Latest news with #PngCheongBoon
Straits Times
6 days ago
- Business
- Straits Times
SG60: Running Singapore on innovation – Brains, bytes and billion-dollar growth engines
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox A key theme that can be found across different industries is the push to innovate and conduct research and development EDB chairman Png Cheong Boon said EDB will continue to attract investments that are knowledge and innovation-intensive, aligned with the Republic's transition to a low-carbon economy, and that have high growth potential. As at mid-2025, Singapore secured more than 40 AI centres of excellence, attracting both digital-native and industrial firms to research and develop various forms of artificial intelligence (AI) solutions here, including those related to proprietary generative AI (GenAI). GenAI is a type of AI that can create new content – such as text, images, audio and video – based on the data it has been trained on. Last year, Singapore also launched three new accelerators that nurtured more than 50 promising locally based ventures. This is attributable to Digital Industry Singapore, a joint office formed in 2019 by the Singapore Economic Development Board (EDB), Enterprise Singapore (EnterpriseSG) and Infocomm Media Development Authority. The government has been working with industry players to set up sectoral-based centres of excellence to look at use cases that can be applied widely and build domain-specific capabilities in key economic sectors. For instance, the Sectoral AI Centre of Excellence for Manufacturing, which was launched in September 2024, supports industry partners and companies in the adoption of GenAI and machine learning in areas such as quality assurance and predictive maintenance. This is to enhance the manufacturing value chain. AI is just one aspect of Singapore's economic evolution. EDB chairman Png Cheong Boon said EDB will continue to attract investments that are knowledge and innovation-intensive, aligned with the Republic's transition to a low-carbon economy, and that have high growth potential. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Singapore Luxury items seized in $3b money laundering case handed over to Deloitte for liquidation Singapore MyRepublic customers air concerns over broadband speed after sale to StarHub Singapore Power switchboard failure led to disruption in NEL, Sengkang-Punggol LRT services: SBS Transit Singapore NEL and Sengkang-Punggol LRT resume service after hours-long power fault Business Ninja Van cuts 12% of Singapore workforce after 2 rounds of layoffs in 2024 Singapore Hyflux investigator 'took advantage' of Olivia Lum's inability to recall events: Davinder Singh Singapore Man who stabbed son-in-law to death in Boon Tat Street in 2017 dies of heart attack, says daughter Singapore Man who stalked woman blasted by judge on appeal for asking scandalous questions in court 'We are targeting high-value investments that create good jobs requiring deep capabilities and that entail regional or global responsibilities; and where companies have a strong focus on the training and development of employees,' he noted. These would include manufacturing and services projects in sectors such as aerospace, semiconductors, biopharmaceuticals, medical technology and specialty chemicals, besides new growth areas such as precision medicine, AI and sustainable products and services. With sustainability being a priority, global companies see it as a plus that Singapore partners them in their low-carbon transition, added Png. These range from adopting renewable energy to increasing energy efficiencies in existing processes. Today, there are more than 150 carbon services and trading firms – double the number from 2021. Besides renewable energy services and the bio-economy, an area that Singapore is actively looking at is low-carbon technologies. The Republic is home to the world's largest sustainable aviation fuel production facility by capacity, operated by Neste, and is developing a cross-border carbon capture and storage hub led by ExxonMobil and Shell to support domestic decarbonisation. Singapore is home to the world's largest sustainable aviation fuel production facility by capacity, operated by Neste. PHOTO: NESTE Brains behind the economy's transformation A walk through history will find that EDB has been a catalyst for Singapore's competitiveness for decades. It cultivated labour-intensive industries such as manufacturing in the 1960s to address high unemployment and jump-start the economy, before shifting in the 1970s to skills-intensive industries such as precision engineering and electronics. In the 1980s, EDB turned towards capital-intensive and higher-technology industries including computers, machinery and pharmaceuticals. For example, the Republic welcomed its first semiconductor wafer fabrication plant and the first petrochemical complex in Asia at this time. By the 1990s, Singapore was on its way to becoming a knowledge-based economy as EDB laid the groundwork for the transition through innovation, research and development (R&D), and technopreneurship. Along with manufacturing, EDB invested in services as a second growth engine, and developed the biomedical sciences, aerospace and modern services sectors, so that workers had the relevant skills and experience. The transformation signalled the reimagining of the traditional petrochemicals sector and a move to develop infrastructure such as Jurong Island and industrial estates, to support heavy shipping and manufacturing industries. A key theme that can be found across different industries is the push to innovate and conduct R&D. In the past five years, Singapore has invested about S$28 billion or 1 per cent of its gross domestic product annually to strengthen its research ecosystem and encourage more companies to deepen their innovation footprint here. Png explained that EDB's role goes far beyond just helping businesses set up here. It guides companies through their entire growth journey in the region – from facilitating collaborations with local companies and suppliers in Singapore to connecting them with the right partners to explore regional expansion. 'As the firms achieve critical mass, EDB encourages them to deepen their presence by establishing regional headquarters and centres of excellence, so that high-value activities are embedded in Singapore, in turn creating higher-value jobs,' he added. Indeed, the Ministry of Manpower's (MOM) labour market second-quarter report released in September 2024 showed that about 20 per cent of firms here are foreign-owned, yet they employ 60 per cent of Singapore residents in high-earning jobs. MOM said foreign-owned firms employ an outsized share of those who earn a gross monthly income of above S$12,500 and fall into the top 10 per cent of income distribution. Strengthening Singapore's core The foresight in the early years meant that Singapore's manufacturing and services sectors had time to become sophisticated, supported by excellent infrastructure, a skilled workforce and a conducive business climate. It is how and why the city-state now accounts for 10 per cent of global chips output and roughly 20 per cent of global semiconductor equipment output. In the healthcare space, eight out of the top 10 pharmaceutical companies conduct manufacturing or R&D here. EDB is now responsible for more than 35 per cent of Singapore's annual GDP in the manufacturing and tradeable services sectors. Manufacturing alone makes up nearly one-fifth of the country's GDP. Under Singapore's Manufacturing 2030 plan, the sector's value-add is to be raised by 50 per cent from 2020 to 2030. The goal is to ensure a diverse range of manufacturing activities and attract companies with specialised capabilities that will allow the country to remain an essential part of global value chains. Singapore has five best-in-class advanced manufacturing facilities that are part of the World Economic Forum's Global Lighthouse Network, including those by Coca-Cola and Infineon Technologies. In aerospace, major players such as Rolls-Royce and Pratt & Whitney have deepened their operations here. Singapore is now a leading aerospace hub in the Asia-Pacific region with more than 130 aerospace companies that contribute to 10 per cent of global maintenance, repair and overhaul output. Efforts to turn the Republic into a hub for the region have also paid off. Earlier this year, Amazon Web Services (AWS) and German specialty chemicals firm Munzing opened their Asia-Pacific headquarters in Singapore with plans to grow the software engineering team and invest in local R&D, respectively. In May, the Republic took the fourth spot out of 118 countries in the 2025 Global Startup Ecosystem Index by research platform StartupBlink, behind Israel, Britain and the US. 'We want to attract activities that ensure we remain a critical part of global value chains which play to Singapore's strengths, that would be hard for others to replicate and would continue to be relevant to the global economy in future. 'Riding on fast-growing sectors and those with high growth potential enables Singapore to plug into global economic growth and the growth potential of the immediate region,' said Png, who added that EDB is also encouraging experienced founders to scale their next ventures from Singapore, through the Global Founder Programme. To stay ahead, EDB is cognisant that the local workforce must also be able to keep up with the needs of businesses. Besides the national programme that funds upskilling, EDB has also rolled out various targeted training programmes to help workers. In 2024, EDB partnered Oracle to upskill up to 10,000 local workers and tertiary students in GenAI by 2027. There is also AWS' flagship AI programme, AWS AI Spring, where it will collaborate with universities, polytechnics and the Institute of Technical Education on AI learning. The aim is to train 5,000 individuals over three years, from 2024 to 2026. EDB, Oracle, AWS and Databricks have also rolled out digital training schemes in areas such as cybersecurity, cloud computing and data management. EDB, Oracle, AWS and Databricks (above) have rolled out digital training schemes in areas such as cybersecurity, cloud computing and data management. PHOTO: REUTERS In addition, EDB invests in leadership development – through programmes such as the Global Business Leaders Programme and Singapore Leaders Network – to better support Singaporeans to take on leadership roles in key companies. Building a resilient and connected ecosystem In today's volatile and fragmented world, it is important to ensure that the Republic's supply chain ecosystem and regional connectivity deliver unmatched value to global businesses. Therefore, initiatives such as the Johor-Singapore Special Economic Zone can not only help strengthen ties with neighbouring economies, but also complement the city-state's extensive global network of 28 free trade agreements. These efforts will go a long way in ensuring the Republic's supply chain resilience and seamless regional integration, so that Singapore is an indispensable hub for multinational corporations (MNCs) navigating geopolitical uncertainties. Beyond that, EDB is also committed to reinforcing Singapore's supportive business ecosystem. For instance, it works with JTC to provide the right infrastructure to companies. To spur greater collaboration between MNCs and local enterprises, EDB and EnterpriseSG have the Partnerships for Capability Transformation scheme that provides funding support for capability training, internationalisation, corporate venturing, supplier development and co-innovation. 'These are win-win partnerships that strengthen supply chain resilience for global businesses while helping our local companies build new capabilities,' said Png. He added that, over time, this would make businesses here more competitive and improve Singapore's economy.
Straits Times
6 days ago
- Business
- Straits Times
Visa Singapore: Powering payments, driving innovation
From left: Jack Forestell, Visa's Chief Product & Strategy Officer; Png Cheong Boon, Chairman, Singapore Economic Development Board; and Stephen Karpin, Regional President for Visa Asia Pacific at the grand reopening of Visa's Innovation Centre in Singapore. Visa's 2024 annual report opens with a powerful message: it all began with a simple yet revolutionary idea – to connect buyers and sellers through seamless, secure digital payments and uplift everyone, everywhere by being the best way to pay and be paid. Since establishing operations in Singapore in the 1980s, Visa has brought that vision to life and taken it even further. From daily essentials like buying groceries and meals to taking public transport and enabling tourists to pay like locals, Visa has made digital payments a natural part of our everyday life. Fast forward to 2025, Visa continues to redefine the way individuals and businesses transact in today's digital-first economy by enabling payments to be made faster, more secure and smarter. But Visa's journey doesn't stop here. Visa is committed to future-proofing payments by driving innovation. As part of its long-term vision, Visa is investing in infrastructure, cybersecurity, and inclusive financial tools. To explore its journey in Singapore and what lies ahead, we posed 10 questions to Adeline Kim, Visa's Country Manager for Singapore and Brunei. As Singapore celebrates 60 years, what does this milestone mean to Visa Singapore? Singapore at 60 is more than a national milestone – it's a moment to reflect on how far we've come together. I see our role here not just as a payments company, but as a long-term partner in progress. Over the decades, we've supported Singapore's digital ambitions from helping to lay early payment infrastructure to accelerating contactless and QR adoption. But what excites me most is how future-ready Singapore continues to be. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Singapore Luxury items seized in $3b money laundering case handed over to Deloitte for liquidation Singapore MyRepublic customers air concerns over broadband speed after sale to StarHub Singapore Power switchboard failure led to disruption in NEL, Sengkang-Punggol LRT services: SBS Transit Singapore NEL and Sengkang-Punggol LRT resume service after hours-long power fault Business Ninja Van cuts 12% of Singapore workforce after 2 rounds of layoffs in 2024 Singapore Hyflux investigator 'took advantage' of Olivia Lum's inability to recall events: Davinder Singh Singapore Man who stabbed son-in-law to death in Boon Tat Street in 2017 dies of heart attack, says daughter Singapore Man who stalked woman blasted by judge on appeal for asking scandalous questions in court Looking back, what were some of the pivotal moments? Singapore has always held a special place in Visa's global journey. While our formal presence here spans more than two decades, our connection goes back to the early 1980s, when Visa established our Asia Pacific operations centre in Singapore. That decision reflected our belief in Singapore's long-term potential as a global financial hub, and it's a belief that continues to hold true today. Over the years, we've had the privilege of working alongside partners across the public and private sectors to shape the future of payments. In 2006, we launched one of the first multifunction cards in Singapore – a step toward more integrated, everyday commerce. By 2014, we saw strong momentum in contactless payments, and partnered with NTUC FairPrice and McDonald's to make Visa payWave, now known as contactless payments, be a part of Singaporeans' daily lives. A major turning point came in 2019 with the launch of SimplyGo, where commuters could tap their Visa card to ride public transport. That initiative wasn't just about convenience – it reflected how digital payments could simplify and enhance daily routines. More importantly, it supports urban mobility and promotes the government's broader objectives to make Singapore a more digital nation. Visa has played a key role in driving contactless payment adoption in Singapore. What were the initial challenges and how did Visa overcome them? Every payment shift, even one as seamless as tap-to-pay, starts with a mindset change. In the early days of contactless, one of our biggest challenges was building confidence: for consumers to feel comfortable tapping instead of inserting a card, and for merchants to trust the speed and security of the transaction. Education played a big role. We spent a lot of time working with banks, merchants, and industry partners to demonstrate that contactless wasn't just faster, but reliable, secure, and better for business. Today, Singapore has one of the highest penetration of contactless transactions in Asia Pacific, at over 99%! Another challenge was building everyday relevance. We knew that to change behaviour, we had to meet people where they already were – in supermarkets, fast food outlets, and on public transport. They helped bring contactless payments into daily routines in a very tangible way. Singapore is one of Visa's four global innovation centres. What kind of solutions are being tested here, and how do they scale globally? The Singapore Innovation Centre has always been a space for turning ideas into action – and with its recent transformation, it's now even more focused on helping partners across Asia Pacific build what's next in commerce. What makes this facility unique isn't just the technology – it's the way we collaborate. We bring together banks, fintechs, retailers and startups to co-create solutions that solve real payment challenges, often ahead of market demand. We had programmes such as Visa Everywhere Initiative and Visa Accelerator programme, which were designed to foster collaboration and co-creation with the startups community. What's developed here is shaped by the needs of the region, but it doesn't stop here. Because Singapore sits at the intersection of global and local innovation, the ideas we test often scale outward, influencing how payments evolve in other fast-growing markets as well. Visa is also at the forefront of developing the future of payments. Tell us more about Visa Pay? Visa Pay is an innovative solution designed to enhance the interoperability and convenience of digital payments. It allows consumers to use their local digital wallets and account-to-account (A2A) payment apps to make payments at Visa-accepting merchants worldwide. Visa Pay delivers a seamless cross-border payment experience, making it easier for consumers to transact globally. When we talk about helping travellers pay like locals, we're talking about removing friction and replacing it with familiarity, flexibility, and control. Whether it's shopping, dining, or moving across borders, travellers want payment experiences that feel as seamless as what they're used to at home. Visa recently launched a card that allows users to toggle between credit and debit. What's the value of this for consumers and financial institutions? The way people manage their money is changing. Consumers today want more control, more visibility, and more flexibility – not just in how they pay, but in how they plan. That's where Visa Flexible Credential comes in. An average Singaporean carries more than five cards in their wallets. Instead of carrying separate cards for debit, credit, or even different currencies, consumers can now switch between funding sources using a single card. For financial institutions, it's about meeting customers where they are in their financial journey. And that's ultimately the kind of innovation that sticks – because it works for the user, not just the system. Visa has also been exploring stablecoins and digital currencies. How does this align with Visa's broader strategic direction? Visa's approach to digital currencies has always been about enabling real-world utility. We are expanding our stablecoin capabilities in Singapore and the Asia Pacific region, partnering with companies like DCS Singapore, dtcpay, and StraitsX to enable stablecoin-backed cards. These partnerships allow users to buy stablecoins with fiat and spend them at Visa-accepting merchants, effectively bridging digital and traditional finance. We aim to make it easier for users to access and utilise stablecoins for everyday purchases, blurring the lines between traditional payment methods and digital assets. This is also part of a broader shift we're seeing, where consumers are looking for payment tools that are transparent, flexible, and frictionless. Visa Intelligent Commerce is an exciting platform for businesses. How does it support innovation for banks and merchants? AI is fundamentally changing the way consumers discover, decide, and ultimately pay – and Visa Intelligent Commerce is about helping our partners stay ahead, while maintaining the trust that underpins every transaction. The platform enables a future where AI agents can shop and transact on behalf of users, helping with everything from product discovery to post-purchase management. But it's not just about automation – it's about doing it in a way that's secure, transparent, and personalised. For banks and merchants, this opens up a new frontier of customer engagement. And because Visa sits at the intersection of security, scale, and innovation – with over 4.8 billion credentials and 150 million merchants globally – we're uniquely positioned to embed these capabilities safely and at scale. What role will Visa play in shaping Singapore's next 60 years? If there's one thing we can be sure of, it's that technology will keep changing how we live, travel, and pay. Visa's role is to make that change feel intuitive, secure, and accessible for everyone. Security is paramount in the digital payment landscape, and Visa plays a crucial role in ensuring that transactions are safe and secure. By implementing advanced security measures and continually innovating, Visa helps build consumer confidence in digital payments. This trust is essential for the widespread adoption of new payment technologies. Visa remains committed to driving these pillars by providing robust fraud protection, seamless transactions, and a secure payment environment for consumers and businesses alike. Dedication to security and consumer confidence is what makes Visa a trusted leader in the global payments industry. So as we look toward the future, it's not just about the technologies themselves, it's about designing them to be innovative and secure. And Singapore, with its openness to innovation and high expectations around experience, will continue to be one of the places where that future is shaped first. Finally, if you had to define Visa's partnership with Singapore in one word or phrase, what would it be – and why? 'Domestically relevant and purposeful.' These words guide the way we run the Singapore business and speaks to the spirit of our partnership, grounded in trust, guided by intention, and always focused on creating meaningful progress.
Business Times
05-08-2025
- Business
- Business Times
SG60: Running Singapore on innovation – brains, bytes and billion-dollar growth engines
AS AT mid-2025, Singapore secured more than 40 AI centres of excellence, attracting both digital-native and industrial firms to research and develop various forms of artificial intelligence (AI) solutions here, including those related to proprietary generative AI (GenAI). GenAI is a type of AI that can create new content – such as text, images, audio and video – based on the data it has been trained on. Last year, Singapore also launched three new accelerators that nurtured more than 50 promising locally based ventures. This is attributable to Digital Industry Singapore, a joint office formed in 2019 by the Singapore Economic Development Board (EDB), Enterprise Singapore (EnterpriseSG) and Infocomm Media Development Authority. The government has been working with industry players to set up sectoral-based centres of excellence to look at use cases that can be applied widely and build domain-specific capabilities in key economic sectors. For instance, the Sectoral AI Centre of Excellence for Manufacturing, which was launched in September 2024, supports industry partners and companies in the adoption of GenAI and machine learning in areas such as quality assurance and predictive maintenance. This is to enhance the manufacturing value chain. AI is just one aspect of Singapore's economic evolution. BT in your inbox Start and end each day with the latest news stories and analyses delivered straight to your inbox. Sign Up Sign Up EDB chairman Png Cheong Boon said EDB will continue to attract investments that are knowledge and innovation-intensive, aligned with the Republic's transition to a low-carbon economy, and that have high growth potential. 'We are targeting high-value investments that create good jobs requiring deep capabilities and that entail regional or global responsibilities; and where companies have a strong focus on the training and development of employees,' he noted. These would include manufacturing and services projects in sectors such as aerospace, semiconductors, biopharmaceuticals, medical technology and specialty chemicals, besides new growth areas such as precision medicine, AI and sustainable products and services. With sustainability being a priority, global companies see it as a plus that Singapore partners them in their low-carbon transition, added Png. These range from adopting renewable energy to increasing energy efficiencies in existing processes. Today, there are more than 150 carbon services and trading firms – double the number from 2021. Besides renewable energy services and the bio-economy, an area that Singapore is actively looking at is low-carbon technologies. The Republic is home to the world's largest sustainable aviation fuel production facility by capacity, operated by Neste, and is developing a cross-border carbon capture and storage hub led by ExxonMobil and Shell to support domestic decarbonisation. Singapore is home to the world's largest sustainable aviation fuel production facility by capacity, operated by Neste. PHOTO: NESTE Brains behind the economy's transformation A walk through history will find that EDB has been a catalyst for Singapore's competitiveness for decades. It cultivated labour-intensive industries such as manufacturing in the 1960s to address high unemployment and jump-start the economy, before shifting in the 1970s to skills-intensive industries such as precision engineering and electronics. In the 1980s, EDB turned towards capital-intensive and higher-technology industries including computers, machinery and pharmaceuticals. For example, the Republic welcomed its first semiconductor wafer fabrication plant and the first petrochemical complex in Asia at this time. By the 1990s, Singapore was on its way to becoming a knowledge-based economy as EDB laid the groundwork for the transition through innovation, research and development (R&D), and technopreneurship. Along with manufacturing, EDB invested in services as a second growth engine, and developed the biomedical sciences, aerospace and modern services sectors, so that workers had the relevant skills and experience. The transformation signalled the reimagining of the traditional petrochemicals sector and a move to develop infrastructure such as Jurong Island and industrial estates, to support heavy shipping and manufacturing industries. A key theme that can be found across different industries is the push to innovate and conduct R&D. In the past five years, Singapore has invested about S$28 billion or 1 per cent of its gross domestic product annually to strengthen its research ecosystem and encourage more companies to deepen their innovation footprint here. Png explained that EDB's role goes far beyond just helping businesses set up here. It guides companies through their entire growth journey in the region – from facilitating collaborations with local companies and suppliers in Singapore to connecting them with the right partners to explore regional expansion. 'As the firms achieve critical mass, EDB encourages them to deepen their presence by establishing regional headquarters and centres of excellence, so that high-value activities are embedded in Singapore, in turn creating higher-value jobs,' he added. Indeed, the Ministry of Manpower's (MOM) labour market second-quarter report released in September 2024 showed that about 20 per cent of firms here are foreign-owned, yet they employ 60 per cent of Singapore residents in high-earning jobs. MOM said foreign-owned firms employ an outsized share of those who earn a gross monthly income of above S$12,500 and fall into the top 10 per cent of income distribution. Strengthening Singapore's core The foresight in the early years meant that Singapore's manufacturing and services sectors had time to become sophisticated, supported by excellent infrastructure, a skilled workforce and a conducive business climate. It is how and why the city-state now accounts for 10 per cent of global chips output and roughly 20 per cent of global semiconductor equipment output. In the healthcare space, eight out of the top 10 pharmaceutical companies conduct manufacturing or R&D here. EDB is now responsible for more than 35 per cent of Singapore's annual GDP in the manufacturing and tradeable services sectors. Manufacturing alone makes up nearly one-fifth of the country's GDP. Under Singapore's Manufacturing 2030 plan, the sector's value-add is to be raised by 50 per cent from 2020 to 2030. The goal is to ensure a diverse range of manufacturing activities and attract companies with specialised capabilities that will allow the country to remain an essential part of global value chains. Singapore has five best-in-class advanced manufacturing facilities that are part of the World Economic Forum's Global Lighthouse Network, including those by Coca-Cola and Infineon Technologies. In aerospace, major players such as Rolls-Royce and Pratt & Whitney have deepened their operations here. Singapore is now a leading aerospace hub in the Asia-Pacific region with more than 130 aerospace companies that contribute to 10 per cent of global maintenance, repair and overhaul output. Efforts to turn the Republic into a hub for the region have also paid off. Earlier this year, Amazon Web Services (AWS) and German specialty chemicals firm Munzing opened their Asia-Pacific headquarters in Singapore with plans to grow the software engineering team and invest in local R&D, respectively. In May, the Republic took the fourth spot out of 118 countries in the 2025 Global Startup Ecosystem Index by research platform StartupBlink, behind Israel, Britain and the US. 'We want to attract activities that ensure we remain a critical part of global value chains which play to Singapore's strengths, that would be hard for others to replicate and would continue to be relevant to the global economy in future. 'Riding on fast-growing sectors and those with high growth potential enables Singapore to plug into global economic growth and the growth potential of the immediate region,' said Png, who added that EDB is also encouraging experienced founders to scale their next ventures from Singapore, through the Global Founder Programme. To stay ahead, EDB is cognisant that the local workforce must also be able to keep up with the needs of businesses. Besides the national programme that funds upskilling, EDB has also rolled out various targeted training programmes to help workers. In 2024, EDB partnered Oracle to upskill up to 10,000 local workers and tertiary students in GenAI by 2027. There is also AWS' flagship AI programme, AWS AI Spring, where it will collaborate with universities, polytechnics and the Institute of Technical Education on AI learning. The aim is to train 5,000 individuals over three years, from 2024 to 2026. EDB, Oracle, AWS and Databricks have also rolled out digital training schemes in areas such as cybersecurity, cloud computing and data management. EDB, Oracle, AWS and Databricks (above) have rolled out digital training schemes in areas such as cybersecurity, cloud computing and data management. PHOTO: REUTERS In addition, EDB invests in leadership development – through programmes such as the Global Business Leaders Programme and Singapore Leaders Network – to better support Singaporeans to take on leadership roles in key companies. Building a resilient and connected ecosystem In today's volatile and fragmented world, it is important to ensure that the Republic's supply chain ecosystem and regional connectivity deliver unmatched value to global businesses. Therefore, initiatives such as the Johor-Singapore Special Economic Zone can not only help strengthen ties with neighbouring economies, but also complement the city-state's extensive global network of 28 free trade agreements. These efforts will go a long way in ensuring the Republic's supply chain resilience and seamless regional integration, so that Singapore is an indispensable hub for multinational corporations (MNCs) navigating geopolitical uncertainties. Beyond that, EDB is also committed to reinforcing Singapore's supportive business ecosystem. For instance, it works with JTC to provide the right infrastructure to companies. To spur greater collaboration between MNCs and local enterprises, EDB and EnterpriseSG have the Partnerships for Capability Transformation scheme that provides funding support for capability training, internationalisation, corporate venturing, supplier development and co-innovation. 'These are win-win partnerships that strengthen supply chain resilience for global businesses while helping our local companies build new capabilities,' said Png. He added that, over time, this would make businesses here more competitive and improve Singapore's economy.
