Between 2000 and 2016, China-Singapore trade has increased seven times, to more than USD 80 billion. Singapore is the largest foreign direct investor in China. Since 2010, Singapore’s direct investment into China has grown by an average 13.4% each year. Chinese financial institutions have significantly increased their presence in Singapore in recent years. Bank of China and ICBC have expanded considerably in Singapore over the past 4 years. They have set up in Singapore their regional centres– for commodities, trade financing, RMB trading, private banking, and debt capital markets. Other Chinese banks have established in Singapore their first international operations. Earlier this year, the Shanghai Pudong Development Bank opened in Singapore its first overseas branch outside of China and Hong Kong. 1/5  BIS central bankers' speeches  China Construction Bank opened its infrastructure services and private banking centres in Singapore. China Merchants Bank established in Singapore its only international private banking centre outside of China and Hong Kong. This vibrant economic connection between our two countries rests on the bedrock of a strong bilateral relationship that has grown and matured over the years. When President Xi Jinping and Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong met in Hamburg in July this year on the side of the G20 meeting, they reaffirmed our close ties and discussed how China and Singapore could strengthen cross-border collaboration. In the past few months, various leaders of our two countries have met, always with the same purpose: to broaden relations, build connectivity, boost mutual prosperity.

Ravi Menon: Stepping up the Chongqing-Singapore connection Keynote address by Mr Ravi Menon, Managing Director of the Monetary Authority of Singapore, at the Singapore-China (Chongqing) Financial Conference, Singapore, 4 September 2017. * * * Vice Mayor Liu Guiping, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen, good morning. More than 2000 years ago, the Silk Road connected, by land and sea, the major economies of the time, enriching the lives of many people along its routes. And now 2000 years later, Chongqing, one of China’s “super-cities”, is part of the effort to revive this great heritage. Chongqing is strategically placed. It is a pivotal node on the One Belt, One Road, connecting the growing economies of South and Southeast Asia with the rest of China It is also an important city along the Yangtze River Economic Belt and a key player in the overall development of the Western Region. In short, Chongqing is a cornerstone of regional connectivity. Singapore is proud to be a partner to Chongqing in this historic project, through the Chongqing Connectivity Initiative, or CCI. And so, I am happy today to welcome you to the second Singapore-China (Chongqing) Financial Conference, to take stock of the progress we have made together and to set new goals for the future. China and Singapore – a vibrant economic relationship The backdrop to CCI is, of course, the larger China-Singapore economic relationship – one of the strongest in Asia. China is Singapore’s largest trading partner. Singapore is China’s fourth largest trading partner in ASEAN.