In an endeavour to boost bilateral trade, Singapore recently promoted itself as a lucrative investment destination and invited Indian business units to explore business opportunities in Singapore. Some of the key sectors highlighted by Singapore Economic Development Board (SEDB) for collaboration with India include SME-concentrated sectors such as pharma and chemicals.

This development holds great importance for Indian SMEs in these sectors which can seek to cash in on the investment-friendly environment of Singapore by exploring scope for partnerships and tie-ups. Significantly, bilateral trade between the two countries which stood at US$14 billion in 2009-10, amounted to about US$11.12 billion during the first 6 months of 2010-11. Also, the two countries plan to increase their bilateral trade to US$32 billion by 2015.

Interestingly, Singapore has also expressed a keen interest in investing in the infrastructure sector in India, which augurs well for SMEs in this sector.

The India-Singapore Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA) is also underway, which could boost cooperation between the two countries in the services sector besides eliminating trade barriers. The finalisation of the CECA would benefit SMEs in sectors such as IT software, business/consultancy services and health industries, among others.