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Singapore, China ink MOU to help businesses resolve disputes under Belt and Road Initiative

THE Singapore International Mediation Centre (SIMC) and the Mediation Center of the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade/China Chamber of International Commerce (CCPIT/CCOIC Mediation Center) on Tuesday signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to support businesses and provide assistance to them to resolve disputes that may arise in cross-border commercial transactions under China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).

The MOU was signed by Ng Chai Ngee, SIMC board member, and Li Jianning, director-general of the CCPIT Commercial Legal Services Center, at the International Mediation Summit held in Hangzhou.

This will see the two mediation centres serving Singapore and Chinese companies investing in China and Singapore respectively as well as companies investing in other markets under the BRI.

Under the MOU, the SIMC and CCPIT/CCOIC Mediation Center will “cooperate in the promotion of international commercial mediation through joint lectures, conferences and seminars; promote each other’s mediators and mediation-related services; and recommend the use of mediation facilities at Maxwell Chambers in Singapore and the CCOIC building in Beijing”, the SIMC said in a statement.

“The SIMC already serves many Chinese companies, and has helped many Chinese companies with their dispute resolution needs. The MOU will allow the SIMC to reach out to even more Chinese parties and create new opportunities for Singapore,” said Ms Ng.

The SIMC was established in 2014 to provide mediation services for parties in cross-border commercial disputes, particularly those doing business in Asia.

The signing comes less than a month after the inaugural Singapore-China Legal and Judicial Roundtable in Beijing, where the two countries signed an MOU on legal and judicial cooperation.

Source: http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/government-economy/singapore-china-ink-mou-to-help-businesses-resolve-disputes-under-belt-and-road