SILK Air is considering direct air connectivity between Coimbatore and Singapore, said Balaji Sadasivam, Singapore's Senior Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Information, Communication and Arts.
He was addressing the members of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), Coimbatore, at a meeting held here on Monday.
According to a CII release, Mr. Sadasivam said there was a quantum jump during the last two years in not only business travellers between Singapore and this region but also "leisure travellers." Hence SILK Air was considering direct air connectivity between Coimbatore and Singapore and this was awaiting Central Government's approval.
"Singapore and Coimbatore can complement each other in the field of healthcare, education and engineering design."
A hub
Though Singapore might not be cost competitive to set up a manufacturing unit, Coimbatore could make use of its advancements in textile and engineering design and make Singapore a hub to reach out faster to the South East Asian countries and the Western parts of the U.S., he said.
Further, Singapore was looking at creating special economic zones in India, he added.
Bilateral trade
The Chairman of the CII, Coimbatore Zone, Jayakumar Ramdass, said bilateral trade and investment links between Singapore and India had seen a dramatic growth in recent years.
Various multinational companies were routing their investments in India through their Singapore subsidiaries. Companies from Singapore had invested in various projects in India such as logistics, health services, electronics and software.
Top five sectors
The top five sectors that attracted Foreign Direct Investment from Singapore included telecommunications, services (financial and non-financial), electrical equipment (including computer software and electronics), fuel and transportation industries.
India's trade with Singapore grew three times in the last five years and this was contributed by surge in exports and imports from and to Singapore, the release said.
Source : the Hindu
Wednesday, October 04, 2006
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