Singapore and China to form co-investment platform for SEA infrastructure projects

As Singapore and China signed five agreements on 29 April, drawing closer in their collaboration on trade, law enforcement and projects under the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), Surbana Jurong and Silk Road Fund, a medium to long term investment fund dedicated to support the BRI, also inked a Framework Agreement to implement the China-Singapore Co-Investment Platform.

The agreement was signed by Wong Heang Fine, group CEO of Surbana Jurong, and Wang Yanzhi, president of the Silk Road Fund in the presence of Singapore’s Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and China’s Premier Li Keqiang.

The agreement takes further an earlier MOU signed in April last year and now identifies logistics, e-commerce, infrastructure and professional services such as financial and legal services, as areas for collaboration in third-party markets under the BRI.

Under the agreement, Surbana Jurong and Silk Road Fund will set up a co-investment platform that is primarily focused on greenfield infrastructure projects in Southeast Asia (SEA). The partners expect to invest about SGD680 million (USD500 million) over the next few years, with each partner investing in principle equal amounts in the projects. Investments of the platform could take various forms, including equity and debt.

This partnership was initiated and facilitated by Infrastructure Asia, a regional infrastructure project facilitation office under the Singapore government.

The platform will be tapping into opportunities arising from BRI and aims to promote infrastructure development and connectivity, contributing to the sustainable economic and social growth of communities across BRI countries. — Construction+ Online