Singapore SMEs should venture into Indian market: official

Singapore's small and medium enterprises (SMEs) should move out of their "comfort zone" and go regional, especially enter the Indian market, a top Singapore-India chamber official has said.
Speaking at a forum over the weekend, Singapore Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SICCI) Chairman R Theyvandran asked the SMEs to venture into India as the time is right with a stable economy.
"India is now on a great drive to attract many industries," Theyvandran told some 200 businessmen at the "India-Singapore Trade: Challenges & Opportunities."
He said: "It is really a challenge to go into India but, as in every venture, there will always be these challenges."

He asked the SMEs to form partnerships with Indian enterprises who understand local cultures and practices. There is also a need to overcome the challenges instead of getting defeated by them.
Theyvandran cited an example of how his educational business, the Management Development Institute of Singapore (MDIS), has found a local partner in India, after several years of search to set up a university there.

Take the risk but take small steps to be part of the massive infrastructure and economic development in India, he said. One of his preferred choice for investments is Andhra Pradesh, which plans to build a new capital city based on Singapore master plan.

He pointed out a report by The Boston Group, which called on Singapore SMEs to go regional and move out of the "comfort zone".
Smaller firms in Singapore are missing out on the huge prospects in Asia. Noting that Singapore companies were not as ambitious in expansion as their regional counterparts, the report called for a mindset shift and move out of the "comfort zone" to tap the region's full potential.
Within the region, India has the best business prospects, Theyvandran said.
Citing good demand for universities, he said "There is demand from students from around the world to pursue programmes with the Singapore brand, evident from the vast number of countries that students at MDIS in Singapore come from."

MDIS has a 51 per cent stake in a joint venture with Vels Institute of Science, Technology and Advanced Studies (VELS) University which was signed in July this year, said Theyvandran.
"Marketing activities will start next month and we expect to start off with at least 100 students in our Phase I," MDIS finance director A Subramanian told PTI.
"We will be using VELS premises and facilities for our Phase I operations," he said.
The phase II development, with a 70,000 sq ft campus for 1,500-2,000 students, will start next year. The campus will be completed in 2017.