FM Nirmala Sitharaman concludes Singapore visit, drives investment outreach across tech & infrastructure

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Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman concluded her official visit to Singapore, where she met global investors, financial institutions and businesses aimed at strengthening India–Singapore economic and financial cooperation, an official release said on October 12.

Sitharaman’s discussions with Singapore’s leadership focused on expanding bilateral investment, strengthening financial connectivity and advancing cooperation in emerging technologies. The FM highlighted India’s strong macroeconomic fundamentals, growth prospects and ongoing policy reforms, and encouraged greater investment by Singapore-based institutional investors and businesses in India’s growth story, the release said.

Select infrastructure projects from the National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF) pipeline were highlighted for consideration by investors, with a view to facilitating follow-up discussions and engagement with relevant Indian authorities, it said.

As part of the investment outreach, the FM participated in a business roundtable with senior representatives of leading global financial institutions and investment firms, including JPMorgan Chase, BlackRock, Deutsche Bank, PIMCO, the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA), Carlyle, Temasek, Millennium Management, Citadel, and Brevan Howard.

"The discussions covered India’s continued commitment to economic reforms and resultant economic resilience amidst global uncertainties, developments in global and domestic financial markets, the implications of rapid advances in Artificial Intelligence (AI), and opportunities to attract greater global capital into Indian assets. The participants expressed confidence in India’s growth story. They remarked that they look forward to continued progressive, fiscally prudent, predictable, growth-oriented policies of the government along with a focus on infrastructure," the release said.

Sitharaman also held separate bilateral meetings with senior leadership of major institutional investors, financial institutions, and global corporations, including Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (MUFG), Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC), Wellington Management, Standard Chartered Bank, GIC (Government of Singapore Investment Corporation), DBS Bank, Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken (SEB), Temasek, TPG, HPS Investment Partners, CapitaLand Investment, Intel, British International Investment (BII), IHH Healthcare, and B Capital.

The senior leadership of these financial institutions and global corporations expressed strong investment interest in key sectors, including consumer markets, start-ups, FinTech, Deep-tech, and healthcare. These engagements also explored investment and financing opportunities across infrastructure, especially AI and AI related infrastructure including semiconductors and data centres, renewable energy for India’s energy transition and energy security, manufacturing, MSMEs and trade finance, financial services, food supply chains and other growth-oriented sectors, the release said.

Opportunities relating to aircraft leasing, treasury centres and greater participation by global investors in India’s financial markets were also explored. Mobilising long-term institutional capital and expanding avenues for financing India’s infrastructure and development priorities were key themes of the investment discussions.

The visit also advanced dialogue on financial connectivity and emerging financial technologies. In meetings with Singapore’s financial authorities, including the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), both sides exchanged views on frontier technologies such as tokenisation of financial assets, digital money, central bank digital currencies (CBDCs), interoperability and trusted settlement arrangements, the release said.

Singapore expressed its keenness to share its experience in asset tokenisation. The discussions provided an opportunity to explore further cooperation between the financial authorities of the two countries on emerging technologies and their application in financial markets, it added.

Engagements with businesses also covered opportunities arising from India’s expanding semiconductor and AI ecosystems. Discussions included investment under the India Semiconductor Mission, development of skilled manpower, industry-linked training and AI skilling initiatives, and the application of AI in banking and financial services. Other areas included renewable energy, electric mobility, aviation maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO), food security and processing, sustainable finance, and healthcare infrastructure, the release said.