Saturday, Sep 13, 2003
Saturday, Sep 13, 2003 |
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Tamil Nadu
By R. Gopalakrishnan
Government officials in India seemed to fear that allowing foreign and private builders to take up small projects might encourage speculation and lead to a ``real estate bubble''. His assessment is that it would also not be advisable on the part of Singapore developers to spread their activity all over the place in a large country like India. However, an area limit (floor) for projects which is not too small but is at the same time within the reach of the financial resources of developers would be a better alternative. ``Hundred acres is a lot of land. To develop quality townships of a minimum of hundred acres requires a lot of money.'' Mr. Mah was here heading a large delegation of the construction business in the last leg of its visit to India. Talking to The Hindu, he said the delegation, which comprised consultants, engineers, architects, planners, landscapers and attorneys, visited New Delhi and Hyderabad and signed some memoranda of understanding with public authorities and private parties. The mission was aimed primarily at assessing the investment climate, regulatory framework, business opportunities and the potential for finding local partners. (Several Singapore companies in the construction and property development sector, like the Jurong Town Corporation, are already involved in major projects like IT Parks and ports in India and have established a name in the Indian market.)
Premium price for quality
Mr. Mah said the mission members felt that Indian consumers and buyers of property were prepared to pay a premium price for quality and this was an advantage that Singapore could leverage. The Minister said the Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement, now under discussion between India and Singapore, could enable mutual recognition of technical institutions and qualifications like those of engineers and architects. Also, it could create a more congenial climate for cross-border investment in construction as also other businesses. Asked whether the common perception of the construction sector in India as employing and exploiting unorganised labour would affect foreign developers, he said Singapore companies should, of course, comply with the laws of the land (India) in the matter of labour as also in other areas such as taxation. Prevalence of very low wages tended to prove a disincentive to deployment of advanced machinery and technology.
Ministers meet delegation
The Finance Minister, C. Ponnaiyan, and the Industries Minister, Nainar Nagenthiran, called on Mr. Mah. According to a State Government release, Mr.Ponnaiyan detailed the investment opportunities in Tamil Nadu and invited Singapore investment. The Singapore Minister indicated that tourism could be a major area of collaboration. The Industries department made a presentation to the visiting delegation on the foreign investment policy in the construction industry, the infrastructure profile of and business opportunities in Tamil Nadu. The Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority presented a detailed survey of possible construction projects within Chennai metropolitan area limits. The Confederation of Indian Industry would also make a presentation to the delegation.
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