Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and Chongqing Mayor Huang Qifan helped commemorate the official opening of NOL’s Global Service Centre in Chongqing on 7 September.

The global container shipping and logistics group began operating in February in New North Zone High-Tech Industrial Park. It has hired more than 600 staff so far this year, mostly graduates from Chongqing universities.

The centre processes trade documentation and performs other functions for NOL’s two principal businesses: container shipping line APL and supply chain services provider APL Logistics. It serves the company’s offices and customers across the world.

“By gathering here today, we send a signal that Chongqing and the Chinese interior are becoming an increasingly important part of the country’s trade economy,” said NOL Group CEO Ron Widdows.

NOL has 46 offices and more than 1,800 employees in China, with a regional headquarters in Shanghai.