Singapore PM to focus on South

By V. Jayanth

After a five year cool-off, the Singapore Prime Minister, Mr. Goh Chok Tong, is coming on a State visit to India in the third week of this month.

Apart from New Delhi, where he will have the customary meetings with the President, Mr. K. R. Narayanan, the Prime Minister, Mr. A. B. Vajpayee and some of the senior Ministers, the visiting Singapore leader and his business delegation will be focusing on three southern States - Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.

Mr. Goh Chok Tong, who has remained one of the strong advocates of closer engagement with India and increased trade, economic and political exchanges with New Delhi, last visited the country in 1995. He chose to come to India for two successive years, 1994 and 1995, when the India fever was running high in Southeast Asia and particularly in Singapore.

Because of the political uncertainties in New Delhi and the swift change of Governments, the two countries could not carry forward the dialogue beyond a point. The former Prime Minister, Mr. I. K. Gujral, visited Singapore to re-establish the links.

With the advent of the BJP Government and its nuclear tests, there was a cloud over India's engagement with the rest of the world and a dilution of its ``Look East'' policy.

Now that the BJP-led coalition is back with a more comfortable majority and its Foreign Minister, Mr. Jaswant Singh, has been able to establish a new equation with East Asia, Singapore has possibly decided it was time to cement a new partnership for the new millennium.

Even during the past five years, Singapore and its leadership have kept in touch with India and its economic agenda. A top delegation from the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) has been making annual visits to both Singapore and Malaysia to maintain the links.

Industry sources say ``The Singapore Government has built a corpus of funds for investment abroad and has been encouraging its entrepreneurs to embark on both a regionalisation and globalisation programme. The Prime Minister is expected to bring with him nearly 25 leading businessmen, in addition to top officials from the economic and trade agencies of the Government''.

After completing the State visit and official talks in Delhi, Mr. Goh will turn to the business aspect of his visit. Along with the business delegation, he will spend a little over three days in Hyderabad, Bangalore and Chennai.

From the beginning of Singapore's engagement in 1994-95, Karnataka has been the major focal point. During this visit, the Prime Minister will formally inaugurate the IT Park near Bangalore, which has been till now a flagship venture for the Singapore consortium.

In the intervening period, the Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister, Mr. N. Chandrababu Naidu, has emerged as a star attraction for foreign investors. Keeping in mind the conflicting reports from Hyderabad, Mr. Goh and his team will make an on-the-spot assessment of the plans and facilities offered by Mr. Naidu before finalising any joint ventures there.

Industry sources argue ``The growing competition among the three southern States will come to the fore during this visit as one State will vie with another to woo Singapore investors.''

Even if Hyderabad appears to be most ``business-friendly,'' there are negative reports about the State's finances and the lack of infrastructure outside the capital.

As far as Karnataka is concerned, the entry of Mr. S. M. Krishna as Chief Minister and his efforts to retain the State's edge in Information Technology seems to be attractive. If the new Chief Minister is able to convince Singapore that their pending and delayed proposals can be pushed through and new projects cleared without bottlenecks, the City State may continue to evince keen interest in Bangalore and its environs. A major drawback in Karnataka seems to be its infrastructure and the inability of the administration to stick to promises and deadlines.

`Natural affinity'

In the case of Tamil Nadu, the sources say ``There is a natural affinity between Singapore and Chennai. But the State Government has failed to cash in on this sentiment. The traditional links, the existing contacts, the relatively better infrastructure and the congenial industrial relations environment make Tamil Nadu a very attractive destination.''

They explain that the Chief Minister, Mr. M. Karunanidhi, had a useful visit to Singapore and Malaysia in early 1999, but there was no follow-up. If the State administration is able to present a practical and mutually beneficial list of projects, the visitors may be more than willing to invest in this State. Without being preoccupied with the next election, the State must try to keep the focus on development and industrialisation.

Infrastructure, Information Technology, tourism and hospitality services remain the major areas of interest and expertise for Singapore. Its experiences in creating an ``intelligent city'' and linking internet service through cable television may also be useful. It is now up to these States and their businessmen to keep a slate of proposals ready for the Singapore delegation so that at least a few of them can be discussed in some detail during this visit.

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Section  : International
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