SINGAPORE-LISTED conglomerate WBL Corp is developing a new project in the Chinese city of Shenyang that will feature a shopping mall, an office tower, serviced apartments and homes.

Shenyang is the largest city in the north-east Chinese province of Liaoning.

The development, named the Shenyang Orchard Summer Palace, will cost 3 billion yuan (S$604 million) and take up more than 3.2 million sq ft.

It will feature a retail mall, a Grade A office tower, about 400 serviced apartments and about 450 private residential units.

Construction work on the project is currently under way and is expected to be completed by the end of 2015.

‘Over the years, we have established a close and strong working relationship with the Liaoning leadership,’ said WBL Corp chairman Ng Ser Miang.

‘Our businesses in Shenyang have grown with the city’s economic progress. The iconic Shenyang Orchard Summer Palace project is a mark of our continued commitment to invest in Shenyang.’

Mr Ng announced this commitment on the sidelines of the Singapore-Liaoning Economic and Trade Council meeting yesterday.

During the meeting, agreements were signed for seven collaborative projects between Singapore and Liaoning.

Among them were three agreements signed by Sembcorp Industries and various officials from Liaoning to expand its utilities business in the province.

Mapletree Logistics Trust signed a deal with the Hunnan district government to develop an integrated logistics park in the Hunnan New District in Shenyang.

The Singapore Tourism Board and the Liaoning Provincial Education Department inked a deal to cooperate on study trips, internships and enrichment programmes for students.

Government officials from Singapore and Liaoning also discussed business opportunities available along the province’s coastal economic belt and the Shenyang Economic Region.

The council agreed to strengthen bilateral collaborations in sectors such as environmental services over the next year.

Liaoning is known as a base for traditional heavy industries, with rich mineral resources.

In the first seven months of this year, bilateral trade between Singapore and Liaoning stood at US$1.4 billion (S$1.8 billion).

At the end of last year, Singapore’s cumulative foreign direct investment in the province was recorded at US$2.66 billion, with a total of 838 projects.

Singapore was Liaoning’s seventh-largest investor last year.

An artist’s impression of the Shenyang Orchard Summer Palace, which will feature a retail mall, an office tower, serviced apartments and homes. It is expected to be completed by the end of 2015. — PHOTO: WEARNES

Source: Straits Times, 29th Sept 2011