Asean India PBD updated on opportunities
Indian companies should take advantage of partnering more and more Singapore headquartered multi-nationals to venture into markets of the Association of South East Asian Nations (Asean), a consumer base of 624 million people starting from its immediate neighbourhood – Myanmar and across to The Philippines.
“As a civil aviation, trading and financial hub, we are a good base for Indian companies to work from, in order, to expand to South-east Asia and beyond,” Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean told more than 3,000 delegates at the Asean India Pravasi Bharatiya Divas 2018, held in Singapore 6-7 Jan 2018.
Further prospects of India Asean collaborating in many fields, including business, defence, were highlighted ministers speaking at the two-day Divas, celebrated first time in South East Asia.
Teo noted the strong presence of Indian companies in Singapore. There are 8,000 of them, double the number in 2009, and more than 7,500 companies from China operating in the city state.
As such, Singapore plays a unique role in connecting many companies from all corners of the world who use the country as an operational base. The companies form a vibrant community, and can work together to tap on the country’s business infrastructure and its network of 20 implemented free trade agreements with 31 trading partners to help them expand abroad, Teo pointed out.
“India and Asean can benefit greatly from greater economic integration and greater openness, especially with our economies and people. We need to build more bridges, not walls, between us,” Singapore’s Foreign Minister Dr Vivian Balakrishnan told the delegates, mostly Indian diaspora from South Asian countries.
Singapore is a gateway for businesses in ASEAN and India to reach each other, re-affirmed Singapore’s Minister for Trade and Industry S. Iswaran on 6 Jan 2018, at the opening of the PBD gathering.
Both ASEAN and India are anchored by fundamentals in terms of demographics, the economy or the population, but continue to present opportunities for investment and growth – and Singapore has always been an ardent advocate of greater engagement between the two regions, stressed the Minister.
Iswaran highlighted key areas that ASEAN and India can focus on, such as infrastructure, startups and innovation as well as e-commerce and the digital economy.
For infrastructure, Iswaran noted both regions have similar needs like how projects are structured and financed. And this could affect the evolution of infrastructure sectors in parts of the world. On startups and innovation, he said the disruption factor in both regions is high and startups are now expanding overseas very early in their development.
India, with its 1.3 billion people, and Southeast Asia, over 600 million, have a combined gross domestic product of US$4.5 trillion.
Both regions are focused on developing infrastructure and improving connectivity through air, road and sea connectivity as well as trade. fii-news.com
