Singapore is a country and a market for information and communications technology (ICT) that is among the most technologically advanced in the world. Singaporeans are heavily connected online, devoted tech users, and voracious data consumers. Mobile penetration reached 158.8% in December 2021, while the wireless broadband penetration rate was 196.1%.
In addition to having a mature market and a thriving ecosystem of tech partners, Singapore is a pioneer in adopting new technology. Singapore strives to become a Smart Nation and sees investments in ICT as a source of social and economic progress.
The Singaporean government plays a significant role in fostering demand for and adoption of technology and communications (ITMs). This is through the implementation of forward-thinking initiatives like the Smart Nation initiative, the Digital Economy Framework, the Digital Government Blueprint, and the Industry Transformation Map.
The journey toward becoming a Smart Nation in Singapore began in 2014 to improve people’s lives and open up new opportunities. The government is attempting to modernize the city-state in terms of healthcare, transportation, urban life, government services, and companies by utilizing cutting-edge technologies and solutions.
The technology sector in Singapore is of the highest caliber and is highly competitive on a global scale. The country also continues to explore new areas of innovation, including cloud computing, AI, quantum computing, and other technologies in the fields of healthcare, security, fintech, energy, aviation, and defense.
Leading sub-sectors
The best prospects include government initiatives, cyber security, quantum technology, cloud computing, the internet of things, industrial automation, fintech, 5G, and smart solutions in mobility, healthcare, energy, aviation, and the military.
Opportunities
You will find some opportunities below.
ICT
Singapore is a developed and high-value enterprise market, and spending on software and services is predicted to continue to drive overall ICT spending growth. To stay relevant and continue to flourish, the industry is growing and moving into a new era of huge digitalization as a result of the epidemic. Over the past four years, the Singaporean government has made ICT investments totaling roughly US$9 billion (S$12.6 billion).
Similar to 2021 but an increase of roughly 10% over 2020, the government spent up to an estimated US$2.7 billion (S$3.8 billion) on ICT procurement in 2022. About 70% of the 2022 government’s projected ICT spending will go towards application development to build new applications and upgrade existing ones. The funds will be used to modernize the government’s digital services for its people, businesses, and public servants.
The value of projects utilizing emerging technologies, such as machine learning, IoT, and data science, is expected to double from US$0.57 billion to US$1.44 billion in 2022. The government looks to capitalize on its potential.
Government commercial cloud
The government announced a five-year plan to move the majority of its information technology (IT) systems from on-premise infrastructure to the commercial cloud in late 2018. To expand the cloud’s infrastructure and capabilities, the government has already invested more than US$0.14 billion (S$0.2 billion). Since then, the commercial cloud has been transferred to around 55% of qualifying government systems. By 2023, it is intended that 70 percent of qualifying government systems will be hosted in the cloud.
5G
Singapore’s goal of having a top-notch, secure, and robust 5G infrastructure that would serve as the foundation of its digital economy is progressing according to plan. The Singaporean government granted two 5G licenses to Singtel and a partnership between Starhub and M1 in June 2020. By 2025, the two licensees will have deployed all of the nation’s 5G standalone capabilities. Simba Telcom will also receive a provisional 10 MHz of 2.1 GHz band spectrum in 2021 for localized mmWave deployment and stand-alone 5G network services.
Artificial intelligence (AI)
The government has acknowledged artificial intelligence (AI) as one of the newest technological frontiers, launching the National AI plan in 2019 and pledging US$362 million in funding for AI research. Singapore began by launching five national initiatives in the fields of border and security, smart cities and estates, healthcare, education, and logistics and transportation.
In addition, they put aside an extra US$130 million in 2021 and added two new national programs covering the banking and government sectors, totaling seven national AI initiatives.
