Singapore to set up SEZs in India

New Delhi, Sep 25 (UNI) The Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA) signed last year between India and Singapore is entering the next stage with Singapore's intent to create special economic zones in India, a Singapore official said.

''This could become Singapore's flagship venture in India and an area where the two countries can cooperate in bringing multinational companies to set up manufacturing bases in India,'' Singapore Senior Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Information, Communications and the Arts, Dr Balaji Sadasivan said.

In addition to manufacturing, companies in the services sector could also be invited to invest and make India a base for their operations.

The minister said the Singapore government is willing to 'bend backwards' to welcome foreign investors into Singapore and is committed to providing a level playing field for all companies.

He added that if any Indian company feels that Singapore companies were being given an unfair advantage by a particular law or clause of the country's government, they were free to bring it to the notice of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Singapore for reconsideration and review.

Two areas that offered good scope for cooperation between Indian and Singaporean companies were information technology and life sciences, including research and healthcare.

Singapore is planning a 'fibre-to-home' project where all homes will be given a fibre optic connection to raise bandwidth to 1 gigabyte per second. It is also planning to make the entire island wireless to facilitate mobility. This would facilitate the development of internet-based high definition television.

''Any company interested in launching new products in this area is welcome to Singapore as it is an ideal place for market research.'' Apart from the CECA and Singapore's initiatives to include India in the ASEAN+6 (the East Asia) grouping, 'there is need for more political engagement to deepen bilateral ties,' the minister said.

The Singapore team will also be visiting Bihar to explore the rejuvenation of the Nalanda University, one of the foremost seats of learning in the ancient world. This is being considered in collaboration with the UNESCAP.

There is renewed interest in the shared culture of India, China and Southeast Asia that were once closely connected by the old Silk Route. Many Asians would want to visit India's Buddhist heritage centres; and facilitating that will automatically enable the economic development of the state of Bihar.

Following the CECA, bilateral trade jumped 41 per cent in 2004-2005 from 11 billion dollars to 16 billion dollars, Dr Balaji said.

The growing commercial interests between the two countries were manifest in the fact that getting seats on flights between them is getting harder. Singapore recognises India's competence in the medical sector. It outsources its radiology to India, recruits Indian doctors and nurses and has signed research agreements with Indian medical institutes.

That India is important to Singapore is underlined by the fact that the consulate in Chennai is being upgraded and visa procedures for Indian businessmen and travelers are being simplified, Dr Balaji told a gathering at an event organised by industry body CII.

Indian companies are looking ahead to a level playing field when they planned investments in Singapore, said Past President CII and VSNL Chairman Subodh K Bhargava.

Many Indian companies had set up offices in Singapore as the headquarters of their global operations. ''This year, investments by Indian companies overseas has exceeded inflows of foreign direct investment.'' India appreciates all that Singapore has done to help it integrate with ASEAN, Mr Bhargava said. This has helped develop closer bilateral ties as well. He said the Indian economy was booming and manufacturing has also done well.

''This is in addition to the rapid developments in the service sector.'' The process of economic reforms has moved forward, though there is need to go faster. Indian companies are now benchmarking themselves with the best-in-class globally and growing through mergers and acquisitions.

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