Singaporean government-owned investment firm Temasek says it is taking a positive view on the Indian economy in 2018 and beyond, and it plans to expand its equity investments in both startups and established companies in the near term.
Speaking at the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) India Pravasi Bharatiya Divas (PBD) event in Singapore last month, Temasek’s joint head for India, Rohit Sipahimalani (pictured below) said his organisation was particularly interested in investing in India’s growing financial services industry.
“The sector benefits from digital identity creation in India,” Sipahimalani added. “Digitisation and financialisation of savings clearly has a big benefit to consumer lending, but beyond lending also to growth in insurance asset management.”
Sipahimalani said one of Temasek’s major advantages in India was its flexibility in being able to deploy capital in small or large businesses. “I would also say that the startup ecosystem is very vibrant and India today,” he added. “If you go to the major business schools or technical colleges, the top 2% of people today do not want to join Facebook or Google or Microsoft – they want to set up their own companies or join a startup.”
Temasek benefited particularly from exposure to startups through its venture-debt arm InnoVen Capital, Sipahimalani said. And the organisation also expected to play a greater role in bridging the gap between India and the Asean markets.
“There may be companies in Singapore and Asean who want to invest in India but are not that comfortable with the Indian environment,” he said. “But they are happy to have Temasek come in as an investor alongside them.
“Similarly, there are Indian companies, particularly fintech companies we have invested in, which have technologies which will be quite applicable in Southeast Asia. I think one of the roles we can play is really introduce them to the right partners and help them expand on this part of the world.”
PBD is an annual event aimed at strengthening business ties between India and the Indian diaspora around the world. It is held in a different city every year.
