The Straits Times / The Business Times News on Hyflux

Hyflux, Jurong Port venture into 2nd-tier port city

YINGKOU (LIAONING) - TWO major Singapore companies are close to securing new deals that include waste water treatment and port operations in Yingkou city, as Singapore seeks to expand its interests in north-east China.

Water treatment company Hyflux and port operator Jurong Port are in 'close discussions with the Yingkou authorities who are looking at (the agreements) very positively,' Education Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam said yesterday, after meeting city officials.

When the deals are inked, likely by year end, the two companies will be the first sizeable Singapore businesses to venture into Yingkou, a second-tier port city earmarked for quick growth under Liaoning's economic plan to develop its coastal belt.

Their presence here will pave the way for more to follow, Mr Tharman said, on the fifth day of his official visit to China.

Cities like Yingkou will increasingly come into the picture as Singapore looks beyond key cities in Liaoning, such as provincial capital Shenyang and port city Dalian, as part of a 'broadening strategy', he told reporters.

Yingkou was one of the first ports to open up in China after the Opium War and the city has long served as a logistics and commercial centre in the north-east region.

'People here are known to be very enterprising and are accustomed to industrial enterprise. There are many small but growing companies here,' said Mr Tharman.

The city's enterprising culture will prove very attractive to Singapore companies, he added.

Hyflux, Singapore's biggest publicly traded water-treatment company, is known for its membrane system for filtering water. It is exploring a municipal water project in Yingkou city.

Mr Peter Wu, senior vice-president of Hyflux, said: 'It will be a project that will help the local government on environmental issues. This includes waste water treatment.'

He added that an agreement could be inked before the end of the year. Hyflux, which has ventures in Tianjin and Jiangsu, is involved in waste water treatment, recycling of waste water and desalination of sea water.

Jurong Port is in talks with Yingkou Port Group for a joint venture to own and operate two container berths at the city's Bayuquan port.

'It's a good project, there's good geographical location, hinterland. We see potential here,' said Mr Fong Yue Kwong, president of Jurong Port. It is also hoping to close its deal this year.

Yingkou city party secretary Cheng Yajun welcomed the companies' interest and urged more collaborations in the field of environmental protection.

Yesterday evening, Mr Tharman left for Dalian where he met mayor Xia Deren and other officials.

Today, Mr Tharman will tour Changxing Island, the focus of Liaoning's economic development plan for its coastal areas.