By Patrick Jonas

He is the new citizen here who is trying to make things happen on the technology front.

Dr Bhupendra Kumar Modi moved to Singapore in 2008 and made the headlines when he bought a penthouse at The Sail @ Marina Bay for $15.46 million.

He had told tabla! then that he was pulling out of the United States and wanted to make Singapore his global headquarters.

The business magnate from the famed Indian Modi family had been operating out of Beverley Hills, where he had a mansion - an 8,000 sq ft house with five bedrooms and a pool.

Dr Modi has not only kept his word, he has gone beyond that.

He is now a Singapore citizen.

While chatting with tabla! at his private office in OUE Bayfront about his new Global Innovation Centre at Ubi, the topic about his commitment came up.

And, fishing out his pink IC from his waistcoat pocket, Dr Modi said he now has even more reason "to commit my efforts to Singapore and to invest here".

After selling his India-based Spice Communications to Idea Cellular for nearly US$600 million in 2007, Dr Modi set his sights on this region.

He first took a big stake in local Internet telephony company MediaRing for about $60 million in 2009 and later renamed the company Si2i.

Dr Modi's company has made a number of acquisitions since 2010.

It snapped up Malaysian mobile phone service company CSL and Thai handset company NewTel Corporation, and followed it up with the purchase of Indonesian handset distributor Affinity Group.

He has also been active on the philanthropy front.

Last year in April, he donated $500,000 to the President's Challenge and more recently he gave $1 million for the Indian Heritage Centre.

He has also been investing in properties.

In addition to the penthouse at The Sail, he has seven others in Singapore and is renting a few.

But right now, it is the Global Innovation Centre that he is excited about.

Part of the money he got from selling his telecom company in India has been invested in the centre, which has cost about $50 million.

Dr Modi sees himself as a "technology futurepreneur", a man who is always seeing the cutting edge in technology as the future.