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India and Singapore have agreed to step up collaboration in semiconductors and digital technologies, seeking to play a bigger role in a global chip supply chain reshaped by tensions between the United States and China.
During a two-day visit by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the city-state, the two countries signed agreements to train talent in chip design and manufacturing and facilitate Singaporean technology investments in India, according to an Indian government statement on Thursday. The two countries will also work more closely together in the areas of cybersecurity, fifth-generation mobile networks, supercomputing and artificial intelligence.
Singapore, India and Malaysia are among the Asian economies that have benefited from the protracted US-China chip war, which has shaken the global chip market, which is expected to reach $588 billion in sales this year. China and Western countries are working to establish autonomous supply chains to avoid geopolitical risks, creating business opportunities for the sector.
While India’s semiconductor industry is in its infancy, Singapore has been playing a significant role in the sector for decades. The city-state is home to some of Southeast Asia’s largest chip manufacturing facilities, with global names like NXP Semiconductors NV and Micron Technology Inc. The island state has a legion of chip research and engineering talent as well as abundant venture capital for chip startups.
The partnership also underscores Modi’s ambition to turn the world’s most populous country into a tech superpower, for which a strong semiconductor ecosystem is crucial. During his trip to Singapore, he met Prime Minister Lawrence Wong and is expected to meet other key officials from the city-state. The two nations also signed agreements in the areas of health, medicine and skill development.
Deeper ties with India in semiconductors would help Singaporean companies tap into the growing South Asian market, Singaporean Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan told reporters last month. “They know that even though Singapore is very small, we have a disproportionate share of the world’s semiconductor manufacturing capacity, and they are looking closely at our system in terms of the ecosystem,” he said.
The Modi government has rolled out a $21 billion plan to boost semiconductor manufacturing capacity across the country, with a total investment of $15 billion in chip manufacturing plants announced earlier this year. Singapore’s expertise in mature memory chips and logic processors, which are widely used in electronic devices and automobiles, could help India grow its chip industry at a faster pace.
–With assistance from Santosh Kumar and Sudhi Ranjan Sen.
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