Govt forms 5 new committees to look at longer-term economic strategies; report due in mid-2026

Straits Times

3 days ago

SINGAPORE – Singapore will carry out a fresh review of its economic strategy, with committees formed to develop longer-term plans in five areas that include strengthening the country's global competitiveness and improving its start-up ecosystem.
Deputy Prime Minister Gan Kim Yong, who announced the review on Aug 4, said the five new committees will publish a report with recommendations by mid-2026 after engaging with businesses, workers and other stakeholders to gather feedback and ideas in the coming months.
The Economic Strategy Review is meant to 'chart an economic blueprint that will enable us to stay globally competitive over the longer term, and in doing so, secure good opportunities for Singapore and Singaporeans,' said Mr Gan, who is also Minister for Trade and Industry.
The committees, each headed by two political office-holders, hope to provide an update of their work sometime early next year with some key recommendations, he added at an hour-long press conference held at The Treasury on Aug 4.
Mr Gan said the review is part of the work of the Singapore Economic Resilience Taskforce (SERT), which he leads. The SERT was formed earlier this year in the face of tariff-driven uncertainty that added to the economic impact of geopolitical tensions and technological disruptions.
Singapore is facing a very challenging and uncertain future, not just due to the impact of tariffs imposed by the United States but also the uncertainty that they have created in the global economic landscape, said Mr Gan.
He noted that tariffs impact the rules-based global trading system that Singapore has depended on for its growth and development, and the country will now have to find its way forward to continue growing its economy.
The first of the five committees focuses on Singapore's global competitiveness. It is headed by Mr Jeffrey Siow, Acting Minister for Transport and Senior Minister of State for Finance, and Ms Low Yen Ling, Senior Minister of State for Trade and Industry, and Culture, Community and Youth.
The second committee looks to harness technology and innovation, such as artificial intelligence, to drive economic growth and competitiveness. It is headed by Ms Jasmin Lau, Minister of State for Digital Development and Information, and Education; and Ms Goh Hanyan, Senior Parliamentary Secretary for Culture, Community and Youth, and Sustainability and the Environment.
The third committee covers entrepreneurship, in particular Singapore's start-up ecosystem. This is headed by Mr Alvin Tan, Minister of State for Trade and Industry, and National Development; and Mr Dinesh Vasu Dash, Minister of State for Culture, Community and Youth, and Manpower.
The fourth committee looks at Singapore's human capital, by empowering workers with relevant skills and enabling career mobility and resilience. The heads are Mr David Neo, Acting Minister for Culture, Community and Youth and Senior Minister of State for Education, and Dr Koh Poh Koon, Senior Minister of State for Manpower and Health.
The fifth committee is looking at managing the impact of restructuring the economy on businesses and workers. It is headed by Mr Goh Pei Ming, Minister of State for Home Affairs and Social and Family Development, and Mr Desmond Choo, Minister of State for Defence and deputy secretary-general at the National Trades Union Congress.
Of the 10 co-chairs, six are newly-elected MPs from the recent May 3 polls, who along with Mr Choo, were recently-appointed to political office at the Cabinet reshuffle in May. Ms Low, Mr Tan and Dr Koh are the remaining three.
Each committee also has eight to 11 members from the private sector, unions and other relevant stakeholders.
When asked about the composition of the committees, in particular with first-time political officeholders, Mr Gan said 'this is a very critical review' under the SERT and the current structure would allow for a balance of both the experienced and younger officeholders across the entire taskforce.
The existing SERT includes 'experienced ministers' like Minister for Digital Development and Information Josephine Teo, Minister for Manpower Tan See Leng and Minister for National Development Chee Hong Tat. Mr Siow was also appointed to the SERT in end-May after being named to Cabinet.
The younger officeholders bring new perspectives, look at issues from a different angle, and may also generate new ideas and recommendations, said Mr Gan.
'You have the benefit of the both old and new, the young and older, more experienced and the fresh political office-holders contributing towards the ideas and discussion… This composition is probably the most effective,' added Mr Gan.
The SERT was launched in April 2025 on the back of United States President Donald Trump's surprise announcement of widespread tariffs across the world, including 10 per cent on Singapore.
In its most recent update in July, the SERT held a press conference to provide an update on two of its workstreams. It announced two support packages for businesses and workers aimed to help with the fallout of trade disruptions.
The taskforce was originally announced with three workstreams – the first looks at ensuring regular three-way communication between the Government, businesses and workers on the latest developments and schemes available while the second looks at identifying immediate challenges faced by businesses and workers and reviewing existing measures.
The third workstream was to look at longer-term strategies and responses by transforming businesses and workers.
This included longer-term efforts to promote partnerships with like-minded countries and organisations; strengthening and building resilience in Singapore's status as a global hub in air, sea, trade and finance; work with businesses to enter and grow in new markets and diversify their supply chairs; ensure continued attractiveness to local and international investors; and to accelerate the transformation of firms and workers here through productivity and innovation.
Asked about why this workstream, originally headed by two ministers, was replaced by the ESR with 10 officeholders, Mr Gan said the Government realised that longer-term plans would be very complex given the fast-evolving global landscape.
'It's important for us to take a comprehensive review and not rush into a conclusion of what we should do in the longer-term. That's why we decided that we have to take a broader review of the economic strategy,' said Mr Gan.
Providing an update on discussions with the US on the 10 per cent tariff imposed, Mr Gan said the Government intends to continue engaging the US on these matters.
The authorities are also currently in discussion on working out a practical arrangement to allow Singapore continued access to the US market, which would involve concessionary tariffs on Singapore exports to the US, he added.
Mr Gan said he could not share more details as discussions were ongoing.
Asked if the recommendations from this latest review would build on the work of previous committees – such as the 2016 Committee on the Future Economy and 2020 Emerging Stronger Taskforce, Mr Gan said the challenges today are 'very different'.
The new regime of tariff structure means challenges to the rules-based multilateral trading system that Singapore has relied on for decades, he said.
India and China are also still negotiating their tariffs, and it is unknown how they will respond, such as whether they will reorganise their production bases or supply chains, he added.
'There are a lot of unknowns going forward but at the same time, while these are challenges, there are also opportunities and possibilities,' he said.
Mr Siow added that the committees are not abandoning the old strategies but building on the foundation and fundamentals accumulated over the years.
'We want to not only build on them, we will of course review the strategies that we have in light of this new world that we are facing.'