Lianhe Wanbao
A matchmaking agency is offering free services for Singaporean men.
It now has 1,000 Chinese national women hoping to marry Singaporeans within the next six months.
The agency's representative Ms Li Yan (age 43) said that she has 600 women in China registered with her to fly here and find a local husband within two months.
Another 400 PRC women registered with her are already working or studying in Singapore. These women hope to find a Singaporean man within six months.
This matchmaking service is free for Singaporean men, while the PRC women have to pay an amount ranging in the hundreds to several thousands if the package includes a visa to Singapore and a guarantee for a husband.
Singaporean men are very popular with PRC women as local men can speak Chinese and boast high incomes.
A match is typically made after two to three meetings for each person.
Ms Li Yan herself is a PRC bride who married a Singaporean. She sees about ten matches made a month and has helped more than 1,000 couples get together in the last seven years. Five hundred of these PRC-Singaporean couples are already married.
She also reveals that the PRC women who sign up for the service are between 25 and 45 years old and half of them are divorcees.
For the Singaporean men, they are between 40 to 55 years old and about 60% are divorcees.
