China-Singapore program raises funds through int'l bond market

CHONGQING - A China-Singapore inter-governmental program in Southwest China's Chongqing has raised funds through the international bond market for a set of local projects.

The fundraising round was the first financial cooperation activity under the program, after Chongqing became the operation center of the China-Singapore (Chongqing) Demonstration Initiative on Strategic Connectivity on Jan. 8 to pilot cooperation in fields ranging from financial services, aviation, transportation, and logistics to information communications technology.

During a week-long roadshow in Hong Kong, Singapore and London earlier this month, 200 international investors committed $3.2 billion to deals related to the China-Singapore (Chongqing) program, according to the program's administration bureau on Friday.

Among the firms to benefit, the Chongqing Nan'an Urban Construction and Development Group became the first local company in western China to raise 800 million U.S. dollars through the foreign bond market.

The company will use the money for infrastructure for the China-Singapore (Chongqing) Demonstration Park, where 23 Sino-Singapore financial cooperation projects worth $1.97 billion have been launched since January.

Chongqing is the third city in China to pilot China-Singapore inter-governmental cooperation. The first cooperation program was established in 1994 in Suzhou to focus on modern industries and the second was inaugurated in 2008 in Tianjin for eco-city development.