The locations of these cities are also ideal for businesses looking to further expand into other regional markets such as the Middle East and Europe.
Some Singapore firms are setting up operations in Indian cities as they search for a bigger talent pool, quicker production, and cheaper labour and material costs.
Bengaluru and Chennai, among the fastest growing cities in the world, have attracted companies across industries including those specialising in robotics, manufacturing and waste management.
Industry observers said foreign companies are increasingly turning to India as part of their expansion strategy due to appealing policies and a pro-business environment.
“Why Singaporean companies choose (India) is the access, the connectivity, availability of human resources and land at a cheaper cost. (Also,) a stable government with proactive policies which are available and very accessible,” said Mr Jeyesh Nmp, southern regional director of trade association Confederation of Indian Industry.
The locations of these cities are also ideal for businesses looking to further expand into other regional markets such as the Middle East and Europe, the firms said.
ROBOTICS AND START-UPS
Among the Singapore technology firms that have established a presence in India is robotics start-up Botsync, which builds autonomous industrial robots for transporting large items in places such as factories.
The company set up its research and development lab in Bengaluru, attracted by the technology hub’s large pool of digital and artificial intelligence (AI) talent.
“We want to build software that makes our systems more intelligent. So we moved to India and built up a team capable of delivering such solutions. Our day-to-day conversations in the Bangalore office stem around simplifying this automation scope,” said Botsync’s co-founder Nikhil Venkatesh.
The state has long been referred to as India’s Silicon Valley, and is home to one of the fastest growing start-up scenes in Asia.
The sector has been bolstered by various government initiatives rolled out in recent years. These include plans mooted last year for a dedicated start-up park near its international airport, which is expected to boost the growth of another 25,000 new firms.
Over in Chennai, robotics firm LionsBot has set up a facility to support the development of its cleaning robots back in Singapore.
“Chennai has a talent pool in all tech sectors. Not only in software, but also in mechanical, automobile, electronics and wire harnessing,” said the firm’s India head of operations Bharathi Raj.
“We take care of the complete testing, bug fixing, and fine-tuning, then we send the component back to headquarters (in Singapore). This helps to maximise productivity and meet their timeline to release any new products,” said Mr Bharathi.
The company is planning to boost its current workforce of 200 employees by hiring another 100 workers, including engineers, at its Chennai office in the coming months.
MANUFACTURING SECTOR
Chennai, the largest industrial and commercial centre in South India, boasts a diverse manufacturing sector including automobiles, textiles and chemicals.
Singapore firm Venturer, which specialises in sustainable timber used in the design of buildings, set up a plant there geared to efficiently make components for construction projects.
It said establishing a base in the sprawling city has helped it significantly cut down on transport costs and production time.
“Most of our projects are in remote destinations or islands where accommodation, as well as bringing in a lot of manpower, is a challenge. In order to reduce that, our facility pre-fabricates components,” said the company’s regional manager Hams Tino.
With one of its projects in the Maldives, Chennai’s location is strategic for the firm. It takes just under three days for components to be shipped to the Maldives, slashing transport costs by about 30 per cent.
Mr Hams added that construction time for some projects have also been cut by a month since the company started its Chennai factory.
Another Singaporean business, sofa maker HTL, expanded its production capacity into India in 2021 with manufacturing plants in both Chennai and Pune, in the western Indian state of Maharashtra.
The company hopes its presence in India will help to enlarge its footprint on the global stage.
“(India) has very strong domestic demand, and is a great place to export to different parts of the world, specifically to the US, UK, Middle East and even parts of Southeast Asia,” said the firm’s global brand head Celeste Phua.
With its two Indian facilities, the firm said it can cut down shipping time to regions like the Middle East by 70 per cent.
The large pool of skilled workers is also helping the company boost its productivity.
“The sofa is a handicraft item. So India works very well because a lot of the (workers can) sew and cut. India also provides a very rich and diverse labour workforce for us to tap on, and expand our manufacturing capacity,” Ms Phua said.
WASTE MANAGEMENT SECTOR
Some firms are also looking to harvest growing opportunities in India’s waste management sector, especially as the Asian giant puts in motion efforts to go greener.
This includes turning trash, such as disposed electronic goods, into precious resources.
Chennai is among the most populous cities in India and it produces more than 5,000 tonnes of waste each day.
It is estimated that only about 20 per cent of the city’s waste is actually treated and disposed of properly. The rest ends up in landfills, which creates environmental and health hazards.
Singapore firm Blue Planet Environmental Solutions described the industry as one of the most underserved markets in India.
“We see a huge potential opportunity to ensure that we are able to solve the problem for the longer term by ensuring maximisation of processing of the waste and clearing of the existing landfills here,” said the firm’s chief executive officer Prashant Singh.
At Perungudi dump yard, one of the city’s two major dumpsites which spans about 170 football fields, the company carries out a process known as dumpsite mining in a section of the landfill.
Waste is sprayed with a culture to speed up decomposition and reduce the stench that attracts flies. It is then sorted and material such as iron scraps are sent to metal recycling facilities.
“All the resources that can be upcycled should be leveraged for upcycling, and whatever cannot be upcycled should be used for sustainable disposal,” said Mr Singh.
In Bengaluru, another Singapore firm is breathing new life into electronic waste – an industry that could be worth US$20 billion by 2030.
E-waste solutions company Vans Chemistry said India’s young population and digital boom are driving the sector.
India is the world’s most populous nation with over 1.4 million people, of which more than 65 per cent are younger than 35 years old.
“They need more and more electronics. That is why electronic product manufacturing is increasing, and so is the e-waste generation,” said the firm’s chief executive officer Venkatesha Murthy.
The company dismantles discarded computer parts, mobile phones and laptops to help in the recovery of precious metals such as lithium, cobalt and gold.
“Wherever possible we try to reuse the components so that we can extend the life of the electronic product instead of just going for the recycling. In the journey of recycling, we also consolidate the metals and plastics,” said Mr Venkatesha.
Since 2014, the company has processed more than 25,000 tonnes of e-waste. It is now looking to set up an integrated facility where it can recover and refine e-waste on its own.
Enterprise Singapore (EnterpriseSG) said it has centres in Chennai, Mumbai and New Delhi that help Singapore companies venturing into India.
The overseas centres by the economic development agency advises businesses on the local operating environment and guides them in navigating different governmental agencies.
Source : Channel News Asia
