And in the East, too, a red carpet

For Ascendas, which developed Bangalore’s International Tech Park in partnership with the Tatas, India is serious business, ‘‘a market with great potential where demand for quality business space solutions is high.’’

The Bangalore venture, considered Singapore’s flagship project in India, has since been followed by the Gurgaon Tech Park and Cyber Pearl, Phase III of the HITEC City project in Hyderabad.

Singapore Minister for Trade and Industry Lim Hng Kiang, whose nation was ranked Asia’s least corrupt by Berlin-based Transparency International last year, says this is just the start of the ‘‘India fever’’.

Addressing some 900 members of the local business community at the Raffles City Convention Centre just days ago, venue of the Singapore-India Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA) seminar, Lim called India ‘‘our fastest growing trading partner.’’

‘‘India has been on a path of restructuring and reform for well over a decade now and its re-entry into the global economy is reshaping trade flows radically. Singapore businesses have been participating in that process. Over the past 10 years, trade between Singapore and India has tripled, to almost 12 billion Singapore dollars in 2004. Last year alone, bilateral trade grew by 50 per cent. India is now Singapore’s 14th largest trading partner.’’

As Lim explained how ‘‘Singapore and India are now poised for tremendous gains through increased flows of goods, services, investments and talent’’, he made one remark that was not lost on anyone in the audience. ‘‘CECA has widened the road for Singapore and India to engage. And because Singapore is a hub for South East Asia, CECA will also deepen linkages between South East Asia and India.’’

‘‘India’s Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Commerce Minister Kamal Nath have called Singapore India’s gateway to South East Asia and East Asia. Finance Minister P Chidambaram sees Singapore as ‘‘a funnel of world investments’’ for India. Singapore is proud to be able to perform this role,’’ Lim said.

In a region where Chinese presence and domination is overpowering—there’s nervousness too among ASEAN members as manufacturing units in countries like Indonesia, scarred by the Asian meltdown of 1997, have shut shop and shifted to mainland China—India is a welcome partner.

Seah Keok Choon and Louis Kay of Singapore’s Economic Development Board (EDB) say Indian companies now outnumber the Chinese in Singapore: there are some 1,500 Indian companies against an estimated 1,400 Chinese firms. Seah and Kay make the same point as Minister Lim: ‘‘India can look to Singapore as a launch pad into South East Asia.’’

Meghmani Organics, a Gujarat-based firm dealing in pesticides and pigments, became the first Indian company to list on the Singapore Exchange SGX last August. At International Enterprise Singapore (IE), which helps Singapore-based companies globalise and works to position the city-state as a base for foreign businesses, they tell you why ‘‘partnering a Singapore company is a strategically sound approach to gaining quick access to Asian markets while minimising risks.’’

Manufactured goods still make the bulk of Singapore’s non-oil domestic exports but greater emphasis is now being placed on key areas such as electronics, chemicals, biomedical sciences, engineering and emerging technologies in photonics, nanotechnology and micro-electronic systems.

Complementing these are business services, healthcare, education, food and beverage, construction, real estate, supply chain management and maritime services sectors. Plus Singapore has a sound legal system to protect intellectual property rights.

India’s High Commissioner Alok Prasad believes the future of India-Singapore ties is already here: ‘‘India’s eastbound trade overtook its westward trade last year. It’s no surprise that Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) runs its Asia Pacific operations from Singapore.’’

(The writer was in Singapore under an India-Asean media exchange programme).