S'pore firms with Mumbai operations monitoring situation closely
By Wong Siew Ying, Channel NewsAsia | Posted: 27 November 2008 2245 hrs

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SINGAPORE: Some Singapore companies with operations in the Indian city of Mumbai are taking a cautious approach on how to proceed with their business operations there.

Their nervousness stems from a spate of terror attacks that has killed at least 100 people in Mumbai.

Some of the companies that Channel NewsAsia spoke to, which included SingTel, said they are keeping a close watch on events in Mumbai and hope to get a clearer picture of the situation before taking action such as staff evacuation.

Commodities firm Olam International said it has been in touch with its 200-odd employees in India, including Mumbai.

Sunny Verghese, CEO, Olam International, said: "It's more of our own concern about the safety of our people. That is really the issue for us today. So far, I am pleased to say our people are all safe and our operations are all intact."

Property developer CapitaLand told Channel NewsAsia that all its staff in India are safe. It added that it is business as usual because its office in Mumbai is not near the affected areas.

Similarly, DBS bank said all its employees in Mumbai are accounted for and that branch operations are proceeding as normal. But the bank will step up security and maintain only essential banking functions at this time.

Meanwhile, the Singapore Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SICCI) said its members with projects in India have not been adversely affected. It is also tracking events in Mumbai and will issue advisories to members if needed.

SICCI believes this is a one-off incident and it is unlikely to dent the long-term business prospects in India.

Even though international carriers like Deutsche Lufthansa, Northwest Airlines and Air France-KLM have cancelled flights to Mumbai, Singapore Airlines said it is continuing operations to the city.


- CNA/so