S'pore, China sign agreement

S'pore, China sign agreement

SINGAPORE (AFP): China and Singapore signed an agreement on
Monday giving top priority to a flagship industrial park project
near Shanghai being built by Singapore, which was earlier
threatened by a rival venture.

Top officials from the two countries agreed in a memorandum
that the Suzhou Industrial Park (SIP) is "the priority of all
priorities in Sino-Singapore economic and technological
cooperation."

The memorandum came after Singapore Senior Minister Lee Kuan
Yew expressed dismay over an impasse in the implementation of the
70 square-kilometer (28 square-mile) SIP, which was facing
competition from a rival project known as the Suzhou New
District.

Lee had hinted earlier this month that Singapore could scale
down its participation in the SIP. The SIP, launched in February
1994, is expected to be an efficient and ultramodern Singapore-
style industrial township in Suzhou hosting multinational firms
setting up in China.