The leaders of India and Singapore yesterday signed an agreement to partner and co-operate in semiconductors, in a deal aimed at giving Singaporean firms a greater role in supply chains in the Indian market, the two countries said.
A memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed during Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s two-day visit to Singapore, his fifth overall and first since 2018.
“Singapore and India will leverage complementary strengths in their semiconductor ecosystems and tap on opportunities to build resilience in their semiconductor supply chains,” Singapore’s trade ministry said in a statement. “This will include government-led policy exchanges on ecosystem development, supply chain resilience, and workforce development.”
Tiny Singapore has long punched above its weight in the sector, accounting for 11% of the global semiconductor market, with 20% of global semiconductor equipment manufactured in the country.
Semiconductors are a key plank of India’s business agenda, with a $10bn package in place to boost the industry’s push to compete in future with countries like chipmaking heavyweight Taiwan. India expects its semiconductor market to be worth $63bn by 2026.
In February, it gave the go-ahead to construction of three semiconductor plants worth over $15bn by firms including Tata Group and CG Power, with plans to manufacture and package chips for sectors including defence, autos and telecommunication.
Modi met Singapore Prime Minister Lawrence Wong, President Tharman Shanmugaratnam and former premier Lee Hsien Loong during the visit. Three other agreements were also signed, on digital technologies, education and skills development and on health and medicine, according to India’s foreign ministry. India and Singapore yesterday also called for the peaceful resolution of all maritime disputes in the South China Sea in accordance with international law, without use of force.
“Both sides also called on all parties to resolve disputes through peaceful means without threat or use of force and exercise self-restraint in the conduct of actions that could escalate tensions in the region,” they said in a joint statement.