Indian companies can be partners in China plus one strategy
Indian High Commissioner P. Kumaran has reaffirmed that India views Singapore as a key springboard for its ASEAN outreach and the political leadership on both sides are closely engaged and committed to building a stronger and stable regional and bilateral partnership.
“Both countries have convergent views and support each other mutually on various multilateral for and share a respect for stable, rule-based world order,” said the Indian envoy in Singapore.
Speaking at the ASSOCHAM webinar on “Discovering Future Opportunities for India-Singapore Cooperation Post Covid-19” on 11 Nov 2020, he underlined that India and Singapore share a broad-based and multifaceted relationship with close people-to-people and deep economic linkages.
Talking about the potential areas of cooperation, Kumaran said that there is a vast potential for collaboration in emerging sectors based on Industry 4.0 in areas including Fintech, Startups, SaaS, Cloud Computing & AI, Cybersecurity, Healthtech, Telemedicine, Smart Pharmaceuticals & Smart Medical Devices, IoT based Water Distribution and Management Systems, Smart City Solutions, Logistics, Ports, Green Energy, EVs, Wind Energy et al.
The webinar also had a panel of speakers comprising of leading experts and thought leaders from Government, Industry and Research Think-tank from both countries shared insights and updates on Indian and Singaporean economies and complementarities, India-Singapore trade and investment scenario, existing and emerging business opportunities and the way forward post COVID-19.
India stands to gain from emphasised the relocation of value chains across the world from larger geographies, added ASSOCHAM Secretary-General Deepak Sood.
Lately, Singapore companies are increasingly collaborating with Indian corporations and business counterparts, especially tapping opportunities in health-tech, rural-tech, e-commerce and smart-city development programme, noted Sood.
This is the right time to take the bilateral trade and investment to the next level, he added.
“There are global value chains that are looking to shift to India, and Singapore can play a very vital role in channelling those investments into India,” added Vineet Agarwal, the ASSOCHAM Senior Vice President and Managing Director of Transport Corporation of India.
Infrastructure, Tourism and Agriculture are among the best sectors for Singapore to invest in India, according to Neeraj Bhagat, Director, NBC Advisors Pvt. Ltd.
Agriculture, logistics, E-learning and telemedicine are the emerging areas of collaboration between India and Singapore, according to noted economist Dr. Amitendu Palit.
China plus one strategy, meaning that many businesses are looking at supply chain remapping where Indian businesses can come as a second partner, elaborated Maneesh Tripathi, Vice Chairman, Singapore Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
Similarly, ASEAN companies are looking at Singapore as a base and then move to the rest of the world, according to Tripathi.
Both ways, Singapore becomes the launch pad, he added, responding to India’s approach to using the city-state to venture into the ASEAN and East Asian markets.
He noted the need to remap Agri and essential commodities supply chain, pointing out that ASEAN countries are looking for suppliers which are 200 miles by road (if connected by road) or 5 hours of flight time, which presents a huge opportunity for Indian Companies in the essential commodities sector.
Tripathi also observed that India and Singapore have made excellent progress in terms of bilateral trade and investment under the Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA) and ASEAN-India Free Trade Area (AIFTA).
Agritech and sustainability are two areas where Singapore can play a significant role in bringing the latest technology and investment, according to Srinivasan Venkita Padmanabhan, President – Finance & Global Head, Olam Group.
Investment in Agritech will improve agricultural practices, remove wastages and increase the yields for farmers, said Padmanabhan.
As India is water-scarce, Singapore can bring in the latest technologies to preserve water, he further added.
Singapore has created an excellent ecosystem of Government agencies that are encouraging innovation, providing the right environment for start-ups and other tech companies to do new things in a much quicker, non-red tape-centric environment, observed Manish Goenka, Vice President & Head – ASEAN, Tech Mahindra.
Citizen services, health-tech, telehealth, edu-tech, digital banking are some of the new areas where India can gain a lot by collaborating with Singapore companies, said Goenka, calling on Indian companies to explore Singapore as an investment destination. #investment #exports #Agriculture #projects #banking #CECA #FTA /fiinews.com
