Latin-Asia business forum opens in Singapore
22/9/2008 16:11
Latin Asia Business Forum opened in Singapore this morning, attracting
some 400 business delegates from 21 countries to attend to explore more
opportunities in the two regions.
In recent years, political and economic
ties between Latin America and Asia have deepened. Bilateral trade has been on
the rise. Last year, total trade flows between Latin America and Asia reached
US$267.3 billion, an increase of 24 percent over 2006.
Latin America's trade
with Southeast Asia also grew by 8 percent to US$31.8 billion last year,
according to a statement by International Enterprise (IE) Singapore, the
organizer of the Forum.
Speaking at the Forum, Singapore's Minister for Trade
and Industry Lim Hng Kiang said that with Latin America's rich natural resource
base and burgeoning private sector, and Asia's strength in manufacturing and
services, the areas for collaboration will continue to expand across many
sectors.
Latin America's infrastructure sector in particular has attracted
the interest of a number of Asian companies.
The Forum highlighted 20
infrastructure projects in Latin America with a total estimated value of
US$23.38 billion, which include projects in port and logistics management, oil
and gas, water and wastewater treatment and multi-modal
transportation.
Minister Lim also urged Singapore businessmen to take up
opportunities in Latin America for collaboration. "There are many areas where
there are opportunities for collaboration, be it in agri-business, food and
beverage, electronics, oil and gas, transport, logistics or infrastructure," he
said.
Singapore was Latin America's largest trading partner in Southeast Asia
last year, accounting for approximately a third of the total trade between the
two regions.
In the first seven months of this year, its total trade with
Latin America stood at US$10 billion, a 70 percent increase over the previous
year.
There are now 56 Singapore-based companies with 191 points of presence
throughout Latin America engaged in a variety of business and investment
projects.
The Singapore Business Federation (SBF) and the Federation of
Industries of Rio Grande do Sul (FIERGS) will sign a Memorandum of Understanding
(MOU) during the Forum tomorrow.
Xinhua
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