new Shanghainese, "The City Bazaar of Raffles City on the North Bund recreates the life of old Shanghai; the square bell tower of Raffles City Changning preserves the city's memory." ”

Shanghai is one of the first cities CapitaLand has invested in China and is also a core business city in China. At present, CapitaLand manages nearly 50 projects in Shanghai, covering a variety of formats such as residential, office buildings, shopping malls and commercial complexes.

"We are optimistic about Shanghai. Investing in Shanghai is not only investing in today, but also investing in the future. Yang Qinfu is very concerned about the Shanghai New Council platform, which gives both companies more confidence, and also hopes to find business opportunities from the third meeting and find future investment directions.

Not only CapitaLand Group, but also many institutions in Shanghai and New Zealand are using this platform to expand cooperation channels. For example, in recent years, the two places have strengthened financial dialogue and cooperation and the mutual establishment of financial institutions to further enhance the interconnection of financial markets between the two sides. For another example, docking the Hongqiao International Central Business District and using the Hongqiao International Import Commodities Exhibition and Trading Center, Shanghai helps Singaporean enterprises to make good use of the spillover effect of the Expo and actively explore the Chinese market.

At the same time, people-to-people exchanges between Shanghai and Singapore have also been rejuvenated, and the education and health departments of the two places have continued to promote in-depth cooperation between Shanghai and Singapore universities and hospitals in the fields of talent training, academic exchanges, epidemic prevention and control. These tangible results have effectively enhanced the sense of gain of the people in the two places.

Scientific and technological innovation cooperation has become a highlight

In the early days of the global outbreak of the new crown epidemic in 2020, Zhou Wei, founder and CEO of XNode Infinity, was very anxious. This company is for Singapore's hard technology startups to enter the Chinese market, when global exchanges are forced to break, will Singaporean companies still come to Shanghai?

Scientific and technological innovation cooperation has always been the highlight of cooperation between Shanghai and Singapore. At the first meeting of the Shanghai-Singapore Council in 2019, the two sides set the promotion of scientific and technological innovation development as key areas of cooperation, and at the second meeting in 2020, the relevant departments of the two places also signed a memorandum of cooperation on the scientific and technological innovation sector.

Soon after, Zhou Wei's concerns were dispelled, and the Singapore government still encouraged enterprises to "go to sea" to develop. Through the Singapore Cross-Border Entrepreneurship Acceleration Project, a Singaporean Cranial Neurotechnology company signed a cooperation agreement with a clinic in Shanghai, where local clinics had access to Cutting-edge Singapore's technologies and Singaporean companies found trusted Partners in Shanghai.

As of 2021, XNode Has introduced 30 Singaporean technology start-ups to China, 20 of which are incubating in Shanghai. "In the future, we must not only help Singaporean enterprises to bring in, but also help Shanghai enterprises go global." Zhou Wei looks forward to providing a more convenient channel for Shanghai and even Chinese enterprises to explore the Singapore and Southeast Asian markets through closer cooperation between Shanghai and Singapore.

The good news is that at the third meeting held yesterday (16th), Shanghai and Singapore once again signed a memorandum of cooperation in the field of scientific and technological innovation. Zhou Wei believes that with the help of the Shanghai-New Council as a cooperation platform, the two sides will continue to focus on strengthening the construction of the source function of scientific and technological innovation, strive to achieve new breakthroughs in collaborative innovation between the two places, and install a magnificent "science and technology engine" for each other's high-quality development.