NEW DELHI: Chief ministers of several states are heading to the Island nation of Singapore this season. Their agenda—attract investments into India and look for investment opportunities for Indian businessmen in Singapore.
This is mainly because Singapore is India’s largest trading partner in ASEAN. It is also the source of highest FDI to India which was $ 5.9 billion last year.
As per government figures, the total amount of investment received by India from Singapore from April 2000 to March 2014 is $25.5 billion.
Singapore is also the destination of highest Indian investments abroad during the last decade. It houses 4,000-4,500 Indian companies that have offices in Singapore.
While Chief Minister of Telangana is about to wrap–up his four-day Singapore trip as we write, the Bengal CM returned to Kolkata on Friday night after a five day-day “positive” trip. Others who have Singapore as their top destination include chief ministers of Rajasthan, to be followed by those from Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab and Gujarat.
Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao who started his four-day visit to the island nation on Tuesday on invitation of IIM-Bangalore alumni, promised prospective investors a zero-graft state. He also studied the single window system for clearance to industries that has already been put in place by the Singapore government.
Rao also took a road trip from Singapore to Kuala Lumpur to get a dash-board view of these two nations had developed their respective infrastructures. He was incidentally the only Chief Minister invited from India, and addressed a high-powered gathering from across the world on “Telangana—Challenges and Opportunities” at a conference organised by IIM alumni.
In his address at the conference, he urged the investors to be a part of the development story of Telangana and partner the vision of his government to make Telangana the best state in India.
Meanwhile, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee who landed in Kolkata on Friday night described her five-day trip as “positive.” “Everybody took interest in investing in West Bengal. We have tried to build and communicate a positive image of the state there,” she said.
Mamata had a 30-minute meeting with Singapore Prime Minister L H Loong, and told that him availability of land will not be a problem for investors from Singapore. “We have a lot of land banks in our state. He wanted to know what these land banks are all about and I told him that these were large parcels of undisputed land that were readily available for investors.”
Bengal commerce and industries minister Amit Mitra informed that leading wealth fund GIC Singapore had agreed to evaluate Bengal projects, and that there could be some positive outcome in this regard soon.
With 13 signed MoUs in her kitty and having initiated several organisations, Mamata was optimistic of Bengal riding the growth trajectory once again.
Regarding what investors from Singapore were looking in these states to do business, K Shanmugam, the minister of foreign affairs and law of Singapore said, “Stability in political and legal terms, security and availability of land are among the key factors that investors from Singapore will look at before investing in any Indian state.”
After Prime Minister Modi announced that India was looking at 100 smart cities, the Singapore government expressed its willingness to join hands with India to be a part of the smart city project, a pet project of the Prime Minister. With expertise in urban planning, water resource management and waste disposal, and technology-related ventures, Singaporean companies are also looking at India with great interest.
Road to Mission Investment
Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee Tasks achieved: 13 MoUs signed Offer to investors:
Mutual co-operation in areas including urban development, tourism and hospitality, construction and infrastructure industries, entertainment and theme parks. “Everybody took interest in investing in West Bengal. We have tried to build and communicate a positive image of the state there,” CM Mamata Banerjee said.
Telangana CM K Chandrashekhar Rao Tasks achieved:
Road trip from Singapore to Kaula Lumpur for a dashboard view of infrastructure development. Studied single window clearance system for industries, offered a graft free-state with senior officers helping investors.
Offer to Investors: Developing key areas of the young state, areas include urban development, housing, drinking water projects, sanitation.
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu
Close to the Singapore leadership. Drew ire of his Telengana counterpart when he said that he will make Hyderabad like Singapore.
Keen to harness Singaporean expertise to improve the new capital city.
Rajasthan CM Vasundhara Raje
Will visit in October to invite investments for the fast-track reforms programmes that have been unveiled. The thrust will be on meeting delegations and officials in sectors including water recycling, affordable housing and urban development.
Gujarat CM Anandiben Patel
Singapore is a partner country in the Vibrant Gujarat convention in 2015.
■Other CMs including Shivraj Singh Chouhan of MP and Parkash Singh Badal of Punjab also have Singapore in their travel plans.