Sino Indian relations – A breakthrough

Heard over the news last evening that there is a major breakthrough in Sino Indian relations, at least in the economic front. The pro business and pro development PM Modi has given the green light for China’s largest mobile phone maker to open a factory in India. This has never been allowed before, not even to western countries. It sure spells good news for more cooperation between the two Asian giants.

The only catch that is holding back this development is the condition that all the top management staff must be Indians. This sounds very reasonable to a very nationalistic Indian govt. What it entails is that the whole manufacturing company would be operated and run by the Indians with the Chinese footing the bills and providing the technology and know how. Would the Chinese agree to it? Putting money in India and losing all control over their money and investment? Would there be stupid countries to allow such an arrangement to take place?

As a Singaporean, I find this strange. We have no problems with MNCs setting up business and employing whoever they want. We do not insist that they must employ Singaporeans, at least not a condition for them to be here, at top management level. We only hope that they will employ more Singaporeans and in some professions, they may be a certain quota to ensure that some Singaporeans are employed. But we definitely did not demand that the top management of foreign companies must be Singaporeans. How can we do that when we don’t have the talent to offer them, when our top talents are misfits?

In fact many foreign companies are free to hire as many foreigners as they want at top management level. Even local companies are doing the same. Even govt ministries and GLCs are doing so. But we got no choice, we got no talents. We need the foreign talents or else we will end up in the 3^rd World, no growth, no progress and our people will suffer.

How nice if we are like India, with so many talents to offer and can insist that foreign companies operating here must employ Singaporeans in top management. But that is too much to expect. We don’t even have enough Singaporeans to fill the top management positions in GLCs and the ministries. We need more, we need to sign more free trade agreements to ensure that more foreign talents are here to replace the no talent Singaporeans.

When will we have the local talents for our own needs in top management? Oh, the govt has started to plan for this eventuality. Maybe we will be there when our population hits 10m.