High Commissioner Simon Wong says Tamil Nadu is a reference destination for Singaporean investments.
Singapore is looking at ways to rebuild air travel in a way that is safe for travelers and residents, and relevant agencies in Singapore will be reaching out to authorities to discuss an Indian government proposal for a travel bubble with Singapore, High Commissioner from Singapore to India, said Simon Wong.
“India is an important partner for Singapore and the strong air connectivity between our countries before the pandemic had been instrumental in boosting the flow of trade and investment and people-to-people exchanges,” Wong said. The Hindu In an interview.
The High Commissioner thanked the Indian government for its support in helping to repatriate some 400 Singaporeans on two flights during the pandemic. He said that around 50 to 60 Singaporeans are still in India as they feel safe here and want to continue their work in India.
Mr Wong said that despite restrictions during COVID-19, Singapore’s investments are still pouring into India, although it has slowed down a bit. “For example, in the last year, between August of last year (2019) and August of this year (2020), we have about US $ 2 billion in investments,” he said.
The High Commissioner, who was in Chennai for a series of meetings, also met on Wednesday with the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, Edappadi K. Palaniswami. He said the government of Tamil Nadu took working with foreign investors very seriously and Singapore was happy to be a part of it, financially. “I think the Chief Minister is looking at a forward-thinking plan to transform the economy of [the regions] surrounding Chennai and of course Tamil Nadu. Singapore wants to be part of this process, ”he said.
Wong said that in the past year, between August 2019 and 2020, Singapore companies had invested close to $ 500 million in Tamil Nadu. He added that between 2018 and now Singapore companies had invested around $ 1 billion in Tamil Nadu.
“I think that due to historical ties, many of our ancestors come from Tamil Nadu and speak Tamil. So Chennai, Tamil Nadu in general, is a reference destination for our investments. That is also the main reason why despite COVID we are making a trip from Delhi to Chennai. This is my first stop. And I think we have to, despite the health risks, we want to signal to the government of Tamil Nadu that we take our partners very, very seriously. And we also want to point out to our Singaporean investments that this is the preferred state to invest their money, ”said the envoy.
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