The International Enterprise Singapore (IE Singapore) announced that it has facilitated two deals between two homegrown logistics firms, Mapletree and SSinolog with Nanjing City.
The partnerships will enable the two firms to provide services on smart logistics and logistics management in order to meet the rising consumer demand and e-commerce spends in Nanjing.
The signing of the Memoranda of Understanding (MOUs) was conducted during the fifth Singapore-Nanjing Special Projects Cooperation Panel in Jiangsu province. The meeting was co-chaired by Senior Minister of State for Trade and Industry & National Development, Dr Koh Poh Koon, and Nanjing City Mayor Miao Ruilin.
Koh noted that Singapore has consistently been the city's top three largest foreign investor country in the past five years. Last year, the city-state was Nanjing's 12th largest trading partner and largest foreign investor country. Singapore's cumulative actual foreign direct investments into Nanjing amounted to US$2.8b, with 376 projects.
"As we build our ties and explore new partnerships, logistics is a key complementary area we are looking at. This is in line with our Logistics Industry Transformation Map, where Singapore companies are encouraged to deepen capabilities and build exportable business models for overseas growth," Koh said in a statement to the media.
According to the figures from IE Singapore, consumer expenditure per capita in Nanjing recorded a steady increase over the past three years. Koh pointed out that this resulted in a greater need for logistics and fulfilment services in Nanjing, driving demand for smart logistics to boost intra-province connectivity.
SSinolog signed an agreement with the Lishui Economic Development Zone and it will be committing US$180m to develop the Sin-Sino Nanjing Lishui HighTech Logistics Park. This will be equipped with logistics hardware including automatic storage retrieval system
(ASRS), automatic guided vehicle (AGV), data link, RFID tracking and direct data transfer with customs.
On the other hand, Mapletree Logistics and Liuhe Economic Development Zone Administrative Committee signed a MOU to commit US$110m to develop the Mapletree Modern Logistics Park in Liuhe district that will provide high-tech and modern logistics management services and real estate space targeted at e-commerce and cold chain logistics operators in the northern parts of Nanjing.
