The Singapore Tourism Board (STB) has launched a suite of business events initiatives and a S$700 million (US$546.2 million) capital injection at its 8th Greater China MICE Conference in Xinjiang, targeting high-value Chinese corporate events and trade delegates.
The primary development is the launch of the inaugural Singapore Attendance Building Consultants (SgABC) Programme. To assist organisers with audience acquisition, STB has appointed five major Chinese MICE intermediaries as pilot channel partners – Beijing Capital Group Exhibitions & Events; China International Exhibition Center Group; China National Machinery Industry International Co.; Huiyuan Culture Development Group Co.; and Shanghai International Exhibition (Group) Co.
These consultants will leverage their domestic networks across key sectors – including energy, healthcare, tech-manufacturing, logistics, and retail – to drive Chinese trade buyers to Singapore-based exhibitions.
STB’s executive director Poh Chi Chuan noted that following this pilot phase in China, the board intends to scale the SgABC framework across other key Asia-Pacific markets.
The initiative supports STB’s long-term growth targets, with STB chief executive Melissa Ow stating that city-state aims to triple its business events revenue by 2040 by leveraging the destination’s stable governance and professional services to become the core gateway for the Chinese market.
To fund these targets, STB is injecting over S$700 million into a new round of its Tourism Development Fund, which will back experiential innovations, infrastructure upgrades, and industry capability enhancement.
To address rising event costs, STB also introduced the SHINE (Singapore Hotel Incentive for New Events) scheme. Partnering with 22 hotels – representing 25 per cent of Singapore’s total room inventory – the programme offers exclusive accommodation rates to help large-scale event organisers mitigate operational expenses.
Further cementing its footprint in China, STB signed a three-year Memorandum of Understanding with the Sino-Commercial Overseas Industrial Alliance (SCOIA). Marking the first time a Chinese domestic alliance has established its Asia-Pacific headquarters in Singapore, the partnership secures the long-term tenure of SCOIA’s flagship Go Global Summit in the city-state.
Bilateral corporate travel ties were additionally reinforced by reactivating the M&I Specialists programme. STB named five key Chinese travel agencies – including Bravolinks and Shanghai Airlines Tours – as preferred partners to receive specialised destination training and fam trips.
Finally, STB expanded its Conference Ambassador Programme. Industry veterans Yao Hong and Fan Sanru have been reappointed, while Gu Xuebin, Founder and CEO of WeMeet, joins as a new ambassador to connect Chinese association networks with Singapore’s business event infrastructure.
