Tag Archive for: chongqingconnectivityinitiative

1 Oct 2018:  WiseNet Asia has brought together the successful collaboration between Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, USA and Chongqing Jiaotong University, China under the Chongqing Connectivity Initiative (CCI).

The CCI is Singapore and China’s third joint project, and a linchpin of the global Belt and Road Initiative.  The four main pillars of cooperation are in transport and logistics, aviation, information and communication technology and finance.  CCI aims to drive growth in China’s western region by improving Chongqing’s transport and services links to the region and beyond.

MOU- CQJTU and ERU (1)

Facilitated through WiseNet Asia, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University (ERU), the world’s largest university specializing in aviation and aerospace, and Chongqing Jiaotong University (CQJTU), China’s leading university in transport engineering has signed a Memorandum of Understanding on the following:

  • Joint Degree courses starting year 2019 in Singapore
  • Short term courses
  • Exchange program for teaching staffs

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MOU- CQJTU and ERU (2)

This marks a significant milestone for aviation training in China and South East Asia, as there will be more options and better access to internationally recognized aviation courses.

Boeing forecasts that Asia Pacific’s economic growth will spur a need for 240,000 more pilots, 317,000 cabin crew and other aviation jobs such as technicians by 2037.  China will need half of these new personnel.

WiseNet Asia’s Belt and Road Initiative Business Matching Unit is a division of WiseNet Asia Pte Ltd.

About WiseNet Asia Pte Ltd: WiseNet Asia Pte Ltd is a regional integrated Human Resources services provider headquartered in Singapore.  Incorporated in 2011, WiseNet Asia started as an executive search firm and has since grown into a one-stop HR services provider.  It’s services include talent acquisition, talent development, talent transition, talent e-management system, HR outsourcing and Belt and Road Initiative business matching.  WiseNet Asia’s core value is to accelerate human resources development through innovative HR models and knowledge sharing.  For more information, visit www.wisenetasia.com

 

 

 

Date: Friday, 23rd Nov 2018 to Sunday, 25th Nov 2018
Time: 10:00 – 6:00pm (Sunday expo closes at 5pm.)
Location: ChongQing International Expo Center

 

Why choose ChongQing?

Event Belt Road CGQ opportunities

Event Details
Theme:  Quality of Life to Share

With the strong support of Chongqing Municipal People’s Government, Chongqing Commerce Commission, China-Singapore (Chongqing) Demonstration Initiative on Strategic Connectivity Administrative Bureau, and Liangjiang New Area Government, the Expo will be launched in Chongqing, the only municipality in Western China, to deepen the implementation of the “Belt and Road” Initiative along China’s Yangtze River Economic Belt and to establish a world-class serial exhibition.

Well located in the crossroad of “Silk Road Economic Belt”, ”China – Indo-China Peninsula Economic Corridor” and “Yangtze River Economic Belt”, Chongqing set up China (Chongqing) Pilot Free Trade Zone in 2017. In addition, since Chongqing – Xinjiang – Europe International Railway became operational, Chongqing has become a key gateway connecting Europe, Asia-Pacific Region and ASEAN.

Statistics from “Belt & Road” Expo 2017
During the 2017 Expo, 12 sessions of road shows and 70 match-makings were held. Nearly 60 journalists from over 40 mainstream media delivered live report, releasing a total of over 1400 news reports throughout the event.

Event Belt Road CGQ 2017 statistics

Event Activities:

Event Belt Road CGQ 2018 event activities

Click here to register:  Registration for Brand Expo 2018

Contact Person

Mr Toh Boon Lai
WiseNet Asia Pte Ltd
T:  +65-9239 7509
E: boonlai.toh@wisenetasia.com

WhatsApp for Enquiry:  Click here

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Source:  Smart China Expo

CHONGQING, ChinaAug. 20, 2018 – The first Smart China Expo (SCE 2018) held from August 23-25 in Chongqing featuredhost of smart technologies that will transform Chongqing into China’s pioneer in Big Data Intelligence.  Under the theme of “Smart Technology: Empowering the Economy and Enriching Life” and held at the Chongqing International Expo Center, SCE 2018 showcase the world’s most advanced technologies in Big Data Intelligence from over 500 global and local exhibitors including Google, Intel, Microsoft, CISCO, Foxconn, and Huawei.

Google AI

Singapore Digital

Alibaba Group

In addition to providing a venue for the world’s top big data firms to highlight their latest products and breakthroughs, SCE 2018 facilitated interactions among industry professionals, playing host to over 400 business, government, and academic dignitaries such as Alibaba Chairman Jack MaTencent CEO Pony Ma, Qualcomm President Cristiano Amon, and former Singaporean Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong.

“Big data and smart technology are profoundly changing economic patterns, lifestyles and social governance,” said Tang Liangzhi, Mayor of Chongqing, traditionally a manufacturing hub in western China.” Chongqing has adopted an innovation-driven growth strategy and holding SCE will help promote the development of big data and smart technology in the city.”

Services provided through AI

 

Education provided through AI

Smart office

Smart office

With more than 180,000 square meters of floor space, SCE 2018 focus on sectors such as semiconductors, artificial intelligence (AI) and supercomputers with the most advanced “smart” products and technologies on display. For example, Chongqing Jinshan Science & Technology (Group) showcase its newly-developed surgical robot, which makes remote surgery possible.

By 2020, Chongqing aims to become China’s first-tier pilot city for the application of Big Data Intelligence. The value of 12 sectors – including big data, AI, integrated circuits, and the Internet of Things – is expected to grow to 750 billion yuanby then. Additionally, Chongqing plans to upgrade its traditional sectors by setting up 20 smart factories, 200 digital workshops and 2,000 digital assembly lines by 2020.

About Smart China Expo (SCE)

Held in Chongqing, the Smart China Expo (SCE) is a world-class, national-level Expo that supports the development of big data and smart technologies in Western China. SCE serves as a platform for Chongqing’s Smart Endeavors in the era of big data and smart tech, as well as for exchanges among organizations, enterprises, experts, and scholars from around the world. http://www.ichongqing.info/smart-china-expo/

For more information, visit: https://www.smartchina-expo.cn/

The FutureChina Global Forum (FCGF®) and Singapore Regional Business Forum (SRBF®) 2018 is jointly organised by Business China Singapore and the Singapore Business Federation from 27 – 28 Aug, 2018. It aims to be a platform to generate a pipeline of collaborative opportunities.

The FutureChina Global Forum (FCGF®) was created by Business China Singapore in 2010 and inaugurated by Singapore’s Founding Prime Minister and Founding Patron, the late Mr Lee Kuan Yew. The Forum, into its 9th Edition, seeks to provide an international platform for the sharing of experiences surrounding China’s evolution to become one of the world’s largest economies.

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Mr. Han Bao Chang, Director General of Chongqing Connectivity Initiative (CCI)

The FutureChina Global Forum has established itself as a major event for business executives and personalities with an interest in China. The “Belt and Road” initiative unveiled in 2013 by President Xi Jinping has received worldwide attention. Together with the strengthening and internationalisation of the Chinese Yuan, one cannot ignore the rise of China and needs to understand its impact on the region and the world.

The Singapore Regional Business Forum (SRBF®) was created by Singapore Business Federation in 2015. It is a platform that brings together top business leaders and senior government officials to discuss policy planning, economic vision, business and investment-related opportunities in the region.

In line with Singapore’s assumption of the ASEAN chairmanship in 2018, the FCGF & SRBF 2018 is a special edition Forum that is organised in conjunction with the ASEAN Economic Ministers Meeting (AEM).

The Forum theme, “Basis for Future Prosperity and Innovation”, is in line with the guiding themes of “Innovation” and “Resilience”, which ASEAN has identified as priorities for the region.

For more information, please refer to the following link:  https://www.futurechina.sg/programme/futurechina-global-forum/

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Original source from China People’s Daily.  View source in Chinese:  https://bit.ly/2tpLcPV

 

19 Jun 2018 —

果园港码头

Chongqing Guoyuan Port plays an important role in the multimodal transport system. The picture shows a ship unloading at the Port

In September 2017, Chongqing Connectivity Initiative’s Southern Corridor bound multi-modal transportation of rail and sea ways starting its journey from the Chongqing Railway Port

In September 2017, Chongqing Connectivity Initiative’s Southern Transport Corridor bound multi-modal transportation of rail and sea ways starting its journey from the Chongqing Railway Port

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Photo courtesy of Chongqing Gongyun ASEAN International Logistics Co., Ltd.

The first shuttle truck from Chongqing to the ASEAN roads took off from Chongqing ASEAN International Logistics Park on 28 April, 2016, the 10 standard container trucks loaded with export goods passed through Pingxiang, Guangxi, and finally arrived in Hanoi, Vietnam. The journey took about 40 hours, which was 15 days shorter than sea transport.

The trade channel is changing – starting from Singapore, via the Southern Transport Corridor, the container rail and sea transportation arrive in Chongqing in 10 days, which saves 15 days compared to the Jianghai-Channel intermodal route;

The logistics efficiency is changing – the multimodal intelligent system can find cargo information in 5 minutes, realize rapid container collection, and solve the problems of pallet configuration that has plagued the enterprise for many years;

The service industry is changing – the goods, technologies and resources are coming together. New business opportunities have given birth to a number of foreign trade services such as multimodal transport, cross-border big data platforms, and joint venture business collaborations.

Business exchanges are growing – Chongqing and Singapore’s round-trip passenger flow has increased from 45,000 in the past to 190,000 last year, there are more and more business travellers.  Flights have increased from 5 to 14 per week;

……

The changes originated from the third government-to government project between China and Singapore.

On November 7, 2015, the third inter-governmental cooperation project, the China-Singapore (Chongqing) Strategic Interconnection Demonstration Project (hereinafter referred to as ” Chongqing Connectivity Initiative (CCI)”), “settled in” Chongqing. Over the past two years, with the theme of “modern interconnection and modern service economy”, 116 key projects with a total value of approximately US$20.8 billion have taken root in Chongqing in the four major areas of financial services, aviation industry, transportation and logistics, and information and communications. “.

Southern Transport Corridor Connects International Shipping Network

On April 19th, a 40-foot container full of mold raw materials set off from Singapore. Ten days later, Yi Shen Die Technology (Chongqing) Co., Ltd. successfully received the goods.

This speed of delivery makes the company’s inventory manager Tan Yu happy.  Prior to this, importing goods from Singapore through Jianghai, first arrived in Shanghai and then entered Chongqing, which took nearly a month. “Today, the goods are sent from Singapore, first to Guangxi’s Qinzhou Port and then to “Chongqing New” Railway Sea Intermodal Class to Chongqing. The entire process takes only 10 days.”

This new line is the southbound channel of the Chongqing Connectivity Initiative (hereinafter referred to as the “Southern Transport Corridor”).

As the operation center, Chongqing has a unique geographical advantage. To the west, the Chongqing-Europe railway (YuXinOu) reaches China’s northwest, Central Asia, and Europe; towards east, it connects Shanghai to the sea via the “Golden Waterway” of the Yangtze River. To the south, more than 250 routes converge at the Singapore Port on the southeast side of the Strait of Malacca.

Through the construction of the Southern Transport Corridor, complimented by the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road.  All three logistics infrastructure completed a perfect trade network.

In September 2017, the Changgui New Tiehai Intermodal trains are fixed as routines and marked the official operation of the Southern Transport Corridor: starting from Chongqing to Qinzhou Port in Guangxi, and connecting sea to reach the ASEAN ports, and then connecting to the international shipping network. network.

At the same time, Chongqing’s cross-border road transport and international rail transport to the Indochina peninsula are also being realized.

Cross-border highway shuttle bus line: It departs from Nanpen Chongqing and exits through border ports in Guangxi and Yunnan, leading to countries such as Vietnam, Laos, Thailand, and Myanmar.

International railway transport links: From the southwestern railway network, through Pingxiang, Hekou, Mohan, Ruili and other border ports, and the Pan-Asian railway network convergence, connecting the Indochina Peninsula.

Three lines, vertical and horizontal miles, complement each other.  Southward, the “secondary governor” of foreign trade in the western region of China was opened up; to the north, the economic and trade exchanges between Singapore and other ASEAN countries leading to western China, Central Asia, and Europe were invigorated. “This will connect most of China’s entire territory with Southeast Asia, Eurasia, and Africa, greatly increasing the speed of cargo transportation,” said Zheng Yongnian, director of the East Asian Institute of the National University of Singapore.

On April 20th, a batch of LCD screens from Vietnam took only 10 hours to reach Qinzhou Port from Vietnam, then onto Chongqing via the Southern Transport Corridor.  The LCDs went on the same day’s Chongqing-Europe railway (YuXinOu) to Poland.

“It takes only 90 minutes to complete the sea-railway transport up to customs declaration in Qinzhou Port. It takes only 70 minutes to complete the railway transit declaration at the Chongqing Railway Port, and it is very fast and efficient!” said Wang Yupei, Chairman of China-Singapore Southern Transport Corridor.   Southern Transport Corridor and Chongqing-Europe railway (YuXinOu) together have achieved seamless convergence.

Currently, the internal and external ports of the Southern Transport Corridor rail and sea transports covered 82 ports in 45 countries and regions including East Asia, Southeast Asia, Africa, the Americas, and the Middle East.

Chan Chun Sing, Minister of Trade and Industry of Singapore, interprets the goal of the Southern Transport Corridor as ‘one channel that connects China and Singapore, one rail and sea intermodal network that reaches every part of the world’.

”Innovation” –

The Chongqing Connectivity Initiative project connects China and Singapore’s strategic channels.  Unlike China-Singapore cooperation in the construction of Suzhou Industrial Park and Tianjin Eco-City, this project has no land development and park planning, and it has no physical scenes.

Han Baochang, director of the Chongqing Connectivity Initiative Management Bureau, stated that there is no precedent when carrying out this project, there are only trials and errors.

In Zheng Yongnian’s view, when there is no physical entity, the Chongqing Connectivity Initiative project will face greater challenges than the previous two Sino-Singapore cooperation projects, and it will have more important innovation significance.

To achieve a “from 0 to 1” leap, we must grasp the “golden key” of innovation. The relevant national ministries and commissions gave support to the project’s 57 innovation initiatives.  In 2017, Chongqing also proposed some new innovation measures.

Innovation begins with the working mechanism. The Joint Implementation Committee “discovered problems”, the Joint Working committee “researched issues”, and the Joint Coordination Council “solved problems.” “The three-tiered working mechanism, ‘from the bottom to the top’, opens up the blockage and promotes problem solving. This is the most attractive facet for the Chongqing Connectivity Initiative,” said Han Baochang.

Step by step, the purpose of Chongqing Connectivity Initiative is increasingly becoming more meaningful.

In March this year, Sasseur REIT was listed on the Singapore Exchange.  As the Western regions first real estate investment trust listed in the Singapore Exchange, this is of great significance for the exploration of the new cross-border financing model for enterprises in the central and western regions.

There are many more “firsts” created under the umbrella of Chongqing Connectivity Initiative: In December 2016, Loncin Holdings issued 0.8 billion yuan of overseas bonds on the Singapore Exchange, the first private corporate bond in western China. It pioneered the launch of innovative financial services such as bill-bill financing, “export double-pace” trade financing, cross-border asset transfer, and inland river carrier liability insurance.

Today, both China and Singapore sides have established diversified cross-border investment and financing channels, cumulatively completed 60 types of cross-border credit financing projects with financing amount of US$5.06 billion, and reduce financing costs by 1.15 percentage points. The cross-border financing for the provinces of Sichuan, Qinghai, Shaanxi and other provinces amounted to 2.23 billion U.S. dollars, and the successful implementation of the China-Singapore cross-border financing model radiated to neighbouring provinces.

Through cooperation with Singapore companies, Chongqing companies are also advancing in innovation. A few years ago, Ding Yan’s Chongqing Pucheng Logistics Co., Ltd. had to implement rapid consolidation through manual inquiries and telephone calls. The Singapore Huilian Group’s multimodal intelligent system requires only the input of container, departure port, and destination information, and cargo information can be found within 5 minutes. Seeing this, Ding Yan immediately agreed to the requirement of “51% stake in the company.” Last May, the two companies jointly set up a new company – Chongqing Huilian Pucheng International Logistics Co., Ltd.

Ding Yan benefited from the sophisticated management brought by innovation: from the numerous departments and the complex management level, to the development of individual assessment and profit indicators according to the branch company model; from focusing on the cost of employing personnel to the use of a comprehensive compensation system.  “The staff has increased by 1/3, but the efficiency has more than doubled.” Ding Yan said: “Even the design of the warehouse has been optimized and innovative, and the warehouse has become a double storey. The increase in cost per square meter is less than 1,000 yuan, but the area of usage has increased by twofold.”

Many small and medium-sized enterprises are not able to form a full case of transportation due to the small volume of goods. The Chongqing Connectivity Initiative has brought business opportunities for Chinese and Singaporean companies collaborations.  Fuxin Europe (Chongqing) Supply Chain Management Co., Ltd. and Singapore Huantong Logistics Group jointly established Zhongxin Huantong (Chongqing) Multimodal Transport Co., Ltd. in February last year to provide public LCL services.  Mixed pallet price is similar in shipping, but it also saves time,” said Wang Huoquan, deputy general manager of the company.

“Sharing” –

Expanding channels of “friends circle”

Chongqing Liangjiang Digital Economy Industrial Park, an office building with coffee and musk – this is the Chongqing Coffee Exchange Center.  Sun Zheng, Deputy General Manager of the center, said that before, coffee beans imported from Vietnam were shipped to Chongqing via JiangHai intermodal transport route, processed into coffee powder and sent back to Vietnam. After the launch of the Southern Transport Corridor, the time efficiencies for transportation has greatly increased, and foreign companies have set up factories in Chongqing.

As the largest coffee spot trading place in China, Chongqing Coffee Exchange Center will also sell coffee from Yunnan and Southeast Asia to Europe to form an agglomeration of the global coffee industry.

Not just for coffee commodity, after the Southern Transport Corridor and the Chongqing European Railway (Chongqing YuXinOu Railway) are seamlessly connected, the canned tuna in the Philippines, Vietnamese clothing, etc. will no longer need to be transferred from Iran. After customs declaration at the Chongqing Railway Bonded Logistics Center, the goods can board on the Chongqing European Railway the same day, depart China from Xinjiang and arrived in Germany in less than 20 days.  Onions, apples, summer vegetables, and Chinese herbal medicines in northwestern China have also begun to become “demanding goods” in Southeast Asian countries.

“The higher the amount of freight traffic aggregated on the channel, the more participants there are and the greater the economies of scale, which can reduce costs, benefit all parties including enterprises, benefit the business environment in western China, and promote investment.” Chan Chun Sing said.

As the Southern Transport Corridor continues to expand through multiplying effects, the economic values for it’s surrounding areas are enhanced.  As an operation center, Chongqing will cooperate with Guangxi, Guizhou, Gansu, and Qinghai to conduct regional cooperation and jointly discuss the establishment and sharing of the Southern Transport Corridor.  In April of this year, the Southern Transport Corridor Chinese joint meeting has invited Inner Mongolia, Sichuan, Yunnan, Shaanxi, Qinghai and Xinjiang provinces to participate.

The channel is not a simple “aisle”.  It needs continuous improvements in services. China-Singapore Smart City has launched pilot projects in five districts and counties, and cooperation in smart transportation, smart animal husbandry and smart buildings is underway. Three unattended supermarkets will be launched in Singapore during the year; the data service platform went online in April this year. The platform gathered information on corporate data from the two countries and promoted the transnational development of enterprises. The Zimwork Sino-Bilingual Talent Service Trading Platform has been officially launched as joint venture between Chongqing Zhūbājiè Network and Singapore Press Holdings Group.

Interconnection, creating new opportunities for opening up inland

Since the beginning of this year, WiseNet Asia (Chongqing) Co., Ltd. has added 10 Singaporean corporate customers who are preparing to invest in Chongqing.  Karen Wong, GM of WiseNet Asia (Chongqing), plans to recruit more talents from the neighboring provinces.  According to Karen, “Southern Transport Corridor connects Singapore with the mainland of China. Our business is getting busier.”

 

About WiseNet Asia (Chongqing) /重庆中新巍海商务咨询有限公司

Wisenet Asia (Chongqing)/重庆中新巍海商务咨询有限公司 is a wholly owned subsidiary of Wisenet Asia (S) Pte Ltd.  It is the first overseas high-end headhunter company in Chongqing’s Human Resources Industrial Park, dedicated to implementing the Chongqing Municipality’s HongYan (talent) scheme, and helping Chongqing organizations in their talent needs.  The company was also selected as one of the Talent Acquisition Service Provider for Chongqing Municipality from 2018-2019 under the HongYan (talent) policy.

Follow WisenetAsia in China through WeChat:

WisenetAsia awarded the ‘Chongqing Municipality Talent Attraction Office’ by Chongqing Municipal Bureau of HR & Social Security

8 Jun 2018 – WisenetAsia (Chongqing) and Chongqing Industry Park of Human Resources signed an agreement for recruitment of  high-end talents.  For this, WisenetAsia (Chongqing) is awarded the ‘Chongqing Municipality Talent Attraction Work Station’ by Chongqing Municipal Bureau of Human Resources and Social Security.

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In recent years, with the steady development of the social economy, the demand for high-end talent in Chongqing has soared. The city has successively introduced a number of talent attraction policies, such as the Hong Yan program, and has increased efforts to “motivate the talents” and hopes to successfully introduce more high-end talents to Chongqing to live and work. In order to encourage headhunting companies to settle in and recruit talent for Chongqing’s socio-economic development, the Chongqing Human Resources Service Industrial Park officially established the nation’s first headhunting base. The first objective is to implement the strategy of vigorously attracting talents; the second is to support the development of the headhunting industry in Chongqing.

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Xie Xin, Deputy Director of the Industrial Park Management Committee, and Wang Xiaojian, Member of the Standing Committee and Organization Department of Yubei District of Chongqing Municipality, unveiled the headhunting base for the Industrial Park.

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Headhunting companies receiving their awards

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WisenetAsia (Chongqing)/重庆中新巍海商务咨询有限公司 is a wholly owned subsidiary of WisenetAsia.  It is the first overseas high-end headhunter company in Chongqing’s Human Resources Industrial Park.  The company was also selected as one of the talent acquisition service provider for Chongqing Municipality from 2018-2019 under the HongYan (talent) policy.

WisenetAsia is established in year 2011 in Singapore, with an employment agency license issued by the Singapore Ministry of Manpower. The company specialized in high end talent acquisition from mid to senior level management, and has a database of more than 50,000 international talent information. Headquartered in Singapore, WisenetAsia’s other locations include Kuala Lumpur, Chongqing, Shanghai and Hong Kong.

WisenetAsia works with customers in various industries including real estate, technology, financial services, infrastructure, investment funds, health care, aviation and logistics.  It’s client base consist of state-owned enterprises, multinationals and government linked companies.

 

 

Feb. 2018 – WiseNet Asia Pte Ltd is appointed as Consultant to Chongqing Aerotropolis & Investment Promotion Co, a state owned enterprise set up for promoting investment opportunities in Chongqing Yubei District.

As a Consultant to Chongqing Aerotropolis & Investment Promotion Co, WiseNet Asia is authorized to provide investment promotion advisory services, project planning consultation, events planning and facilitating collaborations in the areas of aviation, finance, ICT, healthcare, legal for Sino Singapore Aviation Hub and Xiantou Big Data Valley.

 

Follow WisenetAsia in China through WeChat:

 

25 April 2018:  WiseNet Asia, the leading regional integrated human resources services provider, jointly organized the inaugural ‘China-Singapore (Chongqing) Healthcare, Elderly Care and Tourism Cooperation Seminar’ to facilitate cross border talent needs and to foster closer business collaborations.  The event is hosted and jointly organized by the Chongqing Connectivity Administrative Bureau and Enterprise Singapore under the Ministry of Trade of Industry.

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Peng ZhiMing, Deputy Director of CCI

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From left: Peng ZhiMing, Deputy Director CCI; Wesley Hui, Director of Wisenet; Sean Wu, SVP, Corporate Development & Risk Management, Straco Corporation

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

From Chongqing Connectivity Initiative’s (CCI)  inception since Nov 2015 with its original four areas of collaboration in financial services, aviation, transport & logistics, and information & communications technology, CCI’s success such as Southern Transport Corridor and Strategic Connectivity has enabled expansion into other areas of collaboration that includes Healthcare, Elderly Care and Tourism.  To date, a total of S$27 billion has been invested under CCI.

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“Through jointly organizing this CCI event, we hope to create more awareness on the expanded business opportunities for both SMEs and MNCs.  There is a general misconception that these are only large investment projects for MNCs.  With the available projects shown in this event, there are smaller scale collaboration projects between government-private or both private organizations.  With the right talent in the driver seat, any small or mid-scale projects will grow in scale,’’ according to Wesley Hui, Director of WiseNet Asia.

View more:

CNA screenshot

Event day coverage in Channel News Asia Prime Time News:  https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/asia/chongqing-connectivity-initiative-set-for-expansion-10175814

Photo gallery: https://www.facebook.com/pg/WiseNetAsiaPteLtd/photos/?tab=album&album_id=777010349163941

April 13. 2018 – WiseNet Asia(Chongqing)重庆中新巍海商务咨询有限公司 is selected as one of the talent acquisition service provider for Chongqing Municipality from 2018-2019 under the HongYan (talent) policy.  During the bidding process, WiseNetAsia is selected for it’s full suite of HR solutions, international recruitment teams and many years of professional HR experience.

Talent Supplier Contract Annoucement CGQ 2018 2019

In Jun 2017, WisenetAsia set up a wholly-owned subsidiary in Chongqing – 重庆中新巍海商务咨询有限公司.  It is the first overseas high-end headhunter company in Chongqing’s Human Resources Industrial Park, dedicated to implementing the HongYan (talent) scheme, and helping Chongqing organizations in their talent needs.

WisenetAsia is established in year 2011 in Singapore, with an employment agency license issued by the Singapore Ministry of Manpower. The company specialized in high end talent acquisition from mid to senior level management, and has a database of more than 50,000 international talent information. Headquartered in Singapore, WisenetAsia’s other locations include Kuala Lumpur, Chongqing, Shanghai and Hong Kong.

WisenetAsia works with customers in various industries including real estate,technology, financial services, infrastructure, investment funds, health care, aviation and logistics.  It’s client base consist of state-owned enterprises, multinationals and government linked companies.

 

 

19 Mar 2018 –  A notable mention of WiseNet Asia by Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office Chan Chun Sing in Parliament on Monday (Mar 19), on the progress of the Chongqing Connectivity Initiative. This was in response to questions from MP Sun Xueling.

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Minister Chan Chun Sing, Minister in Prime Minister’s Office and the Secretary-General of the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC)

View Minister Chan Chun Sing’s speech transcript in Parliament:  (No 6) – https://www.mti.gov.sg/Newsroom/Parliamentary-Replies/2018/03/MinisterPMO-Chan-Chun-Sings-oral-reply-on-the-Chongqing-Connectivity-Innitiative-Project

Since its launch in Nov 2015, the China-Singapore (Chongqing) Demonstrative Initiative on Strategic Connectivity (CCI) has made good progress  in catalysing the economic development of Western China and Southeast Asia by enhancing connectivity in the areas of financial services, aviation, transport & logistics, and information and communications technology (ICT).

The key milestones to date are as follow:

  • Cross-border financing deals totalling RMB 25.3 billion (around SGD 5.2 billion) have been completed to date
  • Aviation connectivity from 5 flights to 14 flights per week
  • The CCI-Southern Transport Corridor (CCI-STC) project enhancing multi-modal connectivity between Western China, Southeast Asia and to the rest of the world. The CCI-STC has been referred to by China’s President Xi Jinping as the international land and sea corridor that connects the overland Silk Road Economic Belt with the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road
  • CCI is about enhancing connectivity in both sides.  As cross-border trade activities increase, demand for related services like finance, legal and other professional services will also increase. These in turn, create more opportunities for our businesses and our people. For instance, WiseNet Asia has also entered Chongqing to provide HR recruitment services.

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Written by TY Chin | Updated Feb 28, 2018

Copyright © 2017 WiseNet Asia Pte Ltd.  All Rights Reserved

Bridging China

 

Belt and Road Initiative, setting South East Asia region as central Global Value Chain of the future

In 2016, China companies invested US$14.53 billion in countries along the “Belt and Road”; where the contract value for projects along the routes amounted to US$126.03 billion, with a turnover of US$75.97 billion (Source: Ministry of Commerce, China). A large part of the investment is in South East Asia countries that includes Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand and Malaysia. From 2013 to 2016, the Belt and Road Initiative has created more than 180,000 local jobs, and paid $1.1 billion in tax to local governments.

The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) is China’s globalization project introduced by President Xi in 2013. It encompasses more than 60 countries, 4.4 billion people and up to 40% of the global GDP. The routes consist of the “21st Century Maritime Silk Road” and the “Silk Road Economic Belt”. The Belt is a land route from China’s western region through Central Asia, extending up to North of Europe. The Road consists of shipping lanes from Western Asia, through South East Asia, Africa and Europe.

The plan opens up new market opportunities for companies along the routes, but also comes with complicated risks and challenges.

Economic Belt Map

(Image Source: Maps of world 2017)

Belt and Road benefits China and the countries along the route through shared economic growth. According to the Asian Development Bank, Asia needs to invest $26 trillion by 2030 to maintain its growth momentum. Aside from Singapore, most of South East Asia countries are hampered by infrastructure deficits. China’s investments in infrastructure connectivity will fill in the gaps in economic expectations, and also the possibility of developing the South East Asia region into the centre of a future global value chain.

Asia Infrastructure Development

(Image Source:Asian Development Bank)

 

Chongqing, the Place for the Belt & Road Project

Chongqing is a key location in the Belt and Road Initiative, where much of the Belt and Road actions are happening through its land, air, water transportation hubs, logistics city and free trade zone. Chongqing is situated on the upper reaches of the Yangtze River in western China, linking China to Europe through a network of roads and rails across Central Asia. It is also connected to Southeast Asia through a highway that connects to the port city of Qinzhou in southern Guangxi. The Chongqing-Xinjiang-Europe (Yuxinou International Railway) is a 10,000-km-plus rail route stretching from Chongqing to Duisburg, Germany. As at end of 2015, the railway has handled over US $10 billion worth of freight both ways.

Map of Trans-Eurasia Railroad & Schengen Area

(Image Source: USA China Daily)

The Chongqing free trade zone connects the new Silk Road to the Yangtze River. Approved in April 2017, it aims to accelerate development in the western region and also to promote Belt and Road activities.

Chongqing is also the base of China-Singapore (Chongqing) Demonstration Initiatives on Strategic Connectivity, in short, Chongqing Connectivity Initiative (CCI). Launched in 2015, this is the third government-to-government project between Singapore and China, and a linchpin of the Belt and Road Initiative. Four areas of collaboration between the two countries are financial services, aviation, transport & logistics, and information & communications technology.

Under the CCI initiative, a total of US$3.22 billion financing deals have been signed as at the end of 2016, leading to savings of RMB 152 million for Chongqing businesses. Through Chongqing, Southeast Asian companies can expand into Western China; likewise through Singapore, Chinese companies can venture into ASEAN (Source: Ministry of National Development, Singapore)

Chongqing is positioned to be a major port for inland logistics that connect to international routes.  Under the CCI Transport and Logistics Master plan, the Chongqing Logistics Development Platform (CLDP) and the Multimodal Distribution and Connectivity Centre (DC) are rolled out in Feb 2017. The CLDP is set up to do logistics planning and develop standards for the transport and logistics industry. The DC is a logistics hub that caters to different transport modes, such as river, rail, air and road.

The Challenges

Alongside the encouraging developments thus far, there are also gaps to market entry and business growth in the form of various risks and challenges. The gaps must be addressed as failure will have a multiplying effect on the business entities and the bank that financed the project.

Economic and Political Risks
Countries along the Belt and Road are vastly diverse with various ethnics, cultures and languages. Many countries have their own risk profile. On the macroeconomic level, political controversies in some South East Asia countries have undermined investors’ confidence, prompting prolonged exchange-rate volatility. Other risk factors include volatile energy prices, natural catastrophes with flood and drought, and security with the threat of terrorism and violent demonstrations.

In foreign trade, China has implemented capital control measures earlier in 2017; however, the control is not applicable for China companies participating in the Belt and Road initiative. The projects in Belt and Road are approved by various government agencies and state enterprises. Hence, within the government offices, there should be people who are experienced with due diligence and risk assessments in international projects. The implementation of control measures starts from top down. Approval of the wrong projects could cause taxpayers money for the mistakes.

Singapore, being a global trade and financial centre, is the most stable in the region, yet it faces the problem of low birth rate whereby fertility ranks last among 224 nations in a study by the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency. This poses the risks of impending economic growth and tax revenues.

Labour Risks
Malaysia economy’s manpower needs over the past decade has been largely supported by foreign labour taking up jobs that the locals will not do. Foreign labours are consistently at a shortage. However, the government has implemented measures to reduce reliance on them, resulting in higher operational costs for companies who have to import skilled labours.

Risks face by China companies investing abroad
More than $250 billion in China’s overseas investments failed between 2005 and 2015, according to the China Global Investment Tracker.

A research report by the Centre for China and Globalization points out that for China companies expanding in the belt and road routes, their main concern is political risk whereby two thirds of the sixty over countries have debts burden classifying them below investment grades.

Other challenges encountered by Chinese enterprises investing overseas include low participation in existing international standard establishments, lack of professional managers with international experiences, miscommunication between Chinese enterprises and international Non-governmental organizations, misunderstanding of foreign trade unions, difficulties in promoting Chinese brands internationally, and low ability in facing legal and political risks.

Detrimental effects of poor investments
Poor infrastructure investments that end up as white elephant or abandoned projects cost more over the long term, incurring interest payment and underutilization cost. The risks commonly associated with megaprojects are overrun in timeline and budget. Bent Flyvbjerg, the most cited scholar in the world in megaproject management at Oxford’s business school, estimated that nine out of ten megaprojects go over budget. The cost overruns anything between 50% and 1900%. One example of failed megaproject is the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, which became a contributing factor to Greece debt default in 2011. In such instances, governments with tax payers’ money will have to pay for the failed projects.

International Arbitration in ASEAN
With the risks associated with going global, disputes between business partners are also inevitable. Arbitration is one way to resolve high value cross border disputes. The Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre (HKIAC) and the Singapore International Arbitration Centre (SIAC) are the two most popular jurisdictions by numbers of cases handled. Other centres include The China International and Economic Trade Arbitration Commission and The Kuala Lumpur Regional Centre for Arbitration (KLRCA).

According to the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) 2015 Report, Singapore has been the number one seat of ICC arbitration in Asia for five years running, as well as being  the fourth most preferred seat globally.  The other two dispute resolution institutions in Singapore are the Singapore International Mediation Centre (SIMC) and the Singapore International Commercial Court (SICC).

In Jan 2018, China announced the formation of three arbitration courts dedicated to settling Belt and Road disputes.  The headquarter is located in Beijing, the court in Xian would settle commercial disputes in the land routes (Belt), and the court in Shenzhen would focus on disputes in the sea routes (Road).  According to Xinhua News, the new institutions will be based on Beijing’s existing judiciary, arbitration and mediation agencies.

Despite the growing popularity, arbitration has its challenges and disadvantages. According to Matthew Gearing of Allen & Over:
– there is a propensity for court intervention in certain Asian jurisdictions;
– courts in certain jurisdictions have refused to enforce arbitral awards on grounds which go beyond the terms of the New York Convention; and
– the pool of suitably experienced arbitrators based in the region is comparatively small compared to Europe.

Navigating through the gaps of doing business in Belt and Road

The challenges are real, so are the vast market opportunities. Even though it is impossible to completely work out all the major risks with their subsets of secondary risks, it is still viable to navigate through the right framework and strategy in both government and private sectors, driven by one common agenda.

People
As a safety measure, a third party business and HR advisory with links in China and trading countries helps to shorten the learning curve. They can assemble a team together, cut through the noise on cultural gaps and cushion on tensions when it arises. An advisory body works out the teething problems in the starting phase and is part of the implementation team. Aside from facilitating cross border collaboration, their role is to minimize costs from mistakes.

Once the link is established, there needs to be human capital that can deliver long term business objectives and also contribute to social and economic growth of the area. Mega projects could take up to 10, 20 or even 30 years to build; therefore there needs to be a committed team with long term vision. Also, the steering team needs to work hand in hand with local authorities to drive social benefits for the area. This includes control of air pollution and waste management.

Best Practices
On the state level, state administrative bodies need to establish one set of common quality standards and best practices in each sector of cooperation, and monitored by a joint management body. An example of this is the Chongqing Logistics Development Platform set up to develop standards and best practices for the transport and logistics industry.

Collaborative risk management between government and private enterprises; rather than a one sided approach is more efficient as each side has their own authority and expertise that can be utilized when faced with different type of challenges.

Final Thoughts

The Belt and Road projects may mean different things to different companies; but undoubtedly, it is an economic growth engine that will develop emerging markets in Asia as centre of global value chain in the near future. As companies’ growth hit a bottleneck; there are always opportunities outside their existing market. Navigating the gaps of growth might seem challenging, but when done with the right timing, speed, agility and high standards, the rewards are priceless.

 

Sources:
Ministry Of Commerce,PRC. (2017). MOFCOM Department Official of Outward Investment and Economic Cooperation Comments on China’s Outward Investment and Cooperation in 2016 -.

James Griffiths, C. (2017). Just what is this One Belt, One Road thing anyway?. [online] CNN. Available at: http://edition.cnn.com/2017/05/11/asia/china-one-belt-one-road-explainer/index.html

App.mnd.gov.sg. (2017). Minister Lawrence Wong’s Interview with Xinhuanet Prior to Attending Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation on 13 May 2017.

Burgess, M. and Foley, M. (2017). Belt and Road Investors See Opportunity in China Capital Limits. [online] Bloomberg.com. Available at: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-07-03/belt-and-road-investors-see-opportunity-in-china-capital-limits

O’Callaghan, J. (2017). Tiny Singapore risks economic gloom without big baby boom. [online] Reuters. Available at: http://www.reuters.com/article/uk-singapore-babies-idUSLNE87U00H20120831

Lynn, J. and Marcelo, C. (2017). IBA – Borderless Asia: international arbitration and its role in ASEAN integration – Asia Pacific Regional Forum, December 2015. [online] Ibanet.org. Available at: https://www.ibanet.org/Article/Detail.aspx?ArticleUid=f6ea87dd-b39d-4021-9cb6-e1abdeca3e17

The Economist Intelligence Unit. (2017). Prospects and challenges on China’s ‘one belt, one road’: a risk assessment report

Shi, T. (2017). Chinese Firms Wary of Political Risks on Xi’s Belt and Road. [online] Bloomberg.com. Available at: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-05-22/chinese-companies-wary-of-political-risks-on-xi-s-belt-and-road

Blue Book of Chinese Enterprise Globalization. (2017). Beijing: Center for China and Globalization, pp.3-6.

Flyvbjerg, Bent, What You Should Know About Megaprojects and Why: An Overview (April 7, 2014). Project Management Journal, April/May 2014.

ICC – International Chamber of Commerce. (2018). ICC report confirms Singapore as a leading Asia arbitration hub – ICC – International Chamber of Commerce. [online] Available at: https://iccwbo.org/media-wall/news-speeches/icc-report-confirms-singapore-as-a-leading-asia-arbitration-hub/

Chandran, N. (2018). China plans to create new international courts, and that has a lot of people worried. [online] CNBC. Available at: https://www.cnbc.com/2018/02/01/china-to-create-international-courts-for-belt-and-road-disputes.html

Nortonrosefulbright.com. (2018). Launch of the Singapore International Commercial Court. [online] Available at: http://www.nortonrosefulbright.com/knowledge/publications/127746/launch-of-the-singapore-international-commercial-court

Disclaimer: The opinions in this article are those of the authors and do not represent Wisenet Asia Pte Ltd.

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WiseNet Asia’s Executive Director, Wesley Hui was invited to speak at a business sharing session in Chongqing Industry Park of HR Services on 22 September.

In his speech, Wesley addressed the scope of executive search and how it still maintains its relevancy in the Information Age.

Role confidentiality and filtering out the talent clutter for in-house recruiters were two key reasons why companies today still seek out executive search services.

Wesley from WiseNet Asia at business sharing, in Chongqing Industry Park of HR Services

Wesley highlighted that senior level placements are mostly kept confidential – until role has been successfully filled – to prevent press leakage and loss of media control, or to replace an under-performing key executive.

With the ease of information flow and accessibility, in-house recruiters are constantly seeking ways to filter out high influx of job applications.  Executive search is one of the ways to help de-clutter. Well experienced search consultants are highly effective in sieving out irrelevant job applications and focusing their search on reaching out to relevant, passive job seekers.