India gets a raw deal from Singapore

By agencies   |   Tuesday, 05 July 2005, 19:30 IST
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NEW DELHI: The comprehensive economic cooperation agreement (Ceca) between India and Singapore could well turn out to be a fiasco for India in financial service. In a belated realization, New Delhi has come to see the Ceca chapter on financial services a bad deal to Indian insurance, banking and investment advisory service providers. It appears worse when compared to Singapore’s generous grant of market access (MA) and national treatment (NT) to the U.S.’ service providers under a comparable regime. Senior government officials said Singapore’s final offer on financial services that came in June was a huge disappointment. But since the whole endorsement procedure for the comprehensive agreement was scheduled by the ministry of external affairs in consultation with the Prime Minister’s Office, there was no room for the government to backtrack at the last minute. The officials said major differences had surfaced in the Cabinet committee on economic affairs, with senior ministers favoring re-formulation of the chapter. However, concerns over the diplomatic impropriety of such a role reversal weighed more on the cabinet than Singapore’s unexpected digression from the charted course, officials said. India would now intensify efforts to revisit the chapter. The officials said that the Ceca has provisions for a review of the agreement.