KTR moots exclusive zone for Singapore companies in Telangana

Hyderabad, July 13 Telangana Industry and Information Technology Minister K.T. Rama Rao on Tuesday said if Singapore companies evinced interest in investing in Telangana, the state government would set up an exclusive zone or Singapore hub.

He mooted the idea during a meeting with a delegation from Singapore headed by its High Commissioner to India, Simon Wong.

Wong welcomed the idea and said they would definitely consider this proposal positively.

He said that when he was working in Vietnam, a similar initiative was taken up to draw investments and has been successfully operational since then.

The High Commissioner said Telangana offers several investment opportunities in new sectors, and told the minister that he will help brief Singapore companies and investors about these opportunities.

He also told the minister that he received positive feedback about the business climate in Telangana from companies like DBS who have invested here. He said Singapore companies were keen to invest in information technology, innovation and emerging areas like blockchain.

He noted that T-Hub and other such initiatives are driving conducive atmosphere in IT ecosystem and innovations in Hyderabad.

Rama Rao stated that Telangana government's friendly industrial policies have helped attract major global companies to the state. He added that many Singapore-based firms have already established their units here and are positive about the state's ecosystem.

KTR, as the minister is popularly known, told the High Commissioner that ever since the formation of Telangana, the government's "investor-friendly policies, TSiPASS singe-window clearance and other steps have helped Telangana attract international investors".

Citing the investment opportunities that exist in Telangana, he pointed out that for centuries, Hyderabad has been developing with a cosmopolitan culture. Companies from various states in the country and from various countries in the world have their presence in Hyderabad for a long time.

The minister claimed that Telangana is not only competing with other states in the country but is also competing in attracting investments from around the world.

He said the state offer tremendous investment opportunities in sectors like life sciences, pharma, information technology, textiles, food processing, and agriculture.

The minister felicitated the Singapore delegation, including Singapore Consul General in Chennai Pong Kok Tian.