Reglobalisation: The India-Singapore relationship offers a pathway to regional resilience

As agreements are being redrawn amid unprecedented trade shifts, strong regional connections that have been developed over many decades can offer a more predictable pathway to future growth. More than half of Asia’s trade originates from intra-regional exchange, and yet the zone’s potential as a trade hub is still undertapped, with scope to double down on corridors in emerging growth sectors.

At the heart of Asian commerciality lies Singapore, a nation that has consistently punched above its weight to be recognised as an influential omnidirectional geopolitical player and an unrivalled business and financial hub in the region. In 2025, the 60th anniversary of diplomatic relations between India and Singapore coincides with the 10th anniversary of the bilateral strategic partnership and is a good opportunity to celebrate mutual milestones and strengthen the alliance within a new trade reality. Singapore has consistently been one of the top investors in India, underlining its belief in the country’s long-term structural growth story. Given both countries’ strong economic ties and emphasis on digitalisation, clean energy, skilling, and future-forward industries, developing the India-Singapore relationship can unlock significant positive outcomes.

With Singapore at the heart of ‘India’s Act East Policy’, the three India-Singapore business roundtables, as well as the recent establishment of an Invest India office on the island nation, are key indicators of the growing interest from Singaporean companies that are looking to tap opportunities in the world’s fastest-growing major economy.

Singapore’s clear regulatory framework and strong support for innovation have made it a leading gateway for regional headquarters, logistics, fintech, and capital flows in Asia. The proposed data corridor between India’s GIFT City and Singapore–allowing financial institutions to share data securely while maintaining sovereignty over critical information assets–represents the next evolution of this integration. The bilateral financial and commercial highway is being further fortified through digital corridors, such as the expansion of the UPI-PayNow linkage to 19 Indian banks, easing cross-border payments.

The India Semiconductor Mission has already seen major investments from leading Indian and global companies to produce display driver chips, progressing towards a national target of capturing 5% of global market share by 2030. India has the potential to become a meaningful player across three key pillars of the semiconductor manufacturing supply chain. It can nurture its robust network of local small businesses and MSMEs as suppliers to produce components, provide required inputs of chemicals and minerals as well as channel its large talent pool towards areas like AI, big data, cloud computing, and IoT. India’s semiconductor ecosystem already includes over 100 start-ups working on integrated circuit design. Including SMEs in these developing value chains, connecting them to anchor companies, nurturing small business owners as they digitalise and internationalise, is crucial to achieve Viksit Bharat@2047. In support of these trends, in 2024, India and Singapore signed a memorandum of understanding on furthering collaboration between their semiconductor ecosystems as well as allied areas such as data centres.

Besides commerce, India and Singapore share vibrant cultural ties that foster people-to-people links; the depth of their social, culinary, and artistic connections serves to strengthen the collaboration between their economic associations.

For over half a century, associations on both sides of the India-Singapore corridor have demonstrated their zeal and ability to weather global challenges through mutual trust.

Asian banks, with essential connectivity, cultural sensitivity, and local expertise, are well-positioned to advance this integration via both commercial and social channels. The strength of the bilateral partnership and sustained commitment to shared progress bring valued stability in an otherwise uncertain geopolitical landscape. Leveraging the strong complementarities between the two countries, the next phase of the partnership will be built on new frontiers of innovation across green energy, data connectivity, and healthcare, laying a pathway for regional resilience.

The author is MD and CEO at DBS Bank India. Views are personal.