S'pore firms eye under-tapped India and Middle East markets

SBF and HSBC have joined hands to help smaller firms expand into these areas

- Ovais Subhani

Senior Business Correspondent As multinational corporations rush to diversify their international trade and investment exposure, Singapore companies planning to expand abroad are also increasingly looking at the burgeoning opportunities beyond Asean and China.

In response, the Singapore Business Federation (SBF) and HSBC have joined hands to support local businesses' expansion overseas in key trade corridors, especially in under-tapped markets including India and the Middle East.

The idea is that companies here should cash in on Singapore's long history of strong trade and diplomatic ties with India and countries in the Middle East before the firstmover advantage dries up.

Apart from the shifting supply chains and investment flows in response to geopolitical tensions and superpower rivalry in trade and technology, India and the Middle East represent a near-contiguous expanse of some of the world's fastest-growing economies.

Representing about a quarter of the world's population, India and the Middle East are also in the midst of an unprecedented drive to boost investment in urban development, transport, utilities, renewable energy, tourism, real estate, manufacturing and logistics.

Some of Singapore's large enterprises have already moved in. But smaller companies, even if they have an attractive product to offer and have a good business plan, need help.

This was one of the salient points made during an interview with SBF chief executive officer Kok Ping Soon and HSBC Singapore CEO Wong Kee Joo.

Saudi Arabia, for example, plans to spend up to US$175 billion (S$228 billion) a year between 2025 and 2028 on greenfield industrial plants and gigaprojects such as Neom, a megacity being built in a bay in the kingdom.

In real estate, it plans to build 660,000 new homes, 289,000 hotel rooms, 6 million sq m of office space and 5.3 million sq m of retail space.