Singapore SMEs urged to consider Uttar Pradesh for overseas expansion

THE Uttar Pradesh state of India holds out opportunities that Singapore's small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) can consider when planning their overseas expansions, leaders from the local Indian business community said in a webinar on Thursday.

Organised by the International Business Division (IBD) of the Singapore Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SICCI), the webinar, titled "Business Investment Opportunities in Uttar Pradesh" aimed to create awareness of the opportunities for collaboration and investment in the Indian state.

It was held in collaboration with SICCI, Enterprise Singapore (ESG), the government of Uttar Pradesh and the PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry. The event was attended by Uttar Pradesh cabinet minister of MSME and Export Promotion Sidharth Nath Singh and India's High Commissioner-designate to Singapore P. Kumaran.

A prosperous region near the country's capital city of New Delhi, Uttar Pradesh has a population larger than that of Brazil, and offers opportunities for the automotive industry, manufacturing and agriculture, noted Gautam Banerjee, chairman of the South Asia business group of the Singapore Business Federation; he is also chairman of Blackstone Singapore.

While Singapore continues to be the largest source of foreign domestic investment in India, investors are less familiar with Uttar Pradesh than with better-known regions like Tamil Nadu.

"It's good that Singapore investors learn about a new place, a new territory, and we can then spread our wings further," said Mr Banerjee.

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He added that Singapore's expertise in tertiary and vocational education can be exported to India, which has one of the largest populations of young people among major global economies.

Tay Lian Chew, global markets director for South Asia at ESG, said the statutory board has three overseas centres in India, which have helped brands like Capitaland, Tong Gardens and Breadtalk expand to the country.

ESG also has a memorandum of understanding with Invest India to provide a one-stop service for Singapore companies keen on doing business in India. The two organisations have jointly hosted webinars on opportunities in food processing, agri-sourcing, automotives and electric vehicles.

Other opportunities for collaboration lie in India's startup scene and ecosystem. ESG launched a Global Innovation Alliance with India last year to promote a two-way flow of startups and ecosystem players.

"Through this initiative, several virtual missions have been led, where Singapore startups were exposed to the rich startup ecosystem in India. This has helped them to access the market and funding there," said Mr Tay.

"We will also be linking up Indian startups who could benefit from Singapore's ecosystem. We will be keen to work with startups and ecosystem players in Uttar Pradesh to explore similar collaborations."

IBD chairman Prasoon Mukherjee said the organisation has been working closely with the SME community in Singapore, assisting them to better understand the grants and financial aid available to help them through this crisis while continuing to encourage them to explore expanding into markets like India.

"We want the SMEs not to lose sight of the need to build resilience and lay the foundation for growth in the coming years," Mr Mukherjee said.

Chandra Mohan Rethnam, chairman of the SME Centre@SICCI and partner at Rajah & Tann, noted that the key focus in Singapore's enterprise landscape is to help SMEs digitalise, transform their businesses and go global.

The IBD, which is set to launch officially in Q4 2020, will work to identify sectors in India and Uttar Pradesh that Singapore companies can consider as investment destinations. SICCI chairman T Chandroo said the division was set up in response to interest and enquiries from companies and SICCI members about growing opportunities in the South Asia market.

"SICCI is well-placed to assist businesses as they seek to internationalise into India," Dr Chandroo said.

Added Mr Chandra: "I am confident that with the leadership of people on both sides, the IBD will be a tremendous success, and Singapore companies, and in particular Singapore SMEs, will find huge potential and growth in the Indian market."