Billion-dollar baby: Singapore has invested USD 1 bn in Telangana, says envoy

HYDERABAD: For Singapore, Telangana is the new Silicon Valley. Or so it appears. Nearly $1 out of every $2 of foreign investments into the State came from the landlocked nation.

Of the $2.3 billion foreign direct investment into Telangana since 2018, $1 billion came from Singapore, Simon Wong, High Commissioner of Republic of Singapore to India, said on Tuesday.

He said Hyderabad was among the few key cities across India that they were focusing on for investments. Some of the thrust areas of investments carried out by Singapore in the State include logistics (infrastructure), pharma, tourism, education, banking and technology.

In infrastructure, Singapore’s forte has been to design campuses for the IT industry, and build data centres and large industrial projects.

For instance, the master design for the State’s pharma city was planned and executed by a Singapore-based firm. Besides, the country’s banking firms employ thousands of software engineers from the city.

Among the factors attracting companies to Telangana, Wong said, was the TS-iPASS, which attempts to provide clearances for establishing new industries within 15 days.

Though Singapore itself has a benchmark of 3-day clearances for foreign companies, Wong believes TS-iPASS scores better among most Indian States. “There are times when project clearances are stuck for 2-3 years,” he said. Wong said Telangana would continue to be one of the key States for investment for three reasons. “One, healthcare infrastructure is better managed, as the second wave has proven. Two, the State has one of the best records on the vaccination front. Lastly, the government has done a good job identifying areas that can propel economic activity,” he said.