India and Singapore on Thursday discussed ways to expand collaboration in capital markets as Singapore Exchange (SGX) is keen to collaborate with National Stock Exchange (NSE), Deputy Prime Minister of Singapore Gan Kim Yong said.

“They (SGX and NSE) are exploring different alternatives including derivatives and possibility of dual listing so that the business entities in India will have greater access to the capital around this region as well as world leveraging on SGX connection and depth of the capital markets,” he told reporters.

Gan was addressing the media after the fourth India-Singapore Ministerial Roundtable (ISMR) held in Singapore on Thursday. The mechanism of ISMR was launched in 2022 with the first meeting being held in New Delhi in September that year. It is a platform to drive cooperation in new and emerging areas.

Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, Commerce and industry Minister Piyush Goyal and Minister of State in the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology Jitin Prasada participated in the meeting from the Indian side.

Both sides also discussed expanding the collaboration between United Payment Interface (UPI) and Singapore’s PayNow, which was entered into in 2023. “I think it is progressing well but we are hoping to be able to facilitate participation by more banks and merchants.”

“One initiative that we hope to realise soon is Project Nexus that will bring multiple nations together (in UPI-PayNow type) collaboration. I think according to the current schedule, by 2027 the Nexus will come online,” Gan said.

Gan said the meeting focused on six key pillars of collaboration including advanced manufacturing and semiconductors. Many semiconductor plants are coming up in India and they are also looking to bring in their suppliers, which include some companies from Singapore. “We discussed with India how to make that move or relocation or entry into India more smooth,” he said.

The Deputy Prime Minister of Singapore also said the country is particularly interested in upgrading and training the Indian workforce for semiconductors and advanced manufacturing.

The two countries also signed agreements to strengthen bilateral cooperation in telecommunications and broadcasting as well as maritime heritage and food safety, the finance ministry said.

The countries discussed how to work together to explore how India and Singapore can work together to ensure continued supply of food from India to Singapore, along with potential for investment in food processing and research and development.

At the meeting, two Memorandum of Understanding (MoUs) and Letter of Intent were exchanged. One was between the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) and Singapore Food Agency regarding cooperation in the area of food safety.

Another one was between the Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth of the Republic of Singapore and the India’s Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways for maritime heritage cooperation.

A Letter of Intent between the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) and the Info-Communications Media Development Authority (IMDA) of Singapore on cooperation in the fields of telecommunications and broadcasting was also signed.