A slew of chief ministers and government representatives from India have been coming to Singapore in recent months seeking investments for their respective states.
The list includes Telangana’s Revanth Reddy, Odisha’s Mohan Charan Majhi and ministers and secretaries from Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Karnataka.
So, how was Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma’s pitch to business leaders here on Wednesday different?
At a roadshow at Shangri-La Hotel, he asked Singapore businesses to take their eyes of well-developed states such as Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Karnataka and Gujarat and focus on Assam.
“We also want to grow,” he said. “We can offer so many opportunities to you. Assam has been growing at the rate of 19 per cent per year. And we have several plans to expand our economic growth further.”
The 56-year-old listed investment opportunities in hydrocarbon and petrochemicals, green energy, electronics, semi-conductors and tourism, among other industries.
He spoke about the openings in advanced manufacturing and semiconductors, which were placed at the heart of an updated cooperation between India and Singapore (the second India-Singapore Ministerial Roundtable) on Aug 26 last year.
The chief minister highlighted the upcoming Electronics City in Jagiroad, a town in Assam, focusing on semiconductors and advanced electronics, which will set the state on a path to becoming a high-tech manufacturing hub.
He said the Jagiroad semiconductor plant’s Outsourced Semiconductor Assembly and Test unit will foster innovation and industrial growth, and feature an electronics manufacturing cluster to support ancillary development and provide world-class facilities. The Electronics City will also include a trade and warehousing zone.
Mr Sarma added that Tata Electronics has already invested in the Electronics City, and Singapore companies could get involved in the supply chain.
Dr Randhir Thakur, managing director and CEO of Tata Electronics, who also spoke at the roadshow, highlighted the company’s big investment in Assam, the support it is receiving to set up a factory at Jagiroad and the ease of doing business in the state.
Mr Bipin Balakrishnan, partner (tax and trade), Singapore-India Corridor, at KPMG was impressed with the presentation.
“The fact that states such as Assam, Odisha and Uttar Pradesh are coming out and approaching investors outside India is a fabulous thing,” he said “I don’t think it was done with so much clear focus in the past, especially looking at newer areas like semiconductors.
“We need more of this; it will dispel some of the myths that are there about doing business in India. Tata Electronics setting up business in Assam is a fantastic start, as India doesn’t have the ecosystem in the semiconductor space. So, it is very important for outside people to understand that and see what are the opportunities to set up manufacturing units in India.”
