S'pore forges EZ-Link with Guangdong

pub_date:Common smart card to enable transport and purchases in both places soon[SINGAPORE] Anyone travelling between Singapore and Guangdong can soon use the same card to pay for transport and make purchases in both places.新蒲崗迷你倉The world's first dual-currency transport smartcard will be launched by EZ-Link and Guangdong Lingnan Pass Company in the first half of next year in both Singapore and Guangdong, with plans to eventually extend its use to other parts of China.Aimed at enhancing connectivity for business and leisure travellers, the SINO Visitor Pass - which can carry the two currencies on a single smartchip using Java technology - will allow users to commute on both public transportation systems with one card.Transport aside, the contactless smartcard will also be accepted at over 100,000 points in both Singapore and Guangdong, allowing travellers to pay for purchases at, say, convenience stores. This will later be expanded to include other goods and services."In the future, visitors can also gain access to tourist attractions, food & beverage, retail deals and other lifestyle applications in both countries with this pass," said the chief executive of EZ-Link, Nicholas Lee.Last year, 266,000 visitors from Guangdong came to Singapore, making up 15 per cent of all Chinese travellers here. The populous nation is the second-biggest visitor-generating market for Singapore, after Indonesia.Other features that will progressively be added to the SINO Visitor Pass include the ability to top up both currencies irrespective of location. This means that pass users will eventually be able to reload the card with Singapore dollars while in Guangdong, and vice versa.This is EZ-Link's first cross-border venture, although it is in talks with various partners, transport operators and card issuers in the region, it said.The memomini storageandum of understanding was signed at the fifth Singapore Guangdong Collaboration Council (SGCC) meeting yesterday, co-chaired by Guangdong Vice-Governor Zhao Yufang and Singapore Transport Minister Lui Tuck Yew who also pointed out other possible areas for further collaboration.To upgrade its economy, Guangdong is developing three special economic zones - Hengqin in Zhuhai, Nansha in Guangzhou and Qianhai in Shenzhen - which are all being afforded preferential policies and incentives.A free trade area, Hengqin is being developed as a tourism and recreation site, while Nansha - approved as a State-level New Area by the Chinese government last year - will help to drive Guangdong's economic and social development. Meanwhile, Qianhai has been tasked with piloting initiatives to support on-going financial reforms, including the internationalisation of the yuan."I am going to visit these places and we will see many opportunities for collaboration here," said Mr Lui, who is on a business mission till Aug 24.Guangdong is Singapore's top trading partner among the provinces in China, with bilateral trade hitting US$17.3 billion last year.Singapore also has a sizeable number of investments in the province, with its total investments standing at US$8.2 billion as at end-June this year.Last year, Singapore's investments in Guangdong came to US$1.2 billion, representing 19 per cent of the city-state's investments in China. Meanwhile, 12 Guangdong companies set up operations in Singapore last year, with combined investments totalling US$240 million.Mr Lui and Mr Zhao also witnessed eight other project signings between Singapore-based companies and organisations, including one between Sembcorp and Maoming Hi-Tech Industrial Development Zone Administration Committee for the development of an industrial wastewater treatment plant.self storage