Explore India’s immense investment potential, Modi tells top S’pore CEOs

TIndia had made transformative progress in the last 10 years and would continue on the same path given its strengths of political stability, policy predictability, ease of doing business, and its reform-oriented economic agenda. It is set to become the third largest economy in the world over the next few years - Prime Minister Narendra Modi

Singapore: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday met leading CEOs from diverse sectors, including investment funds, infrastructure, manufacturing, energy, sustainability and logistics, in Singapore and invited them to look at immense investment opportunities in India.

PM Modi also announced the setting up of an ‘INVEST INDIA’ office in the Southeast Asian city-state to boost bilateral trade.

Top business leaders who met PM Modi included Lim Ming Yan, Chairman, Singapore Business Federation; Kok Ping Soon, CEO, Singapore Business Federation and Gautam Banerjee, Chairman, India and South Asia Business Group and Senior MD and Chairman, Blackstone Singapore, among others.

PM Modi told the delegation that “the elevation of India-Singapore ties to a comprehensive strategic partnership would give a major thrust to bilateral economic relations”.

Appreciating their investment footprint in India, the Prime Minister acknowledged the role played by the Singaporean industry leaders in strengthening bilateral relations and promoting economic cooperation between the two nations. “India had made transformative progress in the last 10 years and would continue on the same path given its strengths of political stability, policy predictability, ease of doing business, and its reform-oriented economic agenda. It is set to become the third largest economy in the world over the next few years,” he said.

Highlighting that India is contributing 17 per cent to global economic growth, PM Modi spoke about various initiatives to enhance India’s participation in global value chains through programmes such as production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme, India Semiconductor Mission and establishment of 12 new industrial smart cities. For businesses looking for resilient supply chains, the Prime Minister noted that India is the best alternative given its strengths.

Other top business leaders who met PM Modi were Lim Boon Heng, Chairman, Temasek Holdings; Lim Chow Kiat, CEO, of GIC Private Limited; Piyush Gupta, CEO and Director, DBS Group; Yam Kum Weng, CEO, Changi Airport Group, and Yuen Kuan Moon, CEO, SingTel.

Singapore’s Deputy Prime Minister Gan Kim Yong and Minister for Home Affairs and Law, K Shanmugam, also participated in the event. Meanwhile, the countries have announced a partnership to cooperate in the field of semiconductors. Under an MoU, Singapore and India will leverage complementary strengths in their semiconductor ecosystems and tap into opportunities to build resilience in their semiconductor supply chains. This will include government-led policy exchanges on ecosystem development, supply chain resilience, and workforce development.