India and Singapore business leaders discuss investment, manufacturing, technology and opportunities for expanded bilateral cooperation
India and Singapore business leaders discussed opportunities for trade, investment and cooperation at the India-Singapore Business B2B Connect held at INSEAD on 20 August 2026. The programme brought together Indian delegates, Singapore businesses and senior industry leaders for business-to-business meetings and a fireside discussion with India’s Minister of Commerce and Industry, Shri Piyush Goyal.
The event began with registration and networking, followed by B2B meetings between Indian delegates and Singapore businesses. The programme formed part of wider India-Singapore business and ministerial engagements focused on strengthening commercial ties and identifying opportunities for greater cooperation.
Source: IN Diplomacy Reporter
Mr. Sameer Hasija, Dean of Executive Education and Dean of the Asia Campus at INSEAD, welcomed participants to the campus and highlighted the institution’s engagement with India through education, corporate programmes and government initiatives. He said, “India becomes a very important region for us,” noting that INSEAD was increasingly working with students, corporations and government institutions in the country.
Source: IN Diplomacy Reporter
Dr. Anish Shah, Group CEO and Managing Director of Mahindra & Mahindra, highlighted India’s infrastructure development, young population and digital capabilities. He said, “We see a lot of positivity across different sectors in India.” He also pointed to artificial intelligence as a factor creating new opportunities across manufacturing and business operations.
On India-Singapore cooperation, Dr Shah said, “It’s one of very high trust,” adding that the two countries could do more together in areas including trade and artificial intelligence. He highlighted the potential to combine Singapore’s strengths in chips and data centres with India’s capabilities in data.
Source: IN Diplomacy Reporter
Mr. Rajan Bharti Mittal, Vice Chairman of Bharti Enterprises, emphasised the potential for the two countries to work together in response to technological and economic changes. He said, “This is a golden opportunity for the two countries to combine and ensure the co-creation in a very different world.” He also highlighted opportunities in manufacturing and education, noting the need for new approaches to skills and learning as artificial intelligence develops.
Source: IN Diplomacy Reporter
Mr. Uday Kotak, Non-Executive Director of Kotak Mahindra Bank, highlighted Singapore’s potential role in supporting Indian companies seeking to expand internationally, particularly across Southeast Asia. He said Indian businesses needed to become more competitive globally through investment outside India, adding that Singapore could play an important role in financing and supporting such expansion.
He also called for a longer-term approach to investment in technology, research, innovation and products. “The time has come for Indian companies to start investing in technology and products, in innovation and research,” Kotak said, emphasising the importance of a five- to ten-year perspective.
Source: IN Diplomacy Reporter
Mr. Sandip Somany, Chairman and Managing Director of Somany Impresa Group, outlined opportunities for Indian and Singaporean companies to develop partnerships across manufacturing, technology and global supply chains. He said, “The next phase of India-Singapore cooperation should be about creating, manufacturing, investing and building together.”
He also highlighted the complementary strengths of the two economies, with Singapore providing technology, financing and global connectivity and India contributing scale, talent and manufacturing capabilities. He said businesses should focus on “co-developing, co-manufacturing, co-investing” to build integrated and globally competitive value chains.
Source: IN Diplomacy Reporter
Mr. Bob Chi, Chief Executive Officer of APAC Gateway Services at SATS, outlined the company’s long-term presence in India and its continued investment plans. He said, “For a company to be truly global, they must have a meaningful presence in India,” noting that SATS had operated in India since 2001 and continued to expand its activities.
He highlighted opportunities to develop integrated logistics and multimodal facilities supporting India’s manufacturing and agribusiness sectors. He also called for continued government support for a transparent and pro-business environment, stronger public-private partnerships and deeper government-to-government cooperation.
Source: IN Diplomacy Reporter
During the fireside discussion, titled “India in the New Global Growth Equation: Growth and Opportunity for Businesses in Asia and the World”, Minister Piyush Goyal, Hon’ble Minister of Commerce and Inudstry, Government of India, outlined India’s development in energy, infrastructure and renewable power, highlighting the integration of the country’s regional power grids into a national grid. He noted that India’s installed power capacity had reached about 520 gigawatts, with around 60 per cent coming from clean and renewable energy.
Minister Goyal also highlighted the potential for India’s energy infrastructure to support emerging industries, including data centres. He said the country’s development had created new opportunities for businesses and encouraged companies to participate in India’s growth.
Concluding his remarks, Minister Goyal called on businesses to engage with India’s expanding economy, saying, “Be a part of it. Leverage the large India story, the India opportunity.”
The India-Singapore B2B Connect concluded with a focus on developing practical business partnerships and identifying opportunities for investment, technology cooperation, manufacturing and market expansion. Continued engagement between businesses and institutions from both countries is expected to support further collaboration and strengthen India-Singapore economic ties.
Source: IN Diplomacy Reporter
