CHENGDU – In south-west China’s Sichuan province, home to spicy mala cuisine and giant pandas, a Singapore company is using artificial intelligence (AI) to help manufacturers attain smart, zero-error factory operations.
Innowave Tech, established in 2019, develops AI-powered solutions that essentially help manufacturers run as autonomously as possible, said its founder and managing director Xu Jinsong. Its products include intelligent systems that automate and optimise factory operations, resolve issues virtually, and identify problems that may crop up in the future.
It is one of more than 700 Singapore businesses that have invested in Sichuan, making the Republic the largest foreign investor in the province in 2022.
“I am very glad to see that there are many Singapore companies here in Sichuan, not only in traditional areas, but also in new areas,” said Senior Minister Teo Chee Hean in a bilateral meeting with Sichuan party secretary Wang Xiaohui on March 18. Among these businesses are firms in emerging fields such as AI, healthcare and biotechnology, Mr Teo noted after having met several of these businesses earlier in the day.
“These are new areas for growth for the future, which both Sichuan and Singapore are investing in,” he said, adding that Singapore looked forward to more opportunities for collaboration.
During their meeting, Mr Wang said that Sichuan is looking to develop advanced industries such as electronic information, as well as energy and chemicals, and has strengths in science and education. He recalled having made study visits to Singapore earlier in his career, expressed appreciation for Singapore’s investments in the province, and said he looked forward to more bilateral cooperation to come.
Singapore’s cumulative investments in Sichuan amounted to US$4.2 billion (S$5.6 billion) across 737 projects in 2022, according to figures cited by trade agency Enterprise Singapore. Two-way trade stood at 16.1 billion yuan (S$2.99 billion) in 2023, according to Chinese figures.
Mr Teo is on his first stop of a six-day official visit to China, which will also see him head to Zhejiang and Beijing.
He visited the Singapore-Sichuan Hi-Tech Innovation Park, a business park targeted at innovation-centric and knowledge-intensive companies. It was jointly developed by Singapore’s CapitaLand Development, Sembcorp Development, and the Chengdu Hi-Tech Investment Group.
Posting on Facebook late on March 18, Mr Teo said the visit to several firms and the business park was an opportunity “to see how Sichuan and Singapore companies in western China are positioning themselves at the forefront of research and innovation”.
Among the business park’s Singapore tenants is Innowave Tech, which set up shop in provincial capital Chengdu as manufacturing industries – its client base – have been moving increasingly towards western China from the more expensive coastal provinces, said Mr Xu. In Chengdu, the cost of living is relatively low, and there is also a significant talent pool to tap, he added.
Another tenant is Pair City, a Singapore-owned firm that offers public transport operators – including subway, bus, airport and taxi companies – data-driven solutions to optimise their operations and transport routes, said Dr Andy Zheng, the firm’s chief executive.
Hi-Beau Group, a Singapore firm which develops beauty and wellness products such as vitamins, probiotics and other supplements, moved its regional headquarters from Shenzhen to the business park in Chengdu in 2020. This was in a bid to reduce labour costs, which are about 50 per cent cheaper in Chengdu, said the company’s regional director Zhu Fan.
Mr Teo also visited a project by Singapore Power in the city centre district of Wuhou, which it has partnered to provide sustainable energy solutions. It has implemented a sustainable cooling system there that draws from its district cooling project in Tampines.
In addition, he made site visits to Haite Group, a Chinese aviation company that launched a $95.3 million aviation training centre in Singapore in 2015, as well as the Chengdu Tianfu International Bio-Town, where many of the city’s biomedical companies are located.
