Temasek Holdings, the global investment company headquartered in Singapore, has invested nearly $50 billion in India since it first opened its office in Mumbai in 2004. The company’s major investments include Manipal Hospitals, Air India and Haldiram Foods, amongst others. “We look at healthcare and snacks, as these are interesting reflections of the demand in a country, with a growing middle class,” Teo Chee Hean, chairman, Temasek, and a senior advisor to the prime minister of Singapore told Business India. “And there are many opportunities like this in India”.
Temasek became a majority stakeholder of Manipal Hospitals by acquiring a 59 per cent stake in it in 2023. It has a 10 per cent stake in Haldiram too. Temasek doesn’t directly own a stake in Air India, but its subsidiary, Singapore Airlines (SIA), holds a 25.1 per cent stake in the now-enlarged Air India group. The company is also looking at the infrastructure sector in India and other areas that would help India to fulfil its potential. In 2007, Temasek’s subsidiary Fullerton set up office in India.
“Many of our Temasek portfolio companies are looking at infrastructure for investing,” Teo Chee Hean added. “We look at Mumbai Port, Phase 2, which is the largest container terminal in India. We have substantial investments in renewable power. Singapore Airlines has investments in Air India too, and we are working together with the Tata group to pull Air India up to the heights of its previous glory. We hope we achieve this, and benefit mutually too.”
There are other areas like education which Temasek is looking at carefully – including datacentres and infrastructure for the new digital economy. “We have discussed this with the Union secretary of finance. We will examine all of them and see how we can work on this,” he explained.
Singapore is a leading investor in India, the highest source of foreign direct investment (FDI) and a major trade partner, with cumulative investments exceeding $130 billion during the past two decades. These investments are channelled through sovereign wealth funds like GIC & Temasek and private entities. The sectors they have invested in range from technology to finance, supported by bilateral agreements like the Comprehensive Economic Co-operation Agreement (CECA). Indian firms are also leveraging Singapore for global fundraising, while Singaporean entities hold substantial stakes in listed Indian companies
We look at healthcare and snacks, as these are interesting reflections of the demand in a country, with a growing middle classTeo Chee Hean, chairman, Temasek
During his recent visit to Delhi, Teo also met Jaishankar, external affairs minister, government of India, and spoke about further investment opportunities. “During a meeting with Teo, we talked about the investment opportunities unlocked in India by recent reforms,’’ said Jaishankar.
Interestingly, Teo took over as chairman, Temasek, in October. Earlier, he had served as Singapore’s deputy prime minister (2009 to 2019). He began his career in the Navy and had grown to the rank of Navy Chief.
Joint initiatives
India has emerged as the fourth-largest economy, because of its strategic clarity, said Teo. The country is also home to a young population, which forms a skilled workforce. “India is expanding its maritime sector, and there are joint initiatives between our two nations,’’ Teo added.
In September, Singapore’s Prime Minister Lawrence Wong too had come to India on an official visit. After bilateral meetings, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Singaporean PM Wong had reiterated their commitment to elevate the bilateral relation to a comprehensive strategic partnership (CSP). During Prime Minister Modi’s official visit to Singapore in September 2024, the two leaders agreed to adopt a forward-looking and substantive roadmap for the CSP that would set the vision and direction for the next phase of bilateral relations and deepen co-operation in eight areas, such as economic co-operation, skills development, digitalisation, sustainability, connectivity, healthcare & medicine, people-to-people as well as cultural exchanges and defence & security co-operation.