Singapore offers itself as Living Lab for Indian IT Inc

In an interface with Deccan Herald here, on Tuesday, Engkeat said Singapore offers itself as Living Lab wherein Indian IT companies can make the most of nation’s IT friendly policies. They can go on their own or co-develop IT products and services besidesIP to grow and foster their businesses.

Indian IT firms could enter into either collaborative or on own, bring concepts, develop prototypes and build them into IP products, solutions and services using Singapore as test bed. They can co-share the cost of development with Singapore through big ticket tax incentives and economic agreement between the two nations. 

Utilising Singapore’s conducive work, live and play milieu, Indian IT firms could make the most of their talent and human capital pool to drive their growth, he added. Indian IT companies, he said, could participate in Singapore’s economic planning model currently addressing issues of growing density of urban cities, the aging population, increasing migration to cities.

Promising options
The companies could work with Singapore government or independently to bring out solutions addressing urban planning, environment, traffic and wastage management.
These solutions though Singapore specific could then be marketed across the region, helping Indian companies garner more revenues as also patent IPs they create. 

One other government initiative Indian IT Inc could be part of is Singapore Intelligent Nation 2015 Master Plan, aimed at transforming the prosperous island nation into an intelligent nation and global city powered by Infocomm.

Engkeat said Indian companies constitute the 2nd largest foreign corporate contingent with over 3,800 in the Digital Capital of Asia, after Malayasia spanning diverse clusters from IT services to education, logistics and manufacturing. Indian companies can take advantage of Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement and incentives to internationalise their operations to address Asia Pacific region.

Besides enabling speedier development of newer products, processes and services, Singapore, he said, provides ideal eco-system for Indian IT players to take advantage of cost arbitrage to address the Philippines, Indonesia, China, Taiwan, Sri Lanka,  and other markets to go to market with Singapore as headquarters.