December 27, 2009
Singapore’s latest foray into China, led by the Ministry of National Development to develop an eco-city in the northern metropolis of Tianjing is turning into another Suzhou nightmare for the island state.
The China-Suzhou Industrial Park (SIP) was set up in 1994 at the outskirts of the Suzhou City in Jiangsu province with the help of Singapore funds and expertise. Singapore owned a 65% stake in the park.
Even as the park was being constructed, the Suzhou City government set up Suzhou New District Industrial Park (SND) right next to SIP. It was the exact replica of the Singapore model.
As the Suzhou City government had a majority stake in SND, it largely ignored the SIP and concentrated on promoting the SND instead.
After incurring losses of some US$90 million over 5 years, the Singapore consortium lowered its stake to 35 percent, raising the Chinese consortium’s stake to 65 percent from 35 percent and reducing the Singaporean share from a planned 70 sq.km. to just 8 sq.km (source: wikipedia)
According to a report in the Sunday Times, tension appears to be building up in the joint Sino-Singapore team as Singaporean and Chinese officials often do not see eye to eye on such things as work priorities and timing.
A Singaporean, who has lived in China for over a decade and works for a company with close dealings with the Eco-City was quoted as saying: “We may have another Suzhou Industrial Park tangle on our hands.”
One problem which continues to plague the project as in Suzhou is the difference in priorities between local officials and the Singaporeans.
Though the project has received strong support from the central government in Beijing, it is the provincial officials the Singapore team have to liaise with and many do not share the vision of their Singapore counter-parts.
To the Tianjin officials who are there only for a short stint, they are desperate to produce quick results which will earn them promotions elsewhere.
For example, while Singapore would like to have Housing Board-style public housing that will cater to low-income Chinese, Tianjin officials have been lukewarm to the idea because they worry over who will stump up the cash to subsidise the apartments.
A Tianjin official apparently told his Singaporean colleague:
“By the time the public housing project is completed, many of us Tianjin officials would likely be promoted elsewhere. Who would still be around to ensure that it is really the poor people who are relocated to this public housing estate?”
Singapore appears not to have learnt its previous lessons from Suzhou – that written contracts count for little in business transactions in China and local officials are often more interested in securing promotions for themselves than the welfare of the people.
There is an ancient Chinese saying: “The mountains are tall and the Emperor resides far away”. The Tianjin provincial government runs autonomously on its own and even the central government in Beijing has to “kowtow” to it in order to get things done there.
Like in Suzhou, the project was supposed to be a joint collaboration between two national governments, but end up being hijacked by the provincial government instead.
For some inexplicable reasons, a state agency – the Ministry of National Development, which is funded entirely by taxpayers’ monies, is directly involved in the Tianjin Eco City.
Asked why it was picked as the lead agency, the MND told The Sunday Times that its ‘expertise in township development is essential, especially in areas such as master planning…and the provision of housing and green spaces’.
It is not revealed how much money that MND has pumped into Tianjin so far. There is no opposition in parliament to hold the ruling party accountable which gives it the freedom to do anything as it wishes without answering to the people.
In China, the officials and businessmen are frequently decried as being in “cahoots” with one another to cheat the people. In Singapore, the officials and businessmen are together in one single “class”.
An earlier Straits Times report in August this year described Singapore’s Minister of National Development Mah Bow Tan as a ”key player” in the development of the Tianjin eco-city, which China and Singapore formally agreed to develop in Nov 2007. He co-chair a joint business council on cooperation between Singapore and Tianjin.
With due respect to Mr Mah, he is hardly the ideal person to fill such a position. An engineer by training, he worked in the civil service during his entire career before he was plucked to stand in the elections and becoming a minister. He never had any experience working in China before.
The government should never be involved in business at all which should be left to the private sector with the necessary drive, experience and expertise.
Fortunately for Mah, he would never be asked to answer for any mistakes made just like in Suzhou when the Singapore consortium reportedly lost more than USD$90 million dollars in 5 years.
One of the reasons the west is wary abut China and their copyright exploitation.
poison apple,,,,
Another sad story of how our dear Singapore leaders are disillusioned about their self perceived superiority over a supposedly backward communist country that needs our expertise! What makes our government officials think they are better, because "I can speaking the English"???
WAKE UP!!!
China is one of the few countries in the world that can put a man in space through its own independent effort. What can a small country like Singapore who shamelessly buy ping pong players from China itself to win medals teach China, probably already the second most powerful nation on earth and already the undisputed FACTORY OF THE WORLD to run an industrial estate???
DUH !!??
having that birdbrain Mah Bow Nao (brainless) deal with the cunning Chinese is a HUGE mistake...........that Mickey Mouse clown of a minister is only going to embarrass himself and S'pore.................
Mark Lee or Kumar would have done a better job...................
What do you expect when you ask a failure like Mah Bow Tan to manage a project in China when he can't even manage his own job in tiny Singapore ??
The Chinese probably started their own Ministry of National Development (MND) when they heard he was going to manage the project, just to confuse him.
The highest paid Minister of National Development in the world getting 5 times the salary of President Barrack Obama. What a joke.
A losing investment?
Why still invest?
Want to be close with China?
Might as well built it in USA or middle east or india?
Originally posted by BJK:What happen to the frequently saying by our leaders that speaking Mandarin gives Singaporean an advantage in dealing with China? From recent interview I heard over BBC, a western man said that it was not necessary as the young in China can speak English. He further added that to know some simple Mandarin words would be useful when dealing with some older generation Chinese people.
what does the BBC guys knows about our govt objectives??? we are not simply going to deal with CHINA ya, to tell u the truth, Shhhhh....dun tell anyone ya, we are going to be part of China ya.
Originally posted by As romanista2001:having that birdbrain Mah Bow Nao (brainless) deal with the cunning Chinese is a HUGE mistake...........that Mickey Mouse clown of a minister is only going to embarrass himself and S'pore.................
Mark Lee or Kumar would have done a better job...................
no lah, i think Aunty Lucy better lor
doing business with China chinese is like this,...initial start, everything is yes yes yes, can can can, drink drink drink. But when come to the real show, no no no, cannot cannot cannot, money money money.
Originally posted by angel7030:doing business with China chinese is like this,...initial start, everything is yes yes yes, can can can, drink drink drink. But when come to the real show, no no no, cannot cannot cannot, money money money.
you go there sure can
Originally posted by FT You Roll back:
you go there sure can
that's why, govt allowed my PRC peoples into Singapore, it is for us to use them as training platform before you truly embark on China business ya...at least you know what you will be facing. In China, to get thing done, corrupted Relationship is important ya...without it, you go direct into the dragon mouth
WISE PEOPLE LEARN FROM OTHER PEOPLES STUPID MISTAKES!MST AKES LIKE SUZHOU AND TIANJIN.
yeah.....what amazes me is that after the lesson on the first Hotel in the 80s where they request 6 million to turn on electric Power to the first Industrial Park we continue to make the "Same" mistake.
I am trying to understand what foreign policies are they practicing?
Originally posted by Arapahoe:yeah.....what amazes me is that after the lesson on the first Hotel in the 80s where they request 6 million to turn on electric Power to the first Industrial Park we continue to make the "Same" mistake.
I am trying to understand what foreign policies are they practicing?
charity to china, the favoured nation by the ruling party.
Originally posted by angel7030:
that's why, govt allowed my PRC peoples into Singapore, it is for us to use them as training platform before you truly embark on China business ya...at least you know what you will be facing. In China, to get thing done, corrupted Relationship is important ya...without it, you go direct into the dragon mouth
Just READ what you just wrote....
You are saying our Government want Singaporean to learn from the lower educated immigrant from China that does Waiteress, Bus driver ? So to embark on China Business venture in China????
Pls continue your whore business.....