Singapore, October 30:

Singapore-India bilateral trade has grown to a record level since the signing of the Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA) last year, a Singaporean senior official said here today.

Bilateral trade reached about $10.5 billion in 2005, increasing by over 40 per cent from the previous year, said minister of state for trade and industry S Iswaran at the global Indian business summit, an event of the Singapore Global Entrepolis 2006 programme.

Investments in India have also increased, said the minister, adding that Singapore was the third largest foreign investor in India last year, investing over $321 million. Iswaran pointed out that Singapore is a hub in the Indian diaspora, which uses Singapore as its base for regional and global ventures.

Today almost 2,000 Indian companies are based in Singapore and many have their headquarters here, and their business ranges from more traditional sectors like retail to fast growing IT companies. Singapore has deep and strong historical and cultural ties with India. About eight per cent of the resident population in Singapore is of Indian origin.