| Singapore's water solutions alliance to tap ME market |
SINGAPORE, Aug. 14 -- A Singapore Water Solutions Alliance (SWSA) has been formed to explore the Middle Eastern markets, Minister of State for Trade and Industry Lee Yi Shyan said here Monday.
Comprising eight companies, the SWSA aims to win projects worth 500 million Singapore dollars (about 317 million U.S. dollars) in Middle Eastern countries such as Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Oman by 2009.
Speaking at a seminar on infrastructure opportunities in the Middle East, Lee said that the total value of planned and active infrastructure projects in the region had exceeded 1 trillion U.S. dollars by April 2006.
"The sheer size of projects in the Middle East makes the formation of alliances a particularly compelling approach. By pooling together resources and talent to offer better value propositions and mitigate risks, these alliances have more bargaining power and are more competitive," Lee said.
He also encouraged Singapore companies to increase their presence in the region, get familiar with the market there and build relationships with the local community, important families and government leaders.
Singapore companies' investments into the Middle East reached 1 billion Singapore dollars (about 633 million U.S. dollars) in 2004, more than two and a half times the figure in 2000, according to the minister.
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