Deputy Prime Minister Mr Gan Kim Yong of Singapore Leads Delegation to Singrow in Guangzhou, Spotlight on Commercial Scale-Up and Regional Pilots

On 1 September, Singapore Deputy Prime Minister, Minister for Trade and Industry, Mr Gan Kim Yong, led a high-level delegation to visit to the Guangzhou Singrow Strawberry Genetic and Plant Factory Base. The delegation included the Singapore Ambassador to China, Mr. Peter Tan; Senior Minister of State for Culture, Community and Youth and Trade and Industry, Ms. Low Yen Ling; and Singapore’s Consul-General in Guangzhou, Ms. Cindy Wee Mei Mei, among other officials. They were accompanied by Chinese leaders, including Mr. Chen Jie, Executive Vice Mayor of Guangzhou Municipal People's Government.

Deputy Prime Minister Gan Kim Yong and his accompanying high-level delegation visited the Singrow 001 Plant Factory, where Dr Bao Shengjie presented the company's latest scientific research achievements on behalf of Singrow.

Deputy Prime Minister Gan Kim Yong's ongoing engagement with Singrow reflects a partnership that has evolved significantly over the past three years. His initial engagement with the company occurred in 2022 at a retail showcase in Singapore's Esplanade MRT station, where he participated in a Tiktok video. The relationship deepened in March 2023 when Mr. Gan, accompanying then Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, visited the CSGKC and received a comprehensive market entry presentation from Singrow's newly established China team. Singapore's ongoing commitment to technological innovation is evident in its consistent support for the agtech sector. This commitment is exemplified by Singrow's remarkable transformation from a promising startup to a leading global agtech entity. The company's achievements, including its fully operational 900 square metre Smart Plant Factory and notable contributions to China-Singapore agricultural cooperation, underscore its position as a prominent figure in the agtech landscape.

Deputy Prime Minister Mr Gan Kim Yong interacts with Dr Bao at a Singapore MRT station in 2022

During the visit, Deputy Prime Minister Mr Gan Kim Yong toured the 900-square-meter Smart Plant Factory in Maicun Village, Huangpu District, Guangzhou. Accompanied by Singrow co-founder and CEO Bao Shengjie, the delegation focused on the company's innovative practices in plant factory systems and green cultivation technologies. They gained detailed insights into the technical characteristics of strawberry varieties like “Summer Sweet” and “Summer Bliss” in adapting to diverse climatic conditions.

The delegation received a detailed briefing on the world's largest circular agriculture plant factory project, currently under construction in Singapore by Singrow and its investor, Shanghai Fine Biotech Co Ltd. They sampled heat-tolerant sweet strawberries produced at Singrow's cooperative farm in Shaanxi Province, developed with Shaanxi Weilai Nongguang Agritech.

Shaanxi Farmland

Guangzhou Xinguo (Singrow China) is not merely a seed and seedling research enterprise but also provides comprehensive new agricultural cultivation solutions encompassing plant factories, serving as a model in the transition from facility agriculture to smart agriculture. Dr. Bao informed the delegation that the company’s collaborative footprint now spans five provinces in China, with successful expansion into Southeast Asian and American markets, demonstrating formidable technological export capabilities and commercial dynamism. He emphasized that China's vast agricultural foundation and abundant resources provide powerful impetus for the company's development.

This visit marked the third occasion on which Deputy Prime Minister Mr Gan Kim Yong had engaged with Singrow. By this stage, Singrow had evolved into a growing agritech enterprise boasting a comprehensive R&D and production system with operations spanning global markets. Singrow's growth trajectory exemplifies the distinctive characteristics of Sino-Singapore collaboration: the synergy between Singapore's strengths in facilitating East-West scientific exchange and connecting international markets, combined with China's vast market capacity, industrial chain resources, and financing channels. This three-year journey—from subway station displays to CSGKC presentations, culminating in large-scale production at the smart plant factory—not only charts Singrow's developmental path but also demonstrates the tangible outcomes of Sino-Singapore agricultural technology cooperation.

Singrow 001 Smart Plant Factory

Following the tour, Deputy Prime Minister Gan shared his impressions during talks with Guangdong Governor Wang Weizhong. Mr. Gan emphasized: “Singapore is not an agricultural country, but because of a collaboration with China, we are able to develop this technology, implement it, and now multiply it to the rest of the world.” These remarks affirmed Singrow as a model of bilateral cooperation and highlighted Singapore’s unique pathway to agricultural innovation through collaboration with China.

Singrow is now collaborating with CSGKC, the Huangpu District Agriculture Bureau, and the Singapore Economic Development Board (EDB) to establish a new agricultural technology incubation platform. Leveraging Singrow’s track record, this initiative aims to replicate its model, attracting more international agri-tech enterprises to establish operations in Guangzhou and assist Chinese agricultural enterprises in accessing international markets.

During the visit by Deputy Prime Minister Gan Kim Yong to the Guangzhou Smart Plant Factory, Singrow outlined a detailed 12-month roadmap focused on regional expansion, commercial scale-up and investor engagement. The company is actively progressing a Series B fundraising round and has entered substantive discussions with potential strategic and financial investors across Southeast Asia. Priority market engagement currently centres on Brunei and Malaysia, where planned activities include local pilot deployments, partner integrations for distribution and service, and targeted commercial rollouts that localise Singrow’s plant factory solutions to country-specific requirements.

A detailed 12-month roadmap for Singrow's regional expansion was presented to Deputy Prime Minister Gan Kim Yong and his delegation during their tour of the Singrow 001 Plant Factory.

To consolidate regional operations, Singrow plans to establish a Vietnam office by the end of the year. The Vietnam entity will provide a local base for business development, technical support, talent recruitment and after-sales service. Proceeds from the ongoing fundraising are expected to support manufacturing scale-up, product adaptation for tropical climates, regional channel partnerships and personnel expansion in R&D and operations.

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