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By Li Jiahui
SINGAPORE, 18th October (ANI): India has been identified as a major investment destination by Singapore and its official investment arm, Enterprise Singapore, to encourage local companies to invest in India.
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EnterpriseSG is a government agency under the Ministry of Trade and Industry of Singapore that supports small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Singapore by helping them enhance their capabilities, innovate, transform and grow internationally.
It also supports Singapore’s growth as a hub for global trade and start-ups, and builds trust in Singapore’s products and services through quality and standards. In addition, it develops strategies to enable companies in specific industries in Singapore to enter new markets, drive regional expansion, and internationalize through alternative formats.
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When the COVID-19 pandemic broke out in 2020, EnterpriseSG redoubled its efforts with other government agencies in Singapore to ensure that the affected industries were supported through various support and training programmes, and to align with others more affected when borders reopened. Small organizations prepare for growth together as business returns to normal.
Another case in point is the updated Singapore Retail Transformation Map (ITM) 2025, which was launched about a week ago and does just that. Its goal is to build the core of the global Singapore brand and improve the quality of employment in the industry. It does this with the help of other Singapore government agencies including the Singapore Tourism Board.
Since Singapore’s economy is currently one of the fastest growing in Asia, this approach has paid off. A Bloomberg poll of economists expects the company to grow 3.9% in the third quarter. Singapore’s financial sector is booming as its COVID strategy enables it to reopen safely and faster than its regional rivals, especially those in North Asia.
While rival financial hub Hong Kong is at risk of brain drain due to the departure of expats and locals, Singapore’s finance minister and future prime minister Lawrence Ng is hoping to put jobs in the financial industry by creating 20,000 jobs between now and now. Jobs to increase by more than 10% by 2025.
EnterpriseSG assisted approximately 80 companies in projects in Africa, India and Latin America between January and May. That’s 50% higher than the same period in 2019, before the pandemic hit.
Easing border restrictions also enables government agencies to resume their brick-and-mortar operations and visit trade shows. Missions it leads include a Mexico mission led by the Singapore Society for Precision Engineering and Technology in October, and a built environment mission to Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire in the same month. In early 2023, the furniture company’s mission to India is in preparation.
EnterpriseSG also helps Singapore companies do business in many countries. They do this through their 36 overseas centers, each headed by a regional director. These centers collaborate with companies in areas such as promoting business opportunities, sharing policy updates, and helping companies adjust their strategies for entering new markets.
It believes that a diverse global reach enables it to help companies take their first steps or adapt quickly. Most Singaporean companies generally prefer to expand into nearby security markets such as Indonesia, Vietnam or China, while places like India, Africa and Latin America seem too far away, unfamiliar and daunting. However, these markets may have potential for Singaporean companies looking to diversify and grow.
The most recent overseas hub was established in Nairobi, Kenya, in 2018, as Singaporean companies became more interested in entering East Africa. Most small Singapore companies entering these markets do so with the help of local partners, which include joint ventures and distribution partners. However, Ms Sabrina Ho, Regional Director of EnterpriseSG’s New Delhi hub, believes that there are limitations to the approach to collaboration as Singapore companies ultimately have limited exposure to local operations.
This is because much of the work and risk in such partnerships is borne by the local partner.
“We advise companies to communicate regularly with local partners and consider short-term travel to understand … the market landscape,” she told The Straits Times, Singapore’s main English-language newspaper.
She advises companies and start-ups to try to build a small market presence by deploying executive leadership in India or rehiring Indians returning from Singapore. This approach tends to build a more meaningful and long-term presence in the market, but Singaporean players tend to prefer a collaborative approach as it allows them to build their business faster.
Ho further cites how EnterpriseSG is strengthening its collaboration with partners such as India and Singapore trade associations, rather than just facilitating business-to-business engagements and networking meetings.
“We work with them to help Singaporean companies prepare before entering the market and build a network and other contacts of Singaporean companies so that Singaporean companies can participate directly, even without direct access to India,” she said. (ANI)
(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from the Syndicated News feed, the body of the content may not have been modified or edited by LatestLY staff)
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