China, Singapore conclude negotiations on trade pact

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Sep 4 : China and Singapore concluded talks for a free-trade agreement on goods, services and investment that will remove tariffs on trade and increase economic cooperation between the two countries.

Negotiations, which began in October 2006, ended after eight rounds of discussions and the pact will probably be signed in Beijing next month, the Singapore government said in an e- mailed statement on Thursday. “The free trade agreement will enhance our strong economic relations by further reducing and removing barriers to trade,'' the statement said. “This will create opportunities for businesses from both countries to grow their links in each other's markets.'' Some nations are seeking their own free-trade agreements as the World Trade Organisation's Doha round of global talks flounder. A nine-day summit at the WTO in Geneva collapsed on July 29 after India and the U.S. disagreed over how poor countries could increase duties to protect their economies from surging farm imports.

The 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations last week completed free trade agreement negotiations with India, Australia and New Zealand, boosting the regional bloc's efforts to increase commerce with its biggest economic partners.

Trade between China and Singapore reached a record S$91.6 billion ($64 billion) last year, and the island nation has more than $33 billion of investments in the world's fastest-growing major economy, the statement said. Singapore has free-trade accords with countries including the US, Australia, Japan, New Zealand and India. It is negotiating accords with Canada, Mexico and Pakistan. Meanwhile, Singapore's benchmark index fell for a second day to a 22-month low, led by commodity-related stocks and oil-rig builders on concern a slowing global economy will hurt growth in the city-state. Noble Group Ltd., a supplier of coal, soybeans and other raw materials, slid 6.9%, the biggest decliner on the Straits Times Index. SembCorp Marine Ltd., the world's second- biggest builder of oil rigs, tumbled 6 percent.

“ It is the specter of slowing global growth that's dragging Singapore down,'' said Nicole Sze, a Singapore-based investment analyst at Bank Julius Baer & Co., which manages $350 billion in assets worldwide. “There are concerns growth will be weaker than expected.''