REGIONALISATION 2000 : A LOOK AT SINGAPORE'S INDUSTRIAL PARKS IN SUZHOU AND WUXI

Abstract

Regionalisation 2000, the strategic plan to develop Singapore's external economy, was announced in 1994. Besides providing incentives and schemes to encourage investment overseas, the Singapore government has also been directly involved in the regionalisation process. The Singapore government actively participated in transferring management "software" to the China-Singapore Suzhou Industrial Park. While not being directly involved in the Wuxi-Singapore Industrial Park, this project also had the support of the Singapore government. This academic exercise aims to provide information on the regionalisation efforts of the Singapore government with respect to the two aforementioned industrial parks in China. A comparison of the strengths of the two parks will be made and the pull factors of each park will be discussed. The involvement of the Singapore government plays a crucial role in the development of the China-Singapore Suzhou Industrial Park, while Wuxi-Singapore Industrial Park's main strength lies in the "privately-run" nature of the park. The other strengths of the parks include their good infrastructure, the abundant and educated labour available at a low cost, and their good location. With the municipal authorities saying that they will continue to give their support, the China-Singapore Suzhou Industrial Park is expected to continue its growth. However, it is likely that other problems such as inflation and rising labour costs may still affect the growth potential of the two industrial parks.