Overview

Singapore is one of the most wired countries and technologically advanced Information and Communications Technology (ICT) markets in the world.  Singaporeans are highly digitally connected, avid users of technology and voracious consumers of data.  In December 2021, wireless broadband penetration rate was 196.1% while mobile penetration reached 158.8%.  

Singapore is a matured market and an early adopter of new technologies and solutions and offers world-class ICT infrastructure and a vibrant ecosystem of technology partners. Singapore views ICT investments as a source of economic and social development and aims to be a Smart Nation.

The Singapore Government plays an important role in driving demand and the adoption of technology and communications with progressive initiatives rollout such as Smart Nation initiative, Digital Economy Framework, Digital Government Blueprint and Industry Transformation Map (ITMs).

Singapore’s Smart Nation journey began in 2014, with the vision to create new opportunities and to better the lives of people. The smart nation drive is an effort by the government to harness innovative technologies and solutions to transform the city-state in healthcare, transportation, urban living, government services and businesses. Since then, Singapore has embarked on various digital strategies and policies and implemented strategic national projects and initiatives that reduce friction between the government, businesses and citizens, improving productivity while paying attention to sustainability.

In addition to serving as the region’s trading center, Singapore is universally regarded as the top leading tech hub in the Indo-Pacific, a key reason why 5,400 U.S. entities are registered in Singapore. The city-state is home to many global technology firms including Google, IBM, Meta, Amazon Web Services and others, offering digital platforms and services that are key to the digital transformation of companies locally.

Singapore has built a world-class, globally competitive tech industry and continues to explore new frontiers in innovation such as cloud computing, artificial intelligence, quantum computing, data analytics and other technologies that span healthcare, security, fintech, energy, aviation, defense.  To promote this tech-focused vision, Singapore actively markets itself as a sandbox and testbed for new product testing and development.

To promote Singapore’s interests in ICT internationally in building a conducive and pro-enterprise environment for the ICT companies, the U.S. and Singapore have a Mutual Recognition Arrangement (MRA) on telecom equipment certification. The MRA reduces barriers to trade in telecommunications equipment by allowing entry of such equipment to be tested in the exporting economy and without the need for further testing, inspection or certification by the importing country. U.S. companies may refer to the list of the recognized testing labs and list of recognized certification agencies in the U.S.

Units: $ millions
Source: IHS Markit

Leading Sub-Sectors

Best prospects include government projects, cyber security, artificial intelligence, quantum technology, cloud computing, internet of things, industrial automation, fintech, 5G and smart solutions in mobility, healthcare, energy, aviation, and defense.

Opportunities

ICT - Singapore is an advanced and high-value enterprise market where software and services spending are expected to drive continued growth in total ICT spending. The pandemic has further accelerated digitalization and industry continues to grow and move towards a new era of massive digitalization to remain relevant and continue to succeed. In total, the Singapore government has invested about US$9 billion (S$12.6 billion) in ICT over the last 4 years.

The Government will spend up to an estimated US$2.7 billion (S$3.8 billion) on ICT procurement in 2022, similar spending to 2021, but about a 10% increase in spending from 2020. The spending will be used to transform government digital infrastructure and services for its citizens, businesses and public officers, and about 70 percent (US$2 billion / S$2.6 billion) of 2022 Government’s projected ICT spending will go towards application development to building new applications and upgrading existing ones.

The Government is looking to harness the potential of emerging technologies such as machine learning, IoT and data science with the value of projects adopting these technologies doubling from US$0.57 billion (S$0.79 billion) to US$1.44 billion (S$2 billion) in 2022.

Speech-to-text audio transcription services for judicial proceedings and smart facilities management systems to help schools improve water and energy efficiency are some of the projects under the ICT plan in 2022.

Government Commercial Cloud - In late 2018, the Government announced a five-year plan to migrate most of its information technology (IT) systems from on-premise infrastructure to the commercial cloud to speed up the delivery and improve the quality of services for citizens and businesses and has spent more than USS$0.14 billion (S$0.2 billion) to build up the cloud infrastructure and capabilities. Since then, about 55 percent of eligible government systems have been migrated to the commercial cloud. The goal is to have 70 percent of eligible government systems on the cloud by 2023.

In 2022, about US$720 million (S$1 billion) in procurement opportunities has been set aside for projects to be developed on the government commercial cloud.  The Government has turned to collaboration with industry partners who have become familiar with the government’s common platforms.

5G - Singapore is on track with its vision to have a world-class, secure, and resilient 5G infrastructure that will be the backbone of its digital economy. In June 2020, the Singapore government awarded two 5G licenses to Singtel and to a joint venture consortium between Starhub and M1.  The two licensees will proceed deploying full-fledged 5G standalone capabilities and complete nationwide deployment by 2025.  In 2021, Simba Telcom, formerly known as TPG Singapore, Singapore’s fourth fully licensed mobile network operator, was also provisionally awarded 10 MHz of spectrum in the 2.1 GHz band for standalone 5G network services and localized mmWave deployment.

Artificial intelligence (AI) – The Singapore government has recognized AI as one of the new frontiers in technology and launched the National AI strategy in 2019 and committed to US$362 million (S$500 million) to fund AI research. To start, Singapore embarked on five national projects covering the areas of transport and logistics, smart cities and estates, healthcare, education, and border and security.

In 2021, Singapore set aside an additional US$130 million (S$180 million) on top of the committed amount in 2019 and added two new national programs covering areas of finance and government, summing to a total of seven national AI projects. 

Cybersecurity - Digitalization presents many opportunities, but it also has significantly increased cyber risks. There was a 50% increase in cyberattacks on corporate networks in 2021, and a 20-fold increase in ransomware attacks against governments.

Cyber-attacks are becoming increasingly common in Singapore and cyber threats are evolving and becoming more sophisticated and destructive. Demand for cyber security solutions has thus increased. The Singapore cybersecurity market is estimated to reach US$889 million in 2022.

Certain heavily regulated sectors such as healthcare and financial services are more susceptible to cyber-attacks and these sectors will be more likely to invest more in cyber security.

In 2020, Singapore Government set aside approximately US$720 million (S$1 billion) over the next three years to build up the Government’s cyber and data security capabilities.  It is preparing measures for the next level of cybersecurity requirements as technologies such as artificial intelligence and the Internet of Things are adopted and cloud computing becomes pervasive.  The increased spending will help the Government accelerate digitalization in Singapore during the COVID-19 pandemic and realize its ambition to become a Smart Nation.

Quantum Technology – Quantum technologies are becoming increasingly in demand and investing in quantum computing and quantum engineering is part of Singapore’s approach of trying to anticipate growing cyber threats and ensure encryption technologies remain robust.

Singapore is investing US$17 million (S$23.5 million) to support three national quantum platforms stated below:

• National Quantum Safe-Network (NQSN), launched in February 2022, provides a testbed for public and private organizations to trial critical infrastructure applications within a quantum-safe environment. The NQSN has gathered 15 private and government collaborators such as Netlink Trust, ST Engineering, and Amazon Web Services;
• National Quantum Computing Hub (NQCH), launched on 31 May 2022, develops quantum computing skillsets and capabilities from the Centre for Quantum Technologies (CQT), local universities, and research institutions; and
• National Quantum Fabless Foundry (NQFF), launched on 31 May 2022, supports the components and materials needed to build quantum computers and devices.

All three platforms are under the Quantum Engineering Program (QEP) for up to 3.5 years. The scheme is part of Singapore’s Research, Innovation, and Enterprise 2020 (RIE2020) plan.

Regional – In Southeast Asia, a regional opportunity has emerged for U.S. vendors and smart solutions providers to participate in the ASEAN Smart Cities Network (ASCN) program that the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries have adopted during the East Asia Summit held in Singapore in November 2018. ASEAN is made up of 10 countries and the ASCN is a collaborative platform where currently 26 cities across ASEAN work towards the common goal of smart and sustainable urban development. The ASCN aims to facilitate cooperation on smart cities development, catalyse bankable projects with the private sector, and secure funding and support from ASEAN’s external partners.

There are some opportunities for U.S vendors to offer advanced value-added solutions and services in Singapore. U.S. companies interested in participating in government tenders should register with GeBIZ, the Singapore government’s one-stop e-procurement portal where public sector invitations for quotations and tenders are posted. Both local and foreign suppliers can search for government procurement opportunities, download tender documents, and submit their bids online.

Resources

Trade Shows

World Cities Summit

July 31 – August 3, 2022

Cloud Expo Asia

October 12 – 13, 2022

Singapore Fintech Festival

November 2 – 4, 2022

Asia Tech x Singapore

June 6 - 9, 2023

IoT Asia+

2023 (Dates yet to be confirmed)

Black Hat Asia

2023 (Dates yet to be confirmed)

 

Singapore Government Offices

Singapore Ministry of Communications and Information (MCI)

GovTech Singapore

Smart Nation

Infocomm Media Development Authority

Cyber Security Agency of Singapore

Integrated Health Information Systems (IHiS)

SGTech

GeBIZ

 

U.S. Commercial Service, Singapore Contact

Ms. Mishell Arwan, Commercial Assistant

Email: Mishell.Arwan@trade.gov