Tatas may choose Singapore as key partner for semiconductor play

Tata Sons will likely choose Singapore as a "key partner" for its semiconductor plans, a senior minister from the city-state said on Friday.

Speaking to reporters after a meeting with Tata Sons chairman N Chandrasekaran earlier in the day, Singapore's minister for home affairs and law K Shanmugam said semiconductors was a "big discussion" point during the meeting.

"If they (Tatas) want to, they can do business with anybody in the world.

"It's not that they need to do it in Singapore, but they will, I think, choose Singapore as a key partner, not only partner, but as a key partner," Shanmugam said.

Shanmugam, along with minister for manpower and second minister for trade and industry Tan See Leng, is on a day-long visit to the financial capital.

The South East Asian country is a "serious and reliable player" in the international semiconductor industry, he said, adding that the Tata Group has been present in Singapore for over five decades.

Singapore or entities based in the country command a 20 per cent share in the semiconductor equipment production globally, the visiting minister said.

Additionally, despite its relatively small size at just 670 square kilometre, Singapore is home to 25 semiconductor foundries, he said, acknowledging that the level of sophistication at which these work may not be the best in the world.

Notably, the Tata Group has ambitious plans on the semiconductor manufacturing front which include investment of Rs 91,000 crore for a facility in Gujarat and Rs 27,000 crore for another in Assam.

It has partnered with Taiwan's  Powerchip Semiconductor Manufacturing Corporation (PSMC) for the venture.

Asked about Niti Aayog chief executive  B V R Subrahmanyam's call for India to relook at its stance and join the 15-nation regional comprehensive economic partnership (RCEP), Shanmugam did not give a specific answer.

He said India had given a number of reasons for walking out of the negotiations to join the partnership in 2019 which included both macroeconomic and political issues, and he is not sure if they have been dealt with.

The minister said the outcome of the US elections may lead to an increase in bilateral and multilateral trading arrangements, especially amid expectations of a surge in import duties or levies to be implemented by the US and added that the key for countries is to be "nimble" in looking at what is happening.

To a question on possible difficulties in efforts to conjure up an international partnership to ease cross-border payments, Shanmugam said he sees a future where “like minded” countries would come together.

It can be noted that a senior US Fed official had recently opined that some friction is necessary in such pursuits.

Shanmugam said there may be a necessity to build up some barriers or create frictions as well in order to stop scams.

The India-Singapore ties are moving much beyond trade concessions, he asserted, pointing to deep rooted partnerships or talks in critical areas like energy, semiconductors and strategic security.

Shanmugam said Singapore is very small in size but it cannot be overlooked by any country because of its ability to attract thought leaders and businesses.

Singapore's High Commissioner to India Simon Wong Wie Kuen said the Port of Singapore Authority (PSA) will look at investment opportunities in the upcoming greenfield Wadhavan port in Maharashtra as and when foreign stakeholders get invited.

Shanmugam said PSA, which already operates a terminal at India's largest container port JNPA, is very interested in investing more in India and looking for opportunities.

The ministers will be attending anniversary celebrations of Singaporean lender DBS scheduled later in the evening and also a luncheon hosted by Temasek, the city-state's investment arm.

Apart from Chandrasekaran, they are also conversing with industry captains in a meeting organised by CII which has Jamshyd Godrej, Zia Mody, Naushad Forbes, R Mukundan and CII's director general Chandrajit Banerjee in attendance.