Leading new industry city developer China Fortune Land Development (CFLD) kickstarts its international arm – CFLD International, with its headquarters based in Singapore. CFLD International’s overall business strategy will focus on establishing a footprint outside of China, in key markets such in Africa, Europe, North America and Southeast Asia.
Mr Jerry Zhao, President of CFLD International, said, “We chose to set up our headquarters in Singapore due to its strong and stable business environment as a global hub for innovation, technology, education and financial services among many other merits.
Furthermore, Singapore’s vision to be a Smart Nation is in line with CFLD International’s objectives of helping to develop world class ‘new industry cities’, and being a trusted partner for governments worldwide in co-creating innovative urban solutions that address global industry challenges of today and tomorrow.
CFLD International’s first academic collaboration outside of China
CFLD International commences its local operations with a landmark cooperation with the National University of Singapore (NUS) Business Analytics Centre (BAC), a partnership between the NUS Business School and NUS School of Computing, to uplift urban challenges in the global smart city industry. A Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) was signed between the three parties represented by signatories CFLD International President Mr Jerry Zhao, NUS Business School Dean Professor Bernard Yeung and NUS School of Computing Dean Professor Mohan Kankanhalli.
“We are very excited to partner NUS, a leading international education provider, to tackle specific social challenges and drive economic growth in activities related to the development of new industry cities throughout the region. Through this collaboration, we hope to be able to tap on synergies between both the public and private sectors to co-create innovative and integrated solutions for the future,” Mr Jerry Zhao added.
The three-year partnership between CFLD International and NUS BAC aims to boost academic research and educational training with real-time and practical applications within the industry city sector. In addition, CFLD International will provide funding for a series of programmes and projects including grants, scholarships and internship opportunities. It will also conduct joint seminars, over a three-year period, on topics relating to big data, business analytics and innovative information technologies in the areas of new industry city planning and development.
Leading the future of smart urban solutions with business analytics
One of the highlights of the MOU is the CFLD Milestone Project Series, where CFLD International will grant funding for projects for up to a three-year period. The funds will go towards supporting creative proposals that tackle social challenges and drive economic growth in activities related to the new industry city (NIC) development industry. These smart urban solutions will aid in equipping society as the global urban population stands at 54% and is expected to grow up to 1.8% in the next 13 years, based on figures released by the World Health Organisation (WHO).
Prof Mohan Kankanhalli said, “With the massive amount of data being generated by people and organisations today, businesses will reap immense benefits by leveraging on tools and technologies to interpret this invaluable repository of information. In this regard, the CFLD Milestone Project Series will boost the efforts of NUS BAC and CFLD in advancing research in big data, business analytics and smart cities technology to address the urban challenges tackled by the smart cities industry.”
Securing the future by investing in talent development programmes
During the partnership, CFLD International will also commit to awarding at least one CFLD Scholarship per year to students in the Master of Science in Business Analytics programme at NUS.
In addition, a CFLD Business Analytics Capstone Internship Programme will also be established, which will enroll at least five NUS students over a three-year period to provide hands-on experience and Business Analytics-related practical training and application in issues arising in NIC development. Over the course of the three-month internship period, students would also have the opportunity to work in CFLD International offices outside of Singapore.
Prof Bernard Yeung said, “It is important that our students have the opportunity to apply their classroom knowledge to real-life issues. With a volatile and competitive business landscape, enhanced experiential learning and career development is the cornerstone of our students’ development and success during their time with NUS Business School. Our partnership with CFLD will definitely elevate our students’ exposure, and prepare them for meaningful career aspirations even after graduation.”
