Leaders of India and Singapore sign deal to cooperate on semiconductors

The leaders of India and Singapore on Thursday signed an agreement to partner and cooperate 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 $10 billion 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 $63 billion by 2026.

In February, it gave the go-ahead to construction of three semiconductor plants worth over $15 billion 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.