Addressing the India-South Africa CEOs Forum on Monday, he said the two sides could pool the strengths of their economies to jointly explore markets in third countries. Last year, trade between the two countries was worth four billion dollars.

Earlier, a joint declaration issued after talks between Singh and South African President Thabo Mbeki said, "It should be possible to treble bilateral trade by 2010."

Acknowledging that full trade and investment potential between the two countries had not been tapped, the two leaders committed to explore opportunities in priority areas like energy, tourism, health, automobiles, chemicals, IT and infrastructure.

They also agreed to expedite talks on a Preferential Trade Agreement with the five-nation Southern African Customs Union (SACU).

In his address to the CEOs, Singh said, "Corporations from all over the world are establishing themselves in India. They seek to take advantage of the pool of high quality scientific talent and skilled work force in the manufacturing and services sectors.

"South African companies can also exploit these opportunities and advantages. It should be an incentive to them that several Indian subsidiaries of prominent multinational corporations have out-performed their parent companies," he said. Singh said other corporations were planning to expand their operations in India to exploit the enormous opportunities that a market of over a billion consumers offers and to use it as a hub for their activities in South Asia.

With the South Asian Free Trade Agreement in place and India-ASEAN Free Trade Agreement under negotiation, the potential was unlimited. "I would not like South African companies to miss the bus," he said.

Singh told the CEOs that he and President Mbeki had set for them the task of tripling trade turnover and investment by 2010. With the growth paths on which the two economies were set, this should be feasible, he said. "You must put your weight behind it and be willing to explore hitherto uncharted territories."

Businessmen from India and South Africa, he said, should feel more at home in each other's countries. "English is widely spoken in both countries and we share the values of democracy and pluralism. The presence of a large number of people of Indian origin in South Africa should also help cement our business relationship."