'It pays to have presence in Singapore'

India is not only attracting foreign investments but also witnessing tremendous support from the governments of various countries in setting up a foreign presence. Singapore, however promises not only its own market, but also the entire southeast Asian spectrum for companies willing to start operations there. The Infocomm Development Authority (iDA) of Singapore is playing the role of a facilitator for Singaporean companies to set up shop in India and vice versa. iDA country director (India)
Mohan Mirwani shared his views with CyberMedia News Service about bridging the gap between India and southeast Asia.

l Why should Indian companies come to Singapore?

Singapore is not just a market by itself–it opens a wide southeast Asian domain for vendors, as it is the principal hub for the entire region. It is also the financial capital and logistics hub for this part of the world. Infrastructure is very strong, similar to that available in Western countries, with the added advantage of a strong Eastern culture. Singapore as a brand is very strong.

There are about 6,000 MNC companies having their Asian headquarters at Singapore. 

Mohan Mirwani

iDA country director (India)

l How IT friendly is the Singapore government?

The Singapore government is known for its e-governance leadership. It has won awards from Harvard University and Anderson Consulting among others. As part of the phase II of e-gap (government action plan), all government agencies are connected using Web services so well that if you want to apply for something, all the related agencies will read your requirements and facilitate the smooth flow in a single window. There is no need of going to each and every agency website and applying for necessary processes. The phase II of e-gap is to be launched in another couple of years.

l What is the role of iDA ?

iDA facilitates trade and investment between the two countries, thereby promoting bilateral relationships. We offer consulting to Indian and Singaporean companies and details about regulations and processes and procedures in the two countries. We also assist the Singapore consulate in India in the processes regarding companies and individuals applying for visas. We have helped three Singapore-based companies in the past one year to come and utilize the incubating facility at ITPL and expand and grow. There are more than 11 companies from Singapore that have come by themselves without much of our assistance.

We have offices in the US, China and in Bangalore.

l What kind of operations will benefit Indian IT companies in Singapore?

There are already about 300 Indian IT companies in Singapore operating at various levels. They include sales and marketing offices and business continuity, disaster recovery, software development, and front-end of BPO. These are some of the broad categories of operations that Indian IT companies can look forward to in leveraging their presence in Singapore.

l To what extent has participating in Bangalore IT.com been beneficial?

This is our fourth consecutive participation in this event. We find a lot of Indian IT companies interested in extending business relationship with Singapore and also a number of Singapore companies taking the opportunity to meet up with Indian IT companies to forge business partnerships. The Karnataka government is very sensitive of the trends and the conferences scheduled are in line with the trends. More than 10 Singapore companies have come back to participate in this year’s edition.

CyberMedia News Service