Singapore, Japanese cos plan to jointly explore Indian market

SINGAPORE: More than 100 Singapore and Japanese companies on Tuesday expressed interest in joining hands to enter the rapidly expanding India market at a seminar in Singapore.

IE Singapore deputy chief executive officer Chua Taik Him said Singapore and Japanese companies would do well to partner on projects in India. "As the world becomes interconnected, it is more the norm than exception for companies to collaborate across boundaries in a synergistic manner to offer a better and more complete solution to the market," he said.

"Furthermore, Japan and Singapore have a good track record of working closely with each other," Chua said at the seminar, organised jointly by IE Singapore and the Japan External Trade Organisation (JETRO) in Tokyo today.

Singapore and Japanese companies can complement each others' capabilities and capacity, he said. "Due to proximity and cultural affinity, Singapore entered India at an early stage of its development. Singapore companies have provided supporting services and products to global manufacturers in India," said Chua.

Chua cited several examples of Singapore companies working in India for the past decade and highlighted a recent town planning contract secured by Singapore's Jurong International.

Jurong International was recently appointed as the master-planner for the Manesar-Bawal region of the Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor (DMIC), marking its first step into industrial township planning in India.

The expertise of Singapore companies is congruent with the interest of Japanese companies in India, IE Singapore said in a statement.

"Japan and India have recently stepped up economic and security cooperation in the hopes to contribute to India's transport and infrastructure needs," it noted.

Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan and his counterpart Manmohan Singh have signed a series of agreements to increase trade and investment flow between the two countries.

The agreement is expected to come into effect next year, IE Singapore added.

The seminar was the first in a series aimed at facilitating third country collaboration initiatives between Singapore and Japanese companies, an IE Singapore spokesperson said.