China Unionpay (CUP), China's only national electronic payment and interchange network operator, opened in Singapore on Wednesday night its first regional representative office.

The opening ceremony was attended by CUP Executive Vice President Liu Yongchun and key representatives from the Chinese Embassy in Singapore, International Enterprise Singapore (IE Singapore), the Singapore Economic Development Board (EDB), the Singapore Tourism Board (STB), the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and more than 100 strategic partners of CUP.

At the opening ceremony, Liu Yongchun said CUP first stepped out on the international stage in January 2005 when it started offering its services in Singapore in partnership with NETS. The opening of this representative office is another first for the company, reinforcing its commitment to expand its brand and services in the region.

The new representative office will facilitate collaboration in the regional payment industry, as well as further develop trade ties between Singapore and its neighboring countries, he said, adding that CUP will launch similar offices in Europe, the United States and other parts of Asia in the future.

Lim Neo Chian, chief executive officer of the Singapore Tourism Board, congratulated CUP on the opening of its first regional office here, saying that China is now the second largest visitor- generating market for Singapore.

"Today's opening of the CUP Singapore office marks a significant step forward in our STB-CUP collaboration to bring about a high level of service to Chinese visitors when they make purchases in Singapore, and thus enhancing their experiences when visiting Singapore," he said.

EDB Assistant Managing Director Chua Taik Him said that leveraging on Singapore to integrate these flows of economic factors, CUP serves as a bridge between China and Southeast Asia.

He noted that Chinese enterprises and businessmen will be able to gain smooth access to the international markets, and effectively tap on global business opportunities as this is an important milestone.

The new regional representative office of CUP will be responsible for establishing the company's brand in neighboring countries. It will also be ensuring service quality and expanding the company's business in Southeast Asia and Australia.

More than 99 percent of POS systems and ATMs are now part of CUP's network. CUP cards are accepted in such countries and regions as Singapore, South Korea, Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam, the Philippines, the United States, Germany, France, Spain, Luxembourg, Belgium, Japan, Malaysia, Australia, New Zealand, Turkey, the Netherlands and China's two special administrative regions, namely, Hong Kong and Macau.

Currently, there are already 1 billion bank cards in circulation in China, of which over 60 percent carry the CUP logo.

Source: Xinhua