預算辯論 · 2026-03-02 · 屆國會 15
2026貿工部供給委員會辯論：AI驅動經濟轉型
貿工部供給委員會辯論聚焦AI驅動的經濟結構轉型。議員質詢產業轉型地圖(ITM)是否真正推動生產力提升而非僅助企業降本，追問如何衡量真正的生產力增益（管理升級、流程再造、商業模式變革）而非簡單的數字工具採用率。關注焦點包括：中小企業AI實施困難、AI創業生態中大學/A*STAR研究成果商業化、投資退出缺口、AI暗模式（如虛假評論與訂閱陷阱）對消費者的威脅。提出構建政府門戶AI助手，基於企業畫像自動推薦補貼和方案。
關鍵要點
- • 產業轉型地圖需回應AI時代要求
- • 衡量真正生產力增益而非工具採用率
- • 中小企業AI實施面臨實際困難
- • AI創業投資退出缺口
- • AI暗模式對消費者的威脅
- • 政府門戶AI助手構想
推動產業AI轉型，強調從成本管理向價值鏈躍升
質疑ITM深度是否足以推動真正轉型
產業政策從數字化轉向AI原生轉型
參與人員 (2)
完整譯文（中文）
Hansard 原始記錄 · 2026-05-02
主席：貿易與工業部（MTI）第五部分。Saktiandi Supaat先生。
上午11時51分
新加坡的生產力驅動增長
Saktiandi Supaat先生（碧山-大巴窯選區）：主席先生，我提議，“將預算第五部分的總撥款減少100元”。
主席先生，我們的經濟今天不再是應對週期性波動，而是應對全球秩序深刻的結構性變化。
地緣政治分裂、產業政策競爭、供應鏈重組、脫碳壓力和快速的技術顛覆，已經從根本上重塑了經濟格局。
近期全球科技股的波動也提醒我們，風險情緒的快速變化如何通過金融市場、貿易和投資流動傳導。這種影響因中東緊張局勢升級而進一步放大，已導致能源價格波動、安全資產流入和全球市場不確定性加劇，可能轉化為更高的通脹、更緊的金融條件和全球增長放緩。
對於像新加坡這樣的小型開放經濟體，這些外部力量將繼續影響我們的增長軌跡。
在這種環境下，新加坡的戰略必須同時做到三點：增強企業韌性，果斷進入更高價值的增長領域，並將增長轉化為新加坡人的優質就業。最終，在勞動力和資本受限的情況下，增長必須更多依靠內部，通過深化能力、創新和知識，也就是生產力。勞動生產率和全要素生產率都必須成為我們的主要增長引擎。
首先，支援企業結構轉型。外部來看，貿易重新調整、回岸趨勢和全球增長放緩使經營環境更加複雜。內部來看，企業必須應對數字化、人工智慧（AI）應用、勞動力重組和可持續發展壓力。
政府支援計劃是必要的。但關鍵問題是，這些支援是否足夠深入以推動真正的轉型。我們的產業轉型藍圖如何演進，推動企業向價值鏈上游邁進，而不僅僅是幫助它們管理成本？我們如何衡量真正的生產力提升，不僅是數字工具的採用，而是管理升級、流程重設計和商業模式轉型等成果？
更根本的是，我們如何確保企業建立管理、創新和運營等內部能力，產生持續的生產力提升，並擴散到更廣泛的經濟中？更廣泛地說，我們應繼續完善財政工具對轉型的支援。例如，能否設計更有針對性的人工智慧推廣支援，針對中小企業（SMEs），並與可衡量的成果掛鉤，如生產力提升、成本節約或新市場開拓？
我們能否加強工資和培訓的共同資助，支援崗位重設計，特別是在面臨全球競爭的行業，使企業升級崗位而非裁員？鑑於全球環境日益波動，我們是否應考慮設立逆週期加速器，即預先批准的支援措施，可在經濟下行時迅速啟動，使企業和員工及時獲得援助，避免延誤？更廣泛地說，我們的財政工具應快速、精準，並在適當時自動啟動，支援調整同時強化長期紀律。
第二，強化非貿易部門。雖然我們關注貿易部門，但不能忽視旅遊、零售和餐飲（F&B）等國內部門。部長能否更新“旅遊2040”路線圖？實現“優質旅遊”的關鍵里程碑有哪些？
在競爭日益激烈的區域環境中，鄰國如馬來西亞和越南大力投資，我們如何強化新加坡的差異化，同時管理景點、餐廳和生活方式產品的更替？
關於大聖淘沙總體規劃，有何進展？預計的經濟貢獻和就業創造如何？
更廣泛地說，我們是否在更協調地制定區域級策略，如濱水區、文化和生活方式叢集？充滿活力的國內服務業不僅是支援性的，它本身也可以成為創新、生產力和能力發展的源泉。
第三，抓住增長和前沿領域。我同意新加坡必須在先進製造業、高信任服務和前沿領域（如量子、脫碳和太空）保持領先。但這如何轉化為就業？未來五到十年預計創造多少就業崗位？這些崗位如何分佈於不同技能水平？
在先進製造業，我們如何確保投資深化本地技術能力，而不僅僅是提高每位工人的產出？在基於信任的服務業，如金融服務、仲裁和數字信任，我們如何在全球監管體系演變中保持新加坡的優勢？在前沿領域，規模化就業的現即時間表是什麼？增長不僅要創造就業，還要構建持久且能擴散至整個經濟的能力。
第四，本地能力錨定。僅僅建立能力是不夠的，我們必須將其錨定在新加坡。
一個關鍵領域是將能力從外籍人才轉移給新加坡人。能力轉移計劃在實踐中效果如何？在需要外籍專業知識的情況下，我們是否將結構化且可衡量的能力轉移要求納入投資條件？獲得激勵的企業是否必須展示新加坡人向更高價值崗位晉升的進展？可持續增長最終必須由本地人力資本和知識積累驅動。
同時，技能供給必須跟上需求。部委是否與高等院校密切合作，預測重點行業的人力需求？鑑於這項工作跨部門進行，如何加強協調，確保人才培養及時且一致？
第五，主席先生，能源安全與經濟韌性。作為資源匱乏的國家，我們必須加快向綠色能源轉型，減少對全球價格衝擊的脆弱性，尤其是在地緣政治分裂加劇的時代。
肯亞總統曾表達成為“非洲新加坡”的願望，該國目前約90%的電力來自可再生能源。新加坡的情況如何？我們的進展如何？
脫碳推動預計將在可再生能源整合、氫能、碳管理和電網韌性方面創造多少就業？我們如何確保實現可持續目標的同時，保持能源對家庭和企業的可靠性和可負擔性？這場轉型如何催生本地新能力和產業，而非僅僅增加成本？
主席先生，我們的經濟環境正經歷深刻結構性變化，需要大膽且協調的行動，而非漸進調整。沒有增長的韌性就是停滯。增長必須轉化為新加坡人的就業，開放而不錨定本地能力是不可持續的。
在更波動的全球環境中，財政紀律和緩衝為我們應對沖擊提供空間。但最終，我們的長期競爭力將取決於我們在經濟內部構建、保留和更新能力的深度。
我期待貿易與工業部澄清如何安排這些優先事項的順序及衡量成功，不僅在投資承諾上，更在持續能力發展和為新加坡人帶來有意義的就業成果上。
[(程式文本) 提出議案。 (程式文本)]
培育下一代本地冠軍
Shawn Loh先生（惹蘭勿剎選區）：主席先生，首先，我宣告本人為聯邦資本集團的集團董事總經理。
我曾在本院談及培育深根本地的新加坡跨國公司（MNCs）的重要性。歸根結底，規模很重要。當一家新加坡企業成功擴張時，它會在本地設立高價值總部職能，培養本地管理人才管道，並促進經濟和供應鏈韌性。如果我們有更多本地公司年收入突破10億新元，新加坡人將受益。
中午12時
貿易與工業部可考慮設定一個雄心勃勃的目標，推動一定數量的新本地公司到2035年達到這一規模，以便所有政府機構集中資源實現這一目標。
雖然幫助年收入低於1億新元的中小企業（SMEs）仍然重要，但企業突破1億新元規模面臨獨特挑戰。年收入1億新元的企業在全球舞臺上仍屬小型企業。
貿易與工業部可考慮在年收入1億至2億新元之間設立一個獨立層級，支援力度略低於中小企業層級，以緩和支援力度的斷崖效應。目前支援力度可能從70%驟降至30%。我懷疑這是否導致一些企業人為保持年收入低於1億新元。
這類似於上週歐洲議會通過的一項立法，設立了一個新的中型小企業層級，恰巧定在2億歐元。
我們許多較大的本地企業已是各自行業的佼佼者，具備能力和雄心，但很少能突破到下一個層級。這是因為與其他國家不同，我們沒有龐大的國內市場。因此，企業必須在規模較小時就國際化，同時運營成本較高的總部。這是結構性劣勢，使得擴張更為困難。
因此，明確一點，當政府支援較大本地企業擴張時，不是挑選未來贏家，而是加碼當前贏家，幫助他們贏得更大成功，從而為新加坡人帶來更多利益。
企業要擴張，必須做兩件事。
首先，企業必須開發更多符合市場需求的產品和服務。政府無權告訴企業做什麼或如何做，那是企業家的職責。但政府可以營造有利的經濟基礎設施，提高成功機率。
貿易與工業部維持動態且充滿活力的企業生態系統的努力將有所助益。這樣的生態系統能促進更廣泛、更深入、更豐富的合作，加快產品開發和市場測試周期。
我們還需考慮整體生產要素是否具備競爭力，包括人力、土地、能源和資本等。今天我只談資本。
企業需要獲得足夠負擔得起的資本，以投資固定資產（如機器以提高產出）和營運資金，後者隨著企業擴張增長迅速。對此，我對預算中改善貿易和固定資產貸款的企業融資計劃表示支援。
但有機增長太慢。我們應更有耐心，幫助企業更快“登月”。重點應放在通過併購（M&A）實現無機增長，助推本地企業騰飛。併購也需要負擔得起的資本。
目前，企業融資計劃支援年收入不超過5億新元企業的國內收購，但該支援將在一個月後失效。預算宣告中未提及此事。部委應考慮延長或擴大此支援。
第二，企業一旦找到產品市場匹配，就需通過新市場擴張。我們可以通過幾種方式實現。
我們可以通過旅遊將這些市場帶入新加坡。這與我們的旅遊策略相符，吸引更多高消費遊客，振興傳統以國內為主的行業，如餐飲和零售。更多遊客也意味著更多消費稅收入。
當然，更傳統的方式是進入海外新市場。企業海外擴張時，最大的限制往往是網路、信譽和分銷渠道。這傳統上由政府主導，但強大的企業主導社群可以補充政府努力。它們可以以更非正式、商業驅動的方式與監管機構和合作夥伴接觸；促進同行間情報和經驗分享；並建立持續的新加坡品牌影響力。
我有時想，為什麼海外沒有更多新加坡商會？例如，美國和英國似乎都沒有。政府是否意識到存在阻礙類似企業主導平臺形成的協調難題？政府是否認為發揮更強催化作用以解決這些問題有價值？
主席先生，我希望部委能考慮這些觀點，強化我們的企業環境。新加坡人可以自豪地期待新一代新加坡全球企業的崛起。
加強消費者保護
Melvin Yong Yik Chye先生（拉丁馬士選區）：主席先生，首先，我宣告本人為新加坡消費者協會（CASE）會長及消費者保護審查小組聯合主席。
先生，我們的消費者保護機制必須更快應對違規企業。今天，當CASE向新加坡競爭與消費者委員會（CCS）舉報企業違反《消費者保護（公平交易）法》（CPFTA）時，法院頒佈禁令往往需時兩年以上。近期案件從舉報到法院命令耗時28至39個月。
我感謝CCS採取執法行動並獲得禁令。但執法耗時多年，消費者在案件處理中持續蒙受損失。違規企業得以長期繼續不公平行為。
我們可以且必須做得更好。
今天，CCS已根據《競爭法》行使行政權力。我呼籲政府賦予CCS類似的行政執法權力，針對違反CPFTA的行為。此類權力將使CCS能更迅速行動——發出指令、要求合規、停止有害行為，而不必完全依賴漫長的法院程式。這將釋放司法資源，更重要的是，及早保護消費者。
這尤為關鍵，因為不公平行為在演變。
我們已見到“暗模式”上升——即通過欺騙性線上設計手段操控消費者做出非預期購買，包括隱藏訂閱、難以取消的訂閱陷阱和AI生成的虛假評論誤導消費者。
這些行為在網路上迅速傳播。我們的執法工具必須同樣迅速。靈活的數字經濟需要靈活的監管機構。除了數字行為，我們也非常關注預付款損失的急劇上升。
2025年，消費者預付款損失超過270萬新元，比2024年增長40.4%。雖然許多案件來自特定行業，但更廣泛的擔憂是——財務狀況不佳的企業持續收取大量預付款以維持現金流，企業倒閉時，消費者承擔損失。
風險不對稱。企業獲得即時現金流，消費者承擔風險。因此，我呼籲政府為所有收取大量預付款的企業引入強制冷靜期。消費者應有時間——遠離銷售壓力——仔細考慮購買並重新評估大額預付款承諾。冷靜期恢復平衡，鼓勵負責任銷售，給予消費者理性決策空間。
最後，我想更新消費者保護審查小組正在研究一系列影響消費者的問題，包括更好監控數字時代的不公平行為和預付款保障。公眾諮詢將於2026年3月16日開始。
我必須強調，消費者保護不是反商業，而是支援信任。讓我們果斷行動，保護這種信任——
主席：Andre Low先生，您可以將兩次發言合併。
加強消費者保護
Low Wu Yang Andre先生（非選區議員）：主席先生，讓我以一句每位律師都熟知的拉丁語開始——caveat emptor，買者自慎。這一原則誕生於一個更簡單的世界——實體零售和握手的時代，買賣雙方處於更平等的地位。
那個世界已經過去。今天，普通新加坡人面對的是複雜的商業機制，設計用來通過混淆、惰性甚至恐懼來榨取收入。CPFTA並非為此設計，現已顯不足，新加坡人為此付出代價。
我將從兩個方面談及這一失敗：首先，悄無聲息地掏空普通消費者錢包的欺騙性商業行為；其次，針對最脆弱群體的實體掠奪，摧毀他們的退休儲蓄。
首先，欺騙性商業行為。長期以來，電信公司和健身房等慣犯一直採用此類手段，CCS已證明此類不當行為正擴散至其他行業，如直銷品牌和電子商務。
2024年8月，競爭與消費者委員會（CCS）對Sterra採取了行動，該水過濾品牌虛假宣稱新加坡自來水不安全飲用，並銷售標榜在韓國和新加坡製造的產品，實際上這些產品是在中國製造的。去年12月，CCS對PRISM+採取行動，因其網站上存在無技術功能、僅重置為零的虛假倒計時器；同時對COURTS採取行動，因其在未通知客戶的情況下默默將未經請求的產品加入購物車。COURTS在2024年已知此事，但未作出任何改變，直到CCS介入。
這些只是頭條案件，除此之外，還有更隱蔽的做法每天從消費者身上榨取金錢：固定期限合同以僅適用於最初幾個月的優惠價宣傳，故意製造整個合同價格比實際更便宜的印象；試用期默默轉為全額付費訂閱，未徵得主動同意；以及將第三方服務捆綁進電信套餐，如Netflix訂閱，前三個月免費，之後取消流程複雜，專門設計來消磨消費者耐心。
每年，消費者協會（CASE）和CCS合計收到40至50起此類投訴。這只是冰山一角，類似手段屢見不鮮。
政府於去年3月召集了消費者保護審查小組。我歡迎此舉，並期待其調查結果。但我也想補充我認為最緊迫的觀點。
第一，任何固定期限訂閱的宣傳價格必須反映整個合同期的平均成本。僅適用於部分期限的促銷價不能作為頭條數字。第二，任何試用轉為付費訂閱前，應徵求明確的主動同意。沉默不等於同意。第三，應執行合同對稱原則。註冊只需一次點選，取消也應只需一次點選。第四，應賦予CCS類似英國競爭與市場管理局的直接行政權力，該機構可對違反消費者法的行為處以最高達全球年收入10%的罰款，無需訴諸法院。
如今，許多公司行為良好，但部分不良行為者肆無忌憚，直到被追責。我們需要賦予CCS更強的執法能力來應對其不當行為。事後自願遵守協議並不能形成威懾。
針對弱勢群體的掠奪性銷售
欺騙性商業行為掏空錢包，但我現在要談的是更嚴重的——面對面掠奪性行為，導致部分新加坡人完全失去退休儲蓄。
CASE 2026年2月報告記錄去年美容行業投訴激增76%，消費者損失超過210萬美元。
以一家美髮連鎖店為例，一位老人來理髮，收費8美元。理髮過程中，工作人員在顯示器上展示影像，稱其頭皮正在出血，儘管從未使用掃描裝置。其個人識別碼（PIN）被輸入支付機，支付總額被遮蓋。老人離開時已支付近1000美元，購買了其未同意的治療。
另一美容連鎖店收到53起投訴，總金額超過98萬美元。單一消費者一案收費至少37萬美元。超過40%的投訴者年齡在60歲及以上。
最後是Nail Palace。其董事總經理於2024年9月因藐視法庭被判處四個月監禁——但請注意，是因未通知客戶針對該連鎖店的禁令，而非原始掠奪行為。後者一直作為民事案件處理。法律漏洞正是必須彌補之處。
因此，我的最後請求是：我邀請貿易及工業部（MTI）考慮與內政部及總檢察長辦公室合作，研究將針對弱勢群體的嚴重掠奪性銷售行為刑事化。法國消費者法典已有此規定，“abus de faiblesse”（弱勢濫用）罪，因利用消費者年齡、疾病或心理脆弱性而可判處最高三年監禁。英國消費者保護法同樣明確禁止侵略性商業行為，處罰最高可達兩年監禁。
主席先生，當企業將弱勢長者限制在房間內，製造醫療恐慌，然後通過脅迫或心理手段榨取其全部積蓄，法律必須對此有明確名稱及相應後果。
科技創業企業的直通上市
梁國明博士（提名議員）：主席先生，我宣告我擁有創新工作室，專注於為全球市場創造和投資科技創新企業。
我們正處於一個激動人心的時代，充滿顛覆性創新和技術。問題是我們新加坡如何探索和利用這些機遇。
以我參與的空中計程車市場為例，納斯達克或紐約證券交易所上市的相關公司估值在80億至160億美元之間，但尚未售出任何飛行器。它們有預訂訂單，但尚未實現商業銷售。市場認可機會併為其融資。
新加坡有類似的交易所嗎？我認為這是關鍵問題。對於科技公司，尤其是新創企業，我們需要找到不同的模式。看看北方的香港，他們有針對生物醫藥的預商業化上市規則，歸於18A或18C規則，專門針對科技公司。
我們可以借鑑一些經驗，但他們面向更大市場。
新加坡有大量初創企業和科技創業，源自大學研究及科學技術研究局（A*STAR）和研究機構。私營部門也有許多人工智慧創新機會。問題是資金需求方與投資退出方之間存在鴻溝，雙方相互觀望，誰先行動？這正是所有科技創業企業需要預商業化階段資金的原因。
我建議彌合這一鴻溝。對於全球導向且領導力驅動的科技創業企業，我稱之為“黃金礦石”，我相信我們擁有許多這樣的礦石。我的博士研究創新，曾培訓多支大學創新團隊。如何將這些礦石煉成金條？我相信我們的交易所可以為規模約5000萬至1.5億美元的科技創業企業設立特別上市規則，給予它們特殊准入。
主席：梁國明先生。
彌合微型企業差距
嚴彥松先生（亞歷山大）：主席先生，微型和小型企業是我們社群的支柱。它們為國家提供經濟穩定，也為許多工人提供生計。然而，它們的經濟貢獻仍然不成比例。它們僱傭了45%的工人，但僅貢獻11%的名義增加值。這種生產力差距導致工資較低。這些企業有能力支付更高工資。
新加坡中小企業協會（ASME）觀察到，目前中小企業的分類過於寬泛。一個擁有10名員工、年收入100萬美元的微型企業，與擁有200名員工、年營業額1億美元的中型企業面臨的挑戰截然不同。將它們歸為一類，可能導致採用一刀切的解決方案，無法惠及最小的企業。
政府是否會採納ASME建議，在國家政策制定和資料收集中區分微型企業和中小企業？針對不同層級的運營實際量身定製補助和其他援助，將使政府支援更有效。ASME估計，該細分市場增加值提升10%，可帶來65億新元的年度國內生產總值（GDP）增長，相當於超過1%的增長。更多關注這些微型和小型企業，是提升許多新加坡人薪資的重要機遇。
家族企業與中小企業更新
謝炳輝先生（荷蘭-武吉知馬）：主席先生，我想談談中小企業轉型。中小企業僱傭了新加坡七成工人，是經濟支柱。支援轉型時，我們必須認識到許多中小企業是家族經營，面臨代際繼承和所有權轉移問題。這不僅是治理問題，更是經濟和文化問題。
業務轉型往往難以實質推進，除非所有權結構穩定。繼承不明或治理框架非正式時，難以投資數字化、擴張或戰略轉型。轉型需要明確的領導和所有權。
因此，我建議將繼承規劃和家族所有權轉移納入中小企業升級的核心組成部分。
文化差異也影響族裔家族企業的治理和決策方式。財政、貿易與工業政府議會委員會（GPC）與新加坡馬來商會（SMCCI）交流時，傳統企業分享了文化規範如何影響繼承和持續性。不同社群對繼承和專業化的看法不同，一刀切模式可能無效。企業新加坡可深化與華商總會（SCCCI）、SMCCI及印度商會（SICCI）等族裔商會的合作，支援更有針對性的方案。
企業新加坡還可擴大支援範圍，涵蓋家族所有權轉移，包括繼承規劃、治理重組和所有權轉讓的補助。新加坡管理大學商業家族研究所可與商會合作，制定定製繼承手冊。
隨著更多傳統中小企業進入代際交接階段，順利的所有權轉移對保護長期企業至關重要。將繼承支援納入中小企業轉型政策，可增強企業長期韌性，同時保留這些企業為新加坡帶來的文化和社會價值。
支援中小企業
李鴻昌先生（裕廊東-武吉巴督）：主席先生，約70%的新加坡勞動力，即約250萬人受僱於中小企業。中小企業是經濟支柱，這不是小數字。中小企業表現良好，新加坡人也會受益。如果不讓任何新加坡人掉隊，我認為也不應讓任何中小企業掉隊，而應讓它們領先。
過去幾天，關於支援不同群體個人的討論很多。這些分享和決策很重要，但許多新加坡人還在問根本問題：好工作在哪裡？如何獲得？
新加坡人想要機會，而非僅依賴政府救濟。他們不求魚，而求技能和環境，讓他們能自己捕魚。為此，中小企業必須興旺。我相信強大的企業創造好工作。公司成長，員工也成長。
多年來，推出了許多支援中小企業的計劃。今天的問題往往不是資源缺乏，而是獲取便利性。
許多中小企業主日常事務繁忙，無暇顧及多項計劃。行政支援較強的企業更易導航系統。較小企業，往往最需要幫助的，甚至不知從何入手。這不是不願意，而是能力和時間有限。
下一步或許是讓支援獲取更主動、更智慧。當中小企業登入政府門戶，無論是申請執照、補助還是融資，是否可以有整合的人工智慧助手，瞭解企業檔案，自動推薦相關計劃？利用安全登入資料，該系統可即時指導企業主，清晰列出下一步，簡化導航，確保沒有中小企業因時間或行政能力不足而被落下。
主席先生，我用一個簡單比喻。種子要長成健康強壯的樹，光照永遠不夠，還需肥沃土壤和穩定環境。在經濟中，企業是種子，新加坡商業環境是土壤。法治、金融穩定和開放貿易網路構成成長基礎。在此基礎上，機構各司其職。例如，經濟發展局（EDB）制定戰略方向，企業新加坡支援升級和能力建設，全國職工總會（NTUC）推動工作重塑和技能提升，使員工與企業共同成長。
問題不在於今天是否有支援，而在於是否協同運作。首先是執行。今年預算提供稅收回扣和擴充套件支援，及時到位，但企業關心流程是否清晰？時間表是否可預期？對許多中小企業而言，複雜性本身就是障礙。土壤穩定，企業才能紮根。路徑清晰，它們才能成長。
第二是實用的人工智慧應用。人工智慧必須帶來生產力提升，而非僅是承諾。企業關心結果，減少行政工作，提高響應速度，加強資料管理。我們的目標必須體現真實生產力提升，而非成本膨脹。
第三是機構間協調。當戰略投資引入新加坡時，本地企業是否同步獲得能力建設支援？企業升級系統時，工作重塑和技能提升能否同步推進？若政策更協調，企業花在導航計劃上的時間會減少，轉型時間會增加。
主席先生，企業升級和人工智慧應用關乎國家競爭力，不僅僅是中小企業的事。隨著區域加速轉型，新加坡必須確保中小企業積極參與，而非旁觀者。預算已定方向，我們的任務是保持土壤肥沃，讓企業這顆經濟種子穩健成長。請用中文發言。
（中文）：[請參閱方言發言。]中小企業是經濟基礎。企業如種子，環境如土壤。企業能發展，人民受益。政策關鍵在於確保支援專案和舉措真正紮根，協同運作，高效執行。
若用一句話形容，就是：“強企業以振興商業，振興商業以惠及人民。”即強化企業，振興商業，商業振興，人民受益。
強化企業生態系統
黃世軒先生（森巴旺）：主席先生，除了收入和財富差距，我想探討第三個差距——企業生態系統差距。強大的商業生態系統需要跨國公司投資和有韌性的中小企業基礎，兩者相輔相成。跨國公司成長帶來資本和技術，但我們的中小企業必須能同步成長，支援本地及區域發展。
如今，許多跨國公司被激勵大量投資人工智慧和機器人技術。雖然這強化了經濟，也加速了供應鏈的變革。以汽車維修廠為例，隨著電動車普及，無需更換機油，機械部件減少，維護週期延長。這改變了經常性收入模式，影響從維修廠到零件分銷商的後市場價值鏈。同時，新型電動車需要專有診斷軟體，獨立維修廠可能缺乏授權訪問或相容系統，形成技術和訪問障礙。
另一方面，許多維修廠尚未使用人工智慧工具進行診斷、庫存規劃或現金流管理。一端受限訪問，另一端數字化採納緩慢。這可能造成企業生態系統差距，大企業因技術和技能領先，而小企業難以跟上訪問、工具和能力。
縮小此差距的一個實際方法是為中小企業提供為期一年的企業人工智慧工具訂閱，類似我在財政部靜默預算建議中提出的做法。這降低採納門檻，讓企業主能試用、學習並將人工智慧融入日常運營，再決定長期投入。
在推進人工智慧和先進產業時，我們必須確保中小企業具備適應能力，與我們轉型的產業同步發展。
支援中小企業成長與繁榮
黃麗萍女士（惹蘭勿剎選區）：主席，關於幫助我們的中小企業成長和繁榮。新加坡的計劃並不缺乏。我們有諮詢支援，比如技術長即服務（CTO-as-a-Service）；中介機構如新加坡工商聯合會、中小企業中心和新加坡機械工程師學會（ASME）；平臺如GoBusiness；生產力解決方案補助金和企業發展補助金，甚至還有人工智慧卓越中心。
從紙面上看，生態系統看起來很全面。中小企業可以按數字成熟度和行業進行細分。他們可以獲得人力資源、市場營銷、財務和運營方面的建議。然而，結果仍然不均衡。許多中小企業仍在掙扎，不僅是轉型，更是為了維持生存。
從行業對話中，出現了三個結構性挑戰。
第一，頻寬。業主被租金、人力、合規和現金流問題所困擾。轉型需要時間和專注。許多人根本沒有那個心力空間。
第二，能力深度。診斷可以識別差距，但實施需要能夠重新設計工作流程、整合系統、管理變革和衡量回報的管理者。許多中小企業缺乏這種內部執行能力。
第三，某些行業的結構性脆弱性。尤其是在餐飲業，利潤微薄且波動大。進入門檻仍然相對較低，但關閉率很高。許多人進入時沒有充分認識到勞動強度、租金波動和利潤緊張。即使有補助，脆弱的成本基礎也使轉型令人望而生畏。
先生，另一種觀點是：並非所有中小企業都能以相同速度轉型。有些願意但缺乏能力，有些有能力但受結構限制，有些可能尚未準備好。
在資源有限的環境下，我們是否應更有意識地優先支援那些願意且能夠，或潛在能夠，實現規模化、創新和顯著提升生產力的中小企業？我們能否制定更明確的準備度指標，使支援更有紀律性和催化作用？同時，我們如何避免拋棄那些需要能力建設才能獲得更深層次轉型支援的企業？
我們已經建立了平臺，提供了補助金，並建立了細分工具。然而，實施差距依然存在。
所以，我想問：我們是否需要更精確的行業細分，不僅按規模或數字成熟度，還按結構條件？我們是否在建設內部執行能力和提升為中小企業提供諮詢的中介機構能力方面投入足夠？我們能否引入措施，釋放領導層頻寬以進行戰略升級？我們是否正面對餐飲等行業的結構性脆弱性，使新進入者能更現實地評估其可行性？最重要的是，我們如何幫助中小企業超越數字採用，實現持續、可衡量的生產力增長，尤其是那些有意願和潛力競爭的企業？
在人工智慧時代，生存和表面採用是不夠的。轉型必須是真實的。那麼，政府將如何幫助彌合這一實施差距，使我們的中小企業真正繁榮？
支援本地中小企業
陳沛玲女士（海洋公園-布萊德爾高地選區）：主席，新加坡中小企業面臨獨特挑戰，除了日常運營限制和轉型壓力外，他們必須國際化，因為我們的國內市場有限。
租金和人力是他們最大的成本組成部分之一。合規負擔也是一個關注點，我上週在財政部預算削減中提到了這一點。
除了普遍的勞動力短缺外，企業越來越需要具備數字技能的人才，能夠部署人工智慧以提高生產力、自動化常規任務和擴大運營規模。他們還需要連貫的企業級人工智慧戰略和快速轉型，以在人工智慧時代保持競爭力。因此，2026年預算中的措施值得歡迎。
我對這一點只有一個問題。借鑑過去管理補助和抵稅經驗，政府將如何確保財政支援和稅收扣除資格標準精準定位，使資金有效使用，產生預期影響？用中文說，就是“錢用在刀口上”。
關於租金，有猜測稱外國資本流入推高了商業租金，擠壓了本地經營者。值得注意的是，根據2026年1月副總理顏金勇在議會的答覆，中國是新加坡零售業第二大業主。儘管中國業主僅佔零售業的3%，但被取代的感知不可忽視，這可能影響社群情緒和我們獨特的新加坡“個性”。
貿工部將採取哪些措施確保本地中小企業繼續成為新加坡的支柱？部委能否考慮有針對性的措施，如租金減免計劃、為傳統和社群零售商提供租賃支援、激勵房東優先考慮本地租戶，或建立共投資平臺，幫助本地企業獲得長期場所？
最後，中小企業需要幫助管理成本上升並拓展海外市場。貿工部是否會擴大計劃，幫助這些中小企業進一步最佳化成本，如集團採購、節能補助、共享服務、市場準入和貿易便利化？
國際貿易
阿扎爾·奧斯曼先生（提名議員）：主席，我宣告我是Enercon Asia的執行董事長，該公司在七個國家有業務。
鑑於美國對包括新加坡在內的多個國家徵收關稅，貿工部必須探索與其他國家的潛在合作伙伴關係，並發展更多自由貿易協定（FTA）。
多元化我們的商業關係的重要性不容忽視。部委應指導哪些國家為我們的企業建立聯絡和存在提供有價值的機會。作為一個小國，新加坡必須尋求全球協助和機會，以在當前經濟環境中繁榮。
成為網路經濟
賴偉德先生（宏茂橋選區）：主席，首先宣告本人是投資公司的執行長，併為在新加坡及其他地區投資的公司提供諮詢。
在預算辯論中，我談到了信任作為新加坡在分裂世界中的競爭優勢。我們需要擴大經濟空間，從國內生產總值（GDP）思維轉向國民生產總值（GNP）思維，與城市、其腹地及與我們理念一致的人們建立網路。今天，我提出四個實際方法，推動向網路經濟轉變。
第一，衡量邊界之外創造的經濟價值。幾十年來，我們只衡量新加坡境內的GDP活動。
但多年來，越來越多的新加坡人和企業在海外運營並創造價值。我們應衡量他們的海外活動及其增值，以反映我們實際的經濟網路實力。我建議貿工部開發GNP指標，追蹤新加坡及新加坡人在海外創造的全球價值。
第二，鼓勵新加坡企業在海外“組團狩獵”。一個好的起點是柔佛-新加坡特別經濟區（SEZ）。我們應將SEZ視為額外的“肺”，讓我們的中小企業得以成長和繁榮。
如何實現？我提出四點建議。
建議一——將新加坡定位為通往SEZ的可信賴門戶。讓我們積極推廣柔佛-新加坡SEZ。正如我在外交部預算委員會發言中所述，外交政策可以支援我們擴大經濟空間的經濟努力，成為網路經濟。我們需要與馬來西亞同行更緊密合作。這可以加深相互依賴，創造更強的互利聯絡。
鑑於過去經驗，這需要調整相互信任。但從任何外資投資者的角度看，戰略方向明確。柔佛和新加坡可以發揮協同作用。新加坡作為依賴信任的核心，負責總部治理、財務、智慧財產權、資料、合規和法律，而柔佛腹地提供可擴充套件的經濟空間。我們在新加坡捕獲信任溢價，同時解鎖緊鄰的成本和空間限制，形成一體化運營模式。
所以，我的問題是，貿工部如何指導經濟發展局（EDB）、Enterprise Singapore及其他經濟機構，與外交部協調，包裝和推廣雙邊部署方案，讓外資投資者通過新加坡這一可信門戶進入，並部署到柔佛-新加坡SEZ？
第二個建議——如何組織即插即用的中小企業生態系統？新加坡引入SEZ的投資應成為本地中小企業的商機。為此，我們可以構建SEZ供應商計劃，例如識別外資投資者、輸入需求和標準。我們預先篩選符合標準的中小企業，最終將它們匹配給這些投資者。
建議三——開發行業投資套餐。可在製造業、物流、數字和資料服務、食品生產和輔導等戰略產業中確定，這些業務可利用柔佛的優勢和新加坡的互補性。每個套餐可包括共享基礎設施選項、監管手冊、人才和專業服務支援及新加坡中小企業供應商目錄。
建議四——釋出柔佛-新加坡SEZ成果記分卡。貿工部可追蹤成果，如跨新加坡和SEZ的雙邊部署數量（按行業劃分）、成功匹配新加坡中小企業與外資投資者的數量，以及利用柔佛和新加坡互補性帶來的中小企業收入增量。
繼續第三個轉變，為新加坡人創造海外優質就業機會。主席，有些年輕和中年新加坡人可能不瞭解區域機會，或無法評估海外工作的風險。因此，我建議考慮：一、為新加坡人策劃從入門到高階的海外職位。二、為企業提供激勵，促進員工區域輪崗，使其成為職業發展的一部分。
三、為回國的新加坡人提供支援和靈活的托兒或教育途徑。第四個轉變：作為網路經濟，發展人工智慧（AI）作為我們的可信基礎設施。新加坡的優勢不在於採用AI，而在於成為部署AI最可信的地方。
中午12點45分
例如，區域港口獨立採用AI。但誰制定互操作標準？誰提供可信平臺，讓競爭港口共享資料以最佳化網路？
在跨境金融中，每個金融機構都在構建自己的AI基礎設施。但誰能提供協調層，使這些工具協同工作，實現資本高效流動？新加坡可以。如何實現？通過開發和領導有效的AI治理和安全資料交換框架。在分裂的世界中，可信協調者變得無價。
最後，主席，貿工部、外交部、人力部及我們的經濟機構表現出色。然而，展望未來，在這個日益分裂的世界中，我們需要改變看待經濟增長的方式。
我提出了四個轉變：從衡量國內到追蹤全球價值；從個體擴張到生態系統；從本地勞動力到海外勞動力；最後，AI作為可信基礎設施。通過這些，我們成為網路經濟。
新加坡的經濟區域化
陳艾麗莎女士（碧山-大巴窯選區）：主席，過去30年，許多跨國公司將亞太總部設在新加坡，使我們成為東南亞國家聯盟（ASEAN）的門戶。在全球環境動盪的情況下，經濟聯絡比以往任何時候都更重要。與東盟的區域合作，包括柔佛-新加坡SEZ等舉措，為各方釋放了競爭和戰略優勢。
在我的預算演講中，我提到五分之四的新加坡中小企業計劃海外擴張。然而，只有3.1%的本地勞動力曾全職在海外工作至少六個月。許多企業和員工缺乏在新加坡以外運營的經驗，這可能阻礙區域擴張。
企業發展補助金等計劃幫助分擔海外設立業務的成本。貿工部是否考慮加強此類支援，提供更順暢、低風險的進入外國市場途徑？在人力方面，貿工部是否會擴大全球準備人才計劃，或探索補助以共同承擔新加坡人在東盟內部遷移的費用？
如果沒有，貿工部能否分享如何在三方面建設能力：第一，提高國際企業任命新加坡人擔任區域職位的準備度；第二，加強企業領導者在多元市場運營的能力；第三，鼓勵新加坡人遷移以抓住區域機會？
如果新加坡要繼續作為東盟門戶，我們不僅要承載區域總部，還必須培養一代準備好走出國門領導的本地人才。
風險校準的全球擴張
李馬克先生（提名議員）：主席，在資源緊張的新加坡，單靠國內規模無法維持企業增長。對新加坡企業而言，國際化是長期競爭力和韌性的關鍵。
剛過去的週末中東衝突反映地緣政治條件變化之快。能源市場反應，保險費調整，航運路線重新評估，支付和合規風險增加。在這種環境下，不確定性可能導致企業猶豫。
貿工部將如何持續傳遞強烈且一致的資訊，儘管地緣政治風險加劇，新加坡企業必須堅持國際化，政府將支援他們？
同時，我們必須認識到國際化風險並不均一，因市場而異。東南亞、中東、非洲和拉美部分地區政治、監管和應收賬款風險較高。營運資金週期更長，支付紀律也更難預測。貿工部能否考慮不僅按企業規模，還按市場風險特徵區分國際化支援，在高風險走廊提供增強的營運資金擔保、政治風險保障或擴充套件風險分擔機制？
其次，許多海外專案規模大、複雜，單箇中小企業難以承接。採購框架偏好規模、業績和綜合能力。鼓勵聯合體投標，讓互補的新加坡企業聯合能力、分擔風險，競爭單獨無法獲得的專案。現有計劃能否更明確支援聯合體國際投標，包括共享融資和協調市場進入？
最後，隨著東北亞和歐洲企業越來越將新加坡視為進入東南亞的門戶，我們的生態系統必須深化區域流暢度——監管專業知識、多語種諮詢能力和通過貿易協會及商會建立的強大市場合作夥伴關係。我們必須加強不僅是融資支援，還有市場情報、走廊專業知識和市場執行平臺。
在更不確定的世界中，答案不是撤退，而是有風險校準的擴張，依靠可信的風險分擔和自信的生態系統——
主席：高建民副教授。
變化世界中的創業精神
高建民副教授（提名議員）：謝謝主席。2026年預算將人工智慧與量子技術、先進製造和太空等戰略能力並列，視為新加坡在變化世界中繁榮的關鍵。方向明確——升級企業，重塑勞動力，打造新增長引擎。
這是正確方向。但沒有我們的創業者，轉型不會完全實現。
技術變革不僅升級現有企業，還創造新市場。人工智慧降低創業門檻。先進製造和深科技開闢新價值鏈。在我們構建企業能力的同時，也必須讓更多新加坡人在這些新興領域建立新企業。
我提出三個方面。
第一，降低創業參與風險。約半數新企業五年內倒閉，不到1%成為獨角獸。看到這些資料，人們本能反應是“太冒險了，不想嘗試”。
但如果願意嘗試的人太少，經濟受損，創新放緩，新增長引擎難以出現。為彌合這一差距，我們必須減少創業帶來永久職業懲罰的認知。創業應被正常化為職業旅程中的一步，而非成敗終點。它應被視為終身學習的一部分——一個實驗、技能發展和價值創造的階段。
請問部委，除了資本激勵外，我們如何加強路徑，讓新加坡人——從應屆畢業生到中年專業人士——能夠創業並無汙名或結構性劣勢地重返就業？畢竟研究顯示，高增長企業創始人平均年齡在40歲出頭。經驗和人脈尤為重要，尤其在複雜行業。像我們這樣的小國，不能承受因暫時挫折而永久失去人才。
第二，我們可以將國家使命轉化為初創企業的增長。隨著行業使命在人工智慧、製造業、連線性和醫療保健領域釋放機遇，我們如何確保新加坡本地的初創企業能夠有意義地融入這些平臺？是否可以加強採購路徑、試點專案和結構化合作夥伴關係，使由新加坡本地創始人領導的初創企業能夠驗證並擴大規模？在量子和太空等前沿領域，跨機構的沙盒模式能否支援實驗和共同學習，同時加速部署？
如果我們做對了，國家使命不僅能促進企業升級，還能催化本地風險投資的增長。
第三，我們需要錨定長期價值。在這裡發展新企業是一回事，確保它們在全球擴張時仍然紮根新加坡則是另一回事。如果戰略決策、智慧財產權和領導職能為了資本和客戶而遷移到其他地方，我們就有可能失去控制權、資本形成和生態系統溢位的收益。
擴大Startup SG Equity基金和股權市場發展計劃（EQDP）都是重要步驟，但我的問題是，隨著越來越多的新加坡公司在全球擴張，我們如何確保領導力、智慧財產權所有權和價值創造仍然紮根於此，以便——
主席：黃世軒先生。
初創企業與增長
黃世軒先生：主席，我想談三點：資金、創始人和人才，針對我們的初創企業。
隨著對Startup SG Equity基金額外注入10億新元，我想問貿易及工業部（MTI）我們具體想彌補什麼缺口？目前的瓶頸是早期成立階段，還是處於產品市場匹配但難以區域擴張的成長階段？是後期資本短缺，還是深科技和工業解決方案等領域缺乏行業深度？
我希望能清楚瞭解MTI如何診斷這一缺口，以及資金將如何部署？我們是否在吸引經驗豐富的區域和全球成長基金？是否與能夠幫助企業超越新加坡擴張的運營者共同投資？我們也應避免將公共資金集中在同一小批初創企業中。共同投資應擴大參與度，深化行業能力，引入新創始人和新市場。
除了資金，我想了解Startup SG Founder計劃。我聽說其中一位創始人必須是首次創業者才能獲得該計劃支援。但我們知道初創企業失敗的原因多種多樣。為了支援和鼓勵創業精神，我想了解是否可以審視這一標準？
關於人才，聘請全職首席人工智慧官對早期企業來說成本較高。這與技術長（CTO）諮詢計劃不同。CTO負責產品構建，首席人工智慧官則負責塑造資料戰略、模型開發和組織內負責任的人工智慧使用。我們是否可以探索首席人工智慧官服務模式，讓經驗豐富的人工智慧領導者支援多家初創企業，使它們能夠正確部署人工智慧並自信地擴充套件？
資金、人才和創始人幫助企業成長。
主席：副總理顏金勇。
副總理兼貿易及工業部長（顏金勇先生）：主席，感謝所有在貿易及工業部預算辯論中發言的議員。
去年，新加坡經濟增長了5%，在全球環境充滿挑戰的情況下表現優於預期。與此同時，我們必須清醒認識，新加坡正進入經濟旅程的新階段。促使新加坡數十年繁榮的規則已發生根本變化。我們面臨更復雜的全球環境，表現為大國競爭加劇、保護主義上升和全球秩序更加分裂。
美國最高法院推翻了去年實施的互惠關稅，美國政府隨後以新的第122條款關稅取代，稅率為10%，期限最長150天。特朗普總統也宣佈計劃將其提高至15%。具體細節尚未公佈，關稅未來如何演變仍存在相當不確定性。
我們正與新加坡經濟韌性工作組（SERT）三方成員合作，向企業和工人提供資訊並收集反饋，幫助他們應對這些不確定性。
這些發展體現了我們必須應對的不可預測和不確定的全球貿易環境。事情還不止於此。週末，中東衝突升級，美國和以色列對伊朗發動攻擊，伊朗則反擊以色列和美國在該地區的基地。霍爾木茲海峽——原油和液化天然氣（LNG）的重要航運通道——已被關閉。
短期內，這可能導致全球能源價格上漲。根據衝突持續時間的長短，能源價格上漲可能推高企業和消費者成本，影響全球及新加坡經濟。我們正密切關注事態發展，必要時將重新評估國內生產總值和通脹預測。
重大結構性力量也在重塑產業、企業和就業。
人工智慧和自動化正在改變價值創造方式和工作組織方式。全球推動脫碳也在改變工業流程，影響投資模式並影響相對競爭力。
結合我上週提到的人口限制，維持增長和創造優質就業將更加困難。然而，即使在更艱難的環境中，新加坡作為一個值得信賴、知識驅動和互聯的樞紐，仍有良好機遇。
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這就是政府設立經濟戰略審查（ESR）的原因，目的是認真、誠實地審視新加坡必須如何重置經濟戰略。我們必須更加努力和聰明，富有創造力並承擔經過計算的風險，探索大膽方案，以實現未來十年平均每年2%至3%的國內生產總值趨勢增長上限，並創造優質就業。
讓我大致概述五大戰略重點，貿易及工業部的同事稍後會詳細說明。首先，我們將確立並深化在關鍵增長行業的領導地位，同時推動新增長領域的前沿。隨著經濟成熟，增長和優質就業不再僅靠規模實現。增長必須越來越依賴深度——通過確立和深化新加坡已有堅實基礎的行業的全球領導地位。
Saktiandi Supaat先生詢問了我們對先進製造業、基於信任的服務和前沿行業的計劃。新加坡已是先進製造業的全球節點，如半導體、醫療產品、特種化學品和航空航天，這些行業對經濟貢獻顯著並提供優質就業。
我們希望鞏固並擴大在這些行業的領導地位——將加大對人工智慧、自動化和數字技術的投資，提高生產力，改善質量和可靠性，增強靈活性和韌性。隨著工廠變得更加自動化和資料驅動，對自動化和機器人工程師、流程工程師、資料專家和高階裝置技術員等高薪技能崗位的需求將增長。
我們還將集中研發資源，提升技術優勢，縮短創新週期，幫助企業更快地將創意從實驗室推向工廠車間和市場。同時，我們將加快採用低碳和資源高效技術，確保產業在全球向低碳未來轉型中保持競爭力。通過強化這些優勢，我們將打造深厚且具競爭力的生態系統，錨定高價值活動，支援新加坡人獲得優質技能崗位。
除了製造業，我們還將擴大在現代服務業的領先地位。在這個動盪不安的世界中，信任成為最受追捧的資產。我們的信任溢價使我們成為全球金融、資本和智慧財產權的樞紐。我們將以此為基礎，發展新加坡成為基於信任的服務全球中心，如風險諮詢、網路安全、人工智慧保障及測試、檢驗和認證。這將為現代服務業創造新機遇。
在深化先進製造業和現代服務業的既有優勢的同時，我們還必須推動新增長領域的前沿，如量子技術、脫碳技術和太空相關產業。隨著這些產業的發展，將為新加坡人開闢新的職業機會。
綜合來看，這些舉措將深化我們在先進製造業和現代服務業的優勢，同時創造新的增長引擎，拓展新加坡的增長前沿，保障新加坡人獲得高質量就業。
第二，我們必須維持一個充滿活力的企業生態系統，涵蓋跨國公司、高成長企業和充滿活力的初創社群。領先的跨國公司，無論本地還是外資，仍將是我們經濟的核心支柱。它們帶來規模、先進技術、全球網路和高質量就業。我們將繼續與跨國公司合作，錨定高價值活動，包括研發、先進製造、區域及全球總部職能和戰略角色。
同時，下一階段的增長將越來越多來自新一代新興企業——成長階段的公司，尚未成為領先跨國公司，但已展現潛力和雄心，成為未來行業領導者。
我們必須準備承擔一定風險，支援這些有前景的企業，為它們提供可信賴的運營基地，並助力其拓展國際市場。比如Workato，這是一家企業軟體公司，幫助企業自動化工作流程並整合運營系統。過去五年，Workato亞太區收入增長了10倍，客戶遍及製造、金融服務和醫療保健等多個行業，超過12,000家公司。
新加坡可以作為Workato全球擴張的戰略基地，錨定產品開發、人工智慧創新和區域領導力，同時為新加坡人創造高價值機會，強化人才管道。
我贊同何建成副教授的觀點，早期錨定並與像Workato這樣的公司合作非常重要，因為這能讓我們塑造戰略總部決策、核心能力建設和長期價值創造的地點。隨著這些公司從新加坡成長，它們將在研發、產品管理、市場營銷和業務發展等領域創造新崗位。
經濟發展局將加大力度識別並錨定此類公司，與領先的風險投資和私募股權合作伙伴緊密合作。我們將提供定製化、端到端支援，如市場準入協助、監管便利和現成設施，幫助這些公司在新加坡紮根並擴大影響。
做好這些工作，將使我們捕獲長期經濟價值，強化領先企業管道，鞏固新加坡作為全球領先企業可信賴基地的地位。我們不僅是落腳點，更是潛在全球公司的起飛點。
與此同時，我們將繼續保持初創社群的活力，培育敢於夢想和冒險的創業文化。國務部長陳振聲將分享更多關於我們初創企業的計劃。通過維持充滿活力的企業生態系統，我們將鞏固新加坡作為全球商業可信賴且互聯基地的地位，確保經濟保持創新和增長的前沿。
為了讓企業提升生產力、升級能力並加速創新，人工智慧是關鍵推動力。因此，我們的第三大戰略重點是確立新加坡作為人工智慧領導者及人工智慧賦能經濟。我們希望賦能企業端到端利用人工智慧，重新設計業務流程，將人工智慧嵌入核心運營，開發專有應用，轉變工作流程，升級崗位和技能。
迄今為止，我們已支援60多家公司建立人工智慧卓越中心。這些是專注於開發和部署人工智慧解決方案的內部團隊。我們將進一步推進，計劃今年晚些時候啟動“人工智慧冠軍”計劃。該計劃將針對一批有志將人工智慧作為生產力、創新和增長核心驅動力的新加坡公司。我們將與這些公司合作，通過將人工智慧嵌入核心運營、組織流程和勞動力實踐，推動業務轉型。
這包括領導力和員工培訓，以及支援開發和執行具有明確可衡量商業影響的人工智慧轉型專案。這些公司還將投資於員工再培訓和技能提升，使員工能夠承擔高價值的人工智慧賦能崗位。
以星展銀行為例。人工智慧已貫穿銀行運營，從客戶互動到風險管理和運營效率。例如，通過個性化的人工智慧驅動提示，星展引導零售客戶做出更好的投資和理財決策。這些客戶的儲蓄是未接受提示客戶的兩倍，投資額是五倍，保險覆蓋率近三倍。
在風險管理方面，人工智慧每天分析數百萬筆交易，即時檢測異常模式並攔截可疑活動，更好地保護客戶。星展還在機構銀行業務中部署人工智慧，將貿易檔案處理時間縮短60%。這幫助企業更快、更確定地完成跨境交易。
星展為其4萬名員工提供人工智慧基礎知識和實踐培訓，並將員工重新培訓為因人工智慧整合而產生的新崗位，例如從客戶服務人員轉為人工智慧代理監控經理和生成式人工智慧評估員。人工智慧還為部分員工開闢了新職業路徑，例如從客戶服務轉向客戶關係管理。
星展的實踐展示了企業如何部署人工智慧提升商業價值，同時強化勞動力。2025年，星展報告其資料分析、人工智慧和機器學習專案創造的經濟價值創紀錄，約達10億新元。人工智慧冠軍是先行者。我們將從他們的經驗中學習，指明前進方向，增強其他企業加速和深化人工智慧應用的信心。
我們還希望在人工智慧的開發、測試、部署和規模化方面成為領導者。我們將通過人工智慧使命推動行業層面的轉型，首先聚焦先進製造、連線性、金融和醫療保健——新加坡已有堅實基礎的行業。
針對每個使命，我們將與行業合作，明確人工智慧可驅動突破性轉型的具體行業問題。圍繞每個使命，我們將構建全棧生態系統，包括資料集、計算資源、監管沙盒和解決方案提供商。這將縮短從開發到部署、從測試到規模化的路徑。
這些使命將帶來新技能需求，形成以新加坡為錨點的專業叢集。人工智慧使命將作為號召旗幟，吸引專注於實際應用的全球人工智慧人才和公司，動員政府和行業的全國力量，集中投資和支援，實現更大影響。
我們還將建立人工智慧園區，作為人才、問題所有者、研究人員和資源匯聚的焦點，創造協同效應，培育深厚生態系統。我們已有Lorong AI；現在還將打造整個“一北”人工智慧村——“Kampong AI”。“Kampong AI”將加速協作，成為人工智慧卓越中心的引力點。
這些舉措——“人工智慧冠軍”、人工智慧使命和“Kampong AI”——將使新加坡成為人工智慧解決方案的構建、驗證和規模化之地，賦能全經濟體企業，確立關鍵行業的人工智慧領導地位。
即使經濟增長，我們的競爭力不僅取決於創新，還取決於企業適應、重新定位和轉型的能力。企業將越來越需要重新審視運營方式。曾經有效的商業模式可能在當前和未來環境下不再可行。企業可能需要採取不同路徑，轉型商業模式，重組運營，必要時縮減甚至退出特定產品、服務或業務部分。
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因此，我們的下一大戰略重點是支援企業積極、自信地應對這些轉型。這些調整是經濟更新的正常且必要部分，但我們認識到過程可能困難、充滿挑戰，有時甚至痛苦。
我們將與行業協會和商會、企業以及勞工運動緊密合作，支援企業在轉型過程中，幫助他們及早評估選擇，負責任地重組，追求新的增長機會，包括開拓海外市場，並以增強長期競爭力和支援員工過渡的方式管理變革。
我同意羅尚先生的看法，鑑於我們國內經濟規模較小，許多增長機會存在於新加坡以外的地區。我們希望幫助我們的公司不僅出口產品和服務，還能在國際上擴充套件和投資。這將使他們能夠從全球經濟增長中受益，同時將價值、能力和領導職能錨定在新加坡。
我們將加大對領先企業開展重大海外專案的支援，這些專案可能涉及更高的風險和資本支出，尤其是在發展中和新興市場，但能使它們在關鍵市場和價值鏈中獲得真正且持久的立足點。除了從海外增長收入和利潤外，這些企業還將通過提供更好的就業機會、增強對本地能力的需求以及更深度地融入全球增長機會，為新加坡帶來價值。
我同意陳艾麗莎女士和賴維克多先生關於支援和準備我們的創業者及員工開展國際化的重要性。人力部將分享更多相關內容。
我們還將維護並擴大我們的國際經濟空間。國務部長顏曉芳女士將詳細介紹我們深化和多元化與貿易伙伴經濟聯絡的計劃。
主席先生，全球環境將持續不確定。前路不會輕鬆。但新加坡迄今的成功不是等待確定性，而是通過長期規劃、及早行動和果斷前進實現的。
《經濟轉型路線圖》概述了我們未來的戰略。我們的五大戰略重點建立在我們的優勢之上，擁抱新機遇，利用科技，保持新加坡的開放與連線，並在變革的每一步支援我們的人民。
我們將確保增長轉化為新加坡人的優質就業。最重要的是，我們的戰略是給予員工適應變化的信心，賦予企業競爭能力，讓每位新加坡人分享我們的進步並擁有未來的利益。如果我們繼續團結一致，保持靈活敏捷，並持續投資於人才，新加坡不僅能應對變革——我們將引領變革。[掌聲]
主席：黃世軒先生。
電池作為推動力
黃世軒先生：主席，我宣告本人作為本地製造、組裝和分銷電池的企業主的利益。但我今天發言不僅談論電池作為產品，更作為經濟增長的推動力。
新加坡可能不會大規模製造電池晶片，但這並非我們的競爭優勢所在。我們的優勢和高價值環節包括系統設計、整合、電池管理軟體、安全工程、測試、合規及專案管理。這些領域是我們新加坡本地企業能夠競爭並實現差異化的。
如今，許多本地企業已與高等院校和研究機構合作提升技術能力，同時利用區域製造生產具競爭力的解決方案。通過正確的定位和合作夥伴關係，我們可以服務東南亞及更廣泛地區。
行業平臺如新加坡電池聯盟在匯聚不同參與者方面發揮了積極作用。據我瞭解，國家研究基金會（NRF）對該聯盟的資助將於3月31日結束。請問是否會繼續支援該平臺，且其範圍是否能從研究合作擴充套件至商業化支援和市場準入？
先生，我還想提出一個影響部分企業的實際貿易問題。有少數公司反映，雖然他們在新加坡開展了大量工作，包括系統整合、電池管理軟體、安全工程及合規，但這些增值可能未能在貿易統計中充分體現。希望貿工部能審視我們的框架是否充分認可現代系統整合和軟體驅動的增值，尤其是在能源儲存等領域。
電池支援太陽能部署、為資料中心供電、電動車隊提供動力並增強電網韌性。藉助適當的政策支援，新加坡可以在這一增長領域捕獲有意義的價值。
新加坡能源戰略
陳佩玲女士：主席，保障能源安全即保障我們的命運。除了滿足新加坡的基本需求，隨著數字化和人工智慧的加速，我們的能源需求將持續增長。
新加坡的能源戰略始終受三大結構性現實影響：我們沒有自然資源，面臨土地限制，且幾乎完全依賴進口能源。這些限制迫使我們不斷平衡能源三難困境——安全、可持續和可負擔。
目前，天然氣約供應我們95%的電力。它仍是我們最可行的過渡燃料，既可靠又相對低排放。我們已通過管道氣和液化天然氣進口實現供應多元化，並投資關鍵基礎設施，如液化天然氣終端。
同時，我們加快脫碳步伐。我歡迎繼續努力最大化屋頂和水庫的太陽能部署，試點區域電力進口（東盟電網倡議）並研究氫能作為潛在長期選項。這些都是必要步驟。
然而，面對日益加劇的地緣政治不確定性、供應鏈分裂和氣候壓力，我們的戰略必須持續演進。以以色列、美國和伊朗最新衝突為例，霍爾木茲海峽等關鍵航運路線的中斷可能導致能源價格飆升。
因此，我向部委提出幾個問題。
首先，關於能源安全。隨著區域電力進口加深，貿工部如何評估地緣政治集中度和供應風險？有哪些計劃多元化能源來源並在長期進口戰略中建立冗餘？
第二，支援國家人工智慧推動。隨著計算能力和資料中心需求上升，貿工部如何與本地及國際夥伴合作，確保充足、可持續的電力供應，同時推動節能數字基礎設施？
第三，關於氫能。氫能在低碳電力及難以減排行業（如海運和石化）中前景廣闊，但成本和供應鏈仍具挑戰。部委何時評估氫能在新加坡實現規模商業化？我們如何及早佈局，塑造而非跟隨區域氫能供應鏈？對企業和初創公司有哪些支援以深化研發和商業化氫能技術？
第四，碳定價與競爭力。新加坡碳稅預計將上調以推動脫碳。貿工部如何平衡貿易暴露行業的競爭力與可信碳定價需求？是否有計劃深化國際碳市場聯通或採取其他措施管理國內成本壓力？
第五，對新加坡人和企業的影響。部委如何確保家庭和企業在轉型期間持續獲得可靠且負擔得起的能源？
當今能源政策不僅關乎供電，更關乎在分裂世界中的韌性和低碳經濟中的競爭力。
加強能源韌性
謝炳輝先生：主席，我發言聚焦電力，因為在當今人工智慧驅動的經濟中，能源是戰略能力。簡單來說，沒有電力就無法運轉。
本月初，我曾詢問隨著可再生能源部署增加和電氣化加速，新加坡的能源韌性和電網穩定性如何保障。我們正同時推進脫碳和數字化，電力系統必須支援兩者，且不影響可靠性和可負擔性。
首先，關於脫碳。全球能源價格波動劇烈。我們如何在價格波動中保持新加坡向低碳電力轉型的可信度？投資者需要確定性，但承諾購電安排可能導致成本高於市場價。如何平衡投資確定性與可負擔性？明確的政策訊號對持續吸引私人資本至關重要。
第二，關於電網穩定。電力需求結構性上升。人工智慧資料中心、量子計算、半導體制造、先進製造和交通電氣化將顯著增加用電量，同時進口和間歇效能源如太陽能豐富供應。
供需兩端均存在間歇性。電動交通和快充設施將產生集中需求峰值。我們在電網加固、儲能和系統平衡方面有哪些投資，確保可靠性不受影響？對資料中心和半導體等行業，能源可靠性是不可妥協的。
第三，關於定價和激勵。電價未必反映供應波動。更動態的定價是否能更好地將需求與可再生能源峰值對齊？基於時間差異的電網排放因子可激勵負荷轉移，減輕壓力並支援脫碳。監管框架也應繼續支援私人投資可再生能源和儲能。
主席先生，能源韌性、可負擔性和脫碳是國家競爭力的基石。隨著新加坡成為人工智慧和先進製造中心，我們的電力系統必須保持穩定、前瞻且符合氣候目標，因為能源安全是經濟安全的基礎。
主席：陳振聲部長。
人力部長（陳振聲博士）：主席，正如副總理所強調，促使新加坡繁榮的規則已發生根本變化。技術，尤其是人工智慧，正在迅速顛覆產業。氣候變化持續加劇，其影響正在改變我們的生活方式。那麼，我們如何在這些挑戰中抓住機遇？
我們將利用科學技術，在關鍵增長領域建立領導地位，推動新增長領域的前沿。我們還將努力將新加坡打造為人工智慧領導者，轉型我們的先進製造業。支撐這些努力的核心是能源，必須是可持續、安全、可靠且負擔得起的。
為鞏固我們在先進製造業的領先地位，我們將繼續將國家級研發資源投入關鍵增長領域。
我們的2025年研究、創新與企業（RIE）投資提升了經濟的研發能力和容量，並創造了優質就業。2023年製造業私營部門研發支出達43億新元，比2016年增長54%。2016至2023年間，產業研發崗位增長36%，超過3萬個崗位，其中70%以上由本地人擔任。
半導體是關鍵增長領域之一。通過過去的RIE投資，我們建立了強大的研發能力，過去四年吸引了半導體企業超過300億新元的投資。我們將再投資8億新元設立半導體RIE旗艦專案，聚焦高影響力技術領域，如先進封裝和先進光子學，提升晶片效能同時降低功耗。
該旗艦專案將把研究轉化為產品，鼓勵更多先進研發和製造活動，在新加坡創造優質就業。
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旗艦專案還將整合國家半導體轉化與創新中心（NSTIC）的工作。自RIE2025啟動以來，NSTIC已取得多項突破，包括高速資料傳輸和金屬透鏡製造，吸引了10多家產業夥伴，建立了強大的商業化管線。
去年，副總理宣佈投資NSTIC（研發晶圓廠），這是我們的半導體研發製造設施，預計2027年開始運營，企業對其協作空間表現出濃厚興趣。
我們還將投資6000萬新元於NSTIC（功率電子），提升新加坡在下一代功率電子領域的競爭力。目標是在一年內將碳化矽技術的載流子遷移率翻倍，推動更小型但更高效的電力系統開發，應用包括延長電動車續航里程。
另一個關鍵增長領域是生物醫藥，儘管波動性較大，但依然穩健。為促進行業增長，我們在2024年宣佈了兩個研發轉化平臺，即核酸治療倡議（NATi）和醫療技術催化器。這些平臺吸引全球合作伙伴，提升本地企業，培訓人才，錨定高價值研發活動和崗位於新加坡。
例如，醫療技術催化器正與本地初創企業Vivo Surgical合作，開發其驗證原型以準備臨床研究，並將該公司納入其風險加速計劃。
鑑於這些平臺進展良好，我們計劃在RIE2030期間進一步擴大規模。
除了公共部門努力，私營部門在創新生態系統中也發揮關鍵作用。通過我們的企業研究與創新計劃（RIS(C)），我們吸引了大量私人研發投資，提升能力併為本地人創造高價值崗位。
過去五年，企業承諾在本地投入超過140億新元用於研發創新，創造了超過1.2萬個研發崗位，其中70%以上由本地人擔任。舉例來說，Grab的人工智慧卓越中心已招聘約50人，德國化工巨頭Evonik為其亞洲研發中心招聘了100多名研究人員。
基於此，我們將在RIE2030期間投入超過30億新元於RIS(C)。
除現有增長領域外，我們將大膽追求可推動經濟突破的新興技術。一個例子是太空技術，這一“最終邊疆”正迅速從科幻走向現實應用。
太空技術已融入日常生活，支援導航和連線。隨著技術進步和成本下降，像新加坡這樣的小國可以抓住增長的太空經濟機會，為新加坡人在工程和資料科學等領域創造優質就業，同時幫助企業從太空支援的服務和應用中獲益。
其中一個機會是基於太空的地球觀測，可應用於海事、可持續發展和金融等行業。本地初創企業Arkadiah Technology利用衛星資料與全球農業企業金光集團合作，支援數字化測量、報告和核查，實現熱帶森林更準確的碳核算。
為推進我們的抱負，我上月宣佈成立新加坡國家太空局（NSAS）。從太空技術與產業辦公室（OSTIn）的30名官員起步，預計NSAS將在未來三年內規模翻倍。
在發展增長領域的同時，我們將繼續與企業合作，裝備新加坡人掌握需求旺盛和新興技能。
副總理早前分享了我們將新加坡打造為人工智慧領導者的願景，通過在四個重點領域執行人工智慧任務，建設人工智慧賦能的經濟。其中一個重點領域是先進製造業。我們將與產業夥伴合作，進一步發展人工智慧任務，並稍後提供更新。
這些任務初步將圍繞三大重點展開。首先，利用人工智慧和機器人技術轉型製造設施，實現世界一流的靈活性、韌性和效率。其次，利用人工智慧創造全球首創解決方案，提升產品設計並加速開發週期。第三，推動廣泛的行業轉型，幫助企業在關鍵運營中採用人工智慧，加速生態系統內解決方案的部署。
為支援這些努力，我們將強化兩個關鍵推動力。首先是A*STAR的製造業人工智慧卓越中心（AIMfg）。該中心成立約一年半，已支援近30家公司開發和採用人工智慧解決方案。
例如，本地大型精密塑膠零件製造商Sunningdale正與AIMfg合作開發人工智慧缺陷檢測系統。早期試驗顯示，每款產品預計每年節省成本超過15萬新元。
AIMfg還開發了一套通用人工智慧模型，滿足典型業務需求，如旋轉裝置的預測性維護模型，減少了從零開發定製解決方案所需的資源和時間。
未來，AIMfg將與合作伙伴進一步推動人工智慧引領的轉型，擴大通用人工智慧模型套件。
第二，我們將建設具身人工智慧（Embodied AI）的能力。具身人工智慧將人工智慧引入我們的物理世界——機器人能夠感知周圍環境，能夠獨立推理，並能在陌生環境中有目的地行動。
我們將投資研發，解決企業面臨的複雜問題，併為研究人員和企業提供共享基礎設施，以測試新的具身人工智慧技術。這樣的基礎設施可以加速前沿領域技術的部署，正如高建教授所提到的。我們將從先進製造業、航空和海事領域開始。這可以通過吸引下一代具身人工智慧初創企業以及培養本地領軍企業，培育新的增長領域。
為了充分釋放人工智慧對企業的潛力，我們還將同步通過教育和培訓建設人工智慧準備型勞動力，並支援企業進行崗位重塑和勞動力轉型。我將在明天的人力部演講中詳細闡述這些努力。
主席先生，鑑於這些變化，我們的經濟正變得更加數字化和創新驅動。正如陳佩玲女士和謝家安先生指出的，能源支撐著所有這些努力。對於我們的經濟和生活方式，能源是生存的根本。隨著需求增長和脫碳程序，政府將繼續在能源的可持續性、安全性和可負擔性之間保持務實的平衡。脫碳會帶來成本，但不能也不會以任何代價為代價。
讓我用一個例子說明，這也回應了納迪婭·桑丁女士之前關於碳稅的問題。我們將定期審查過渡性津貼，這些津貼只覆蓋企業排放的一部分，以便在保持價格訊號鼓勵低碳投資和管理成本上升之間取得適當平衡。
在追求多元化的可再生能源路徑時，我們也將關注可擴充套件且具成本效益的解決方案。正如新加坡的水務故事一樣，我們將優先考慮支援自給自足和韌性的路徑，最大化本土資源。
太陽能仍是近期最可行的選擇。我們取得了顯著進展。去年，我們提前五年達成了2030年兩吉瓦峰值（GWp）裝機容量的目標。因此，我們將目標提高到2030年三吉瓦峰值，增長50%，並希望在2030年代下半葉將去年的成就翻倍。
然而，即使廣泛部署，受土地限制和氣候條件影響，太陽能最多隻能滿足我們未來約10%的電力需求。因此，雖然太陽能重要，但不足以滿足需求。這就是為什麼我們目前正在研究地熱資源潛力。
除了本土資源，我們還在探索其他低碳路徑。來自區域的電力進口可以多樣化並脫碳我們的能源結構。迄今為止，我們已授予約8.4吉瓦（GW）的有條件批准給有前景的專案，其中三吉瓦已獲得有條件許可。我們正與專案開發商密切合作，爭取儘快獲得必要的監管批准以開始建設。
通過與鄰國的緊密合作，這一點至關重要，因為我們致力於實現東盟電網的區域願景，我們的第一波電力進口專案很可能來自印度尼西亞和馬來西亞半島。為準備從印度尼西亞進口電力，我們已確定合適的海底電纜連線路線和登陸點。我們也正在對新加坡與馬來西亞之間的第二條互聯互通線路進行全面可行性研究。如果開發成功，這將為雙邊互聯互通提供高達兩吉瓦的容量，此外還有現有互聯互通線路的一吉瓦容量。
除此之外，我們還在探索其他低碳解決方案。正如我之前在議會所說，沒有選項是被排除的。首先，我們正在通過一個最高300兆瓦（MW）的監管沙盒探索生物甲烷作為可行的低碳燃料。其與現有基礎設施的相容性減少了昂貴資產升級的需求。自去年以來，我們看到業界興趣濃厚。目前我們正在評估沙盒提案，預計很快將任命需求供應聚合商。
第二，我們正在研究低碳氫氣的潛力，包括其衍生物或載體，如氨。去年十月，我們任命了由吉寶集團領導的財團，進行下一階段氨氣發電和加註試點專案的前端工程設計（FEED）研究。
第三，我們也在研究碳捕集、利用和儲存解決方案，以脫碳難以減排的行業。我們將繼續與擁有適合碳儲存地質條件的國家，如澳大利亞、印度尼西亞和馬來西亞，開展雙邊協議，為私營部門提供更大的投資確定性。我們也在研究將捕獲的碳永久儲存在建築材料等產品中的方法。
基於研究結果，我們將評估如何擴大這些路徑的規模，可能的能源組合型別，以實現我們的脫碳目標。
讓我們務實一點。即使我們追求所有這些選項，也必須清醒地認識到它們固有的挑戰。進口電力伴隨重大地緣政治風險和不確定性。其他低碳解決方案尚未準備好大規模部署，原因包括技術尚處於初期階段或供應鏈不完善。
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因此，雖然我們尚未做出決定——讓我重申，我們尚未做出決定——但我們正在認真研究先進核能技術的潛在部署，如小型模組化反應堆。
核能有潛力成為安全、可靠且具成本競爭力的選項。其高燃料密度對土地稀缺的新加坡尤為有吸引力。想象一下，五顆一英寸高、比我的拇指還小的燃料顆粒，能產生與一個奧林匹克標準游泳池同等量的天然氣能量。我們正在加強能力建設，特別是在核安全和技術評估方面。
我們將按照國際原子能機構的里程碑方法推進，並與美國、法國和韓國等國際領導者合作。事實上，就在今天早上——這是我少有打領帶的時刻——能源市場管理局（EMA）剛剛與韓國水力核電公司簽署了諒解備忘錄（MOU），該公司運營韓國全部26座核反應堆，簽署儀式在韓國總統訪問期間舉行。
公眾信任至關重要。我們將與合作伙伴密切合作，提高公眾意識，不僅是核能，更根本的是能源的生存性質。
正如謝家安先生和黃世軒先生指出的，隨著新加坡向多元化能源結構轉型，我們必須繼續確保電網的持續可靠性。
去年，EMA和新加坡電力集團推出了未來電網能力路線圖，明確了系統慣性和靈活性技術等領域的能力建設方向。EMA還與業界合作試點虛擬電廠監管沙盒，並評估是否需要更多儲能系統，以應對間歇性等挑戰。
所有這些努力的基礎是科學技術作為關鍵推動力。我們將在RIE2030框架下啟動一項新的8億新元脫碳重大挑戰計劃，支援2035年減排目標和2050年淨零排放願景。在過去努力的基礎上，我們將大幅增加對有前景的解決方案的投資，以減少電力部門和工業排放，同時確保電力系統的可靠性和韌性。
在該重大挑戰計劃下，我們將啟動一項新計劃——新加坡能源與企業脫碳試點（SPEED）。超速駕駛是陸路交通管理局的違法行為，但這個SPEED至關重要。該計劃支援本地轉化型研發和示範活動，催化私人投資，推動有前景但尚處於初期的技術規模化。
主席先生，創新和技術將繼續推動新加坡邁向更高峰，併為未來幾代人創造優質就業。
正如副總理早前指出，我們是氣候現實主義者。在追求淨零目標的過程中，我們必須時刻關注挑戰，如地理限制和企業及家庭日益上升的脫碳成本。
但話雖如此，我們將盡最大努力確保一個清潔綠色的未來，因為這是為了我們的後代，確保穩定可靠的能源供應，這對我們的經濟和生活方式至關重要。[掌聲]
主席：貿易及工業部高階國務部長羅燕玲。
貿易及工業部高階國務部長（羅燕玲女士）：主席先生，副總理顏金勇談到了新加坡經濟進入新階段。
我們致力於賦能企業在這一新環境中成功發展。我們將繼續培育充滿活力的企業生態系統，使企業能夠自信地應對變化並取得成功。
當今企業面臨在不確定世界中適應的壓力。我們通過與中小企業及行業協會和商會（TACs），包括新加坡企業聯合會的交流，深入瞭解了基層的挑戰。
多位議員提出了類似關切，特別是關於我們的中小企業——包括薩克提安迪·蘇帕特先生、李國輝先生、李鴻昌先生、羅尚文先生、陳佩玲女士、黃世軒先生和潘淑英女士。我想向他們保證，政府正全力支援企業，陪伴他們適應、轉型和創新，克服面臨的挑戰。
我很高興分享，政府已量身定製了一套“企業煥新計劃”，包括一系列現有計劃的增強措施，旨在在企業的每個階段賦能、裝備和支援企業保持韌性、增長和繁榮，具體包括：一、提升生產力和成本效率；二、增加收入，幫助企業抓住國內外新機遇；三、營造親企業和可信賴的商業環境。
我們還將幫助企業主動應對轉型，同時繼續加強消費者保護框架。
現在讓我詳細說明“企業煥新計劃”的各個重點。
首先，提升生產力和成本效率。多年來，政府推出了多項計劃，支援企業能力建設、提升生產力和效率。能夠以更少資源做更多事、快速響應變化的企業，最具競爭力。人工智慧和脫碳帶來的結構性變化意味著企業必須適應以保持相關性，但這些變化也為企業轉型和增長帶來機遇。
我想向薩克提安迪·蘇帕特先生、黃世軒先生和潘淑英女士保證，我們將繼續支援和賦能各行業企業最佳化生產流程、降低經營成本，特別是通過技術和自動化。
例如，擁有倉儲業務的企業越來越多地採用自動化物流解決方案以提升運營效率。他們可以利用企業發展資助（EDG）等計劃獲得資金，並獲得行業合作伙伴如共和理工學院供應鏈管理創新中心（COI-SCM）的諮詢支援。
舉個快速例子，Frosts食品飲料公司在勿洛和大士運營總計7.5萬平方英尺的食品儲存和配送設施。與COI-SCM合作，Frosts在勿洛設施設計並推出了四向穿梭自動存取系統，提升了30%以上的人力效率，為公司每年節省約10萬新元成本。
除了提升生產力，我們還繼續幫助企業邁向低碳未來。我們聽到了陳志明部長早前的分享。
2024年，我們將企業融資計劃（EFS）-綠色版延長兩年，並擴大範圍，涵蓋採用綠色解決方案的企業，除了綠色技術開發商。我們將再延長EFS-綠色版五年，方便企業持續獲得融資，建設綠色能力，抓住綠色經濟新機遇。此外，為幫助企業應對能源成本上升並減少環境足跡，我們將延長能源效率資助（EEG）一年，繼續支援投資節能裝置。
第二個重點是幫助企業通過抓住國內外機遇增加收入。
我們將幫助企業抓住國際商業環境變化帶來的機遇。我想向羅尚文先生保證，我們將繼續通過EFS等計劃加強融資渠道。事實上，自2019年推出以來，EFS已支援數千家企業獲得融資，涵蓋廣泛業務活動。
我們將從兩方面增強EFS。為給予貸款機構更大靈活性，我們將取消EFS貿易貸款和固定資產貸款的單筆貸款子上限，分別為2000萬和3000萬新元，但保留5000萬新元的總上限。這意味著企業可以獲得最符合需求的貸款，無論是履約、執行專案還是資本投資。此外，我們將永久擴大EFS併購貸款範圍，支援企業獲得國內外收購融資。
隨著全球供應鏈重組和國內市場成熟，企業越來越多地尋求海外機遇。我們的策略一直是降低進入門檻，加強市場準入，提供精準支援。但正如議員們所說，我們認識到海外擴充套件伴隨更高風險和不確定性，正如李國輝先生提到的。
李國輝先生和阿扎爾·奧斯曼先生會高興地聽到，我們確實加大了支援企業國際化的力度。
首先，我們將提高支援企業出海的資助計劃的支援比例，中小企業由50%提高至70%，非中小企業由30%提高至50%。這包括市場準備援助（MRA）資助、業務適應資助和全球創新聯盟等計劃。
第二，我們將進一步完善MRA資助。議員們還記得去年貿易及工業部部長在預算辯論中宣佈將10萬新元資助上限延長至2026年3月31日。
今年，除了延長10萬新元資助上限外，我們將取消新市場限制，擴大資助範圍至所有本地企業，包括中小企業和非中小企業。我相信羅尚文先生會讚賞這一點。這不僅支援企業進入新市場，也幫助他們深化現有市場的佈局。
接下來，我們將提升國際化雙倍稅務扣除（DTDi）計劃。為幫助企業更快更確定地抓住海外機遇，我們將自動DTDi合格活動的支出上限從15萬新元提高至40萬新元，並使現有合格活動均可自動扣除。
最後，全球創新聯盟將推出更新策略，支援初創企業通過“啟動”和“成長”兩條路徑拓展市場。新進入市場的初創企業將通過“啟動”專案獲得市場探索和熟悉、短期市場衝刺以及早期客戶和合作夥伴發現的支援。需要更定製支援的初創企業和中小企業可通過“成長”路徑獲得專業合作伙伴支援，助力擴張、深化市場滲透和加速技術成熟。
主席先生，談及企業，不能不提我們的社群商鋪。社群商鋪與新加坡人日常生活緊密相連，豐富了社群的特色和活力。
幫助社群企業也意味著支援它們為未來適應和煥新。多年來，政府支援社群企業更新產品、採用新穎概念、創造吸引人流和線上訂單的體驗，並加強社群聯絡。
為鼓勵社群商鋪煥新，我們將提高社群計劃——增強視覺陳列計劃和社群企業營造資助的支援比例，從50%提升至70%。我們鼓勵社群商鋪抓住機會，重新整理店面，策劃精彩的營造活動。
我們許多社群商店都是小型和微型企業，正如賈瑞德·賈姆先生早先提到的，這些企業在本地經濟中發揮著基礎性作用。政府當然認識到不同規模企業，包括微型中小企業所面臨的獨特挑戰。我們已制定有針對性的援助措施，以滿足其特定需求並支援其長期增長。
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例如，餐飲和個人服務等微型中小企業高度集中的行業，正受益於針對行業的支援，以應對運營挑戰，提高生產力，從而提升營業收入和利潤。
我們瞭解到，許多餐飲企業面臨結構性成本壓力和能力差距，正如包括潘德妮絲女士在內的一些議員早先提到的。這一點也在新近釋出的由新加坡企業發展局和新加坡生產力中心委託的《食品服務生產力報告》中有所體現。這反過來導致利潤空間被壓縮，且可持續擴張能力有限。然而，同一報告也顯示，表現最好的餐飲企業每工時銷售額幾乎是表現最差企業的三倍。
仔細觀察，表現最好的餐飲企業遵循了五項關鍵做法：第一，普遍接受並採用數字化和自動化；第二，實施戰略性選單設計；第三，簡化工作流程和空間佈局；第四，外包勞動密集型的準備工作；第五，採用有效的勞動力管理。
主席先生，貿易與工業部和新加坡企業發展局將繼續盡最大努力，幫助並裝備我們的餐飲企業掌握這些關鍵能力。
為了幫助企業採納這些最佳實踐，我們在數月前舉辦的食品服務論壇上推出了三項新舉措，支援食品行業：一，通過餐飲流程最佳化計劃（POP）最佳化運營；二，通過FoodX計劃加強供應鏈，支援餐飲企業集中食品準備；三，加速數字化轉型。
除了所有這些針對行業的專項計劃外，微型中小企業若希望建立核心能力並實現規模擴大，也可以利用企業發展計劃（EDG）和生產力解決方案補助金（PSG）等方案，獲得定製支援。因此，我們鼓勵他們前往我們的10箇中小企業中心，尋求量身定製的建議和指導。
主席先生，支撐我們幫助企業提升生產力和效率、實現增長的努力，是一個親企業且值得信賴的商業環境。這也是商業振興方案第三大重點。除了加強企業支援外，政府將簡化補助流程，使企業更容易獲得全套可用措施。
我很高興宣佈一項新補助計劃——EDGE，它將為政府補助提供一站式服務，整合市場重塑補助（MRA）、生產力解決方案補助金（PSG）和企業發展計劃（EDG）。我們將簡化補助申請流程，將新加坡企業發展局的三大旗艦補助合併，企業只需提交一份申請即可在合併的補助框架下申請資金，申請流程更便捷。
新的EDGE補助將支援每年最高10萬新元的合資格活動。需要更多支援以開展定製專案的企業，仍可繼續向新加坡企業發展局申請。企業始終有靈活性開展符合其具體需求的專案。新加坡企業發展局計劃於2026年下半年推出EDGE。屆時，我剛才提到的市場重塑補助的改進措施也將納入EDGE。
主席先生，去年政府成立了中小企業親企業辦公室（SME PEO）。該辦公室通過解決跨多個公共機構的監管反饋，以及新興行業中監管不明確的問題，支援企業發展。
基於2024年商業競爭力行動聯盟的工作，我們還在跨部門親企業規則審查委員會下宣佈了三項承諾宣告，以提升監管靈活性並減輕企業合規負擔。中小企業親企業辦公室一直與各機構合作落實這些承諾。
首先，釋出明確的監管申請服務標準，目標是在可能的情況下實現30個工作日內處理。我很高興分享，機構已為93%的商業監管申請釋出了服務標準，其中80%的申請在30個工作日內處理完畢。這有助於使我們的流程對企業更加透明和可預期。
第二，將營業執照有效期延長至至少三年，最長可達五年。如今，45%的營業執照有效期至少為三年。預計到2029年，這一比例將提升至80%，各機構正積極審查相關政策。
最後，簡化流程，減少順序審批和重複資訊請求。我們已簡化多機構流程，縮短行政時間，減少與審批機構的反覆溝通。例如，需進行定量風險評估（QRA）的公司，在相關機構簡化流程後，每次申請預計可節省超過40天。
我們還將繼續與各機構合作，簡化各領域的內部流程。其中一項是工業租賃轉讓或二級市場工業用地轉讓。目前，所有轉讓申請均需經由裕廊集團（JTC）對買方的商業計劃和經濟貢獻進行全面評估，無論土地面積大小或剩餘租期長短。
未來，對於面積不超過1.5公頃且剩餘租期不超過15年的小型地塊，轉讓評估流程將被簡化。擬議用途必須支援製造業活動，且場地基礎設施容量充足。裕廊集團將免除這些案例的全面評估，僅進行必要檢查以確保受讓方遵守現行政策和土地使用指南。修訂後的流程可將合資格轉讓申請的處理時間縮短至自完整申請日起一個月內。裕廊集團將在今年上半年公佈該舉措的更多細節。
在支援企業追求增長目標和簡化流程的同時，我們必須準備好積極應對轉型。企業反映，隨著經濟結構重塑（ESR），瞭解自身業務健康狀況和未來選項對於順利轉型至關重要。
正如副總理顏金勇所強調，企業需適應全球貿易流動變化、技術顛覆以及全球格局劇變中更為緊張的資源約束。這可能需要重新構建運營模式，正如謝偉達先生早先提到的，家族和傳承企業需管理代際交接以保護其遺產。
企業可以通過轉向更高附加值活動、最佳化運營、適當離岸或轉向更具可行性的機會，重新定位和轉型，更有效地重新部署資源。
企業的創立、成長和整合，都是健康、充滿活力且動態的企業生態系統的重要組成部分。我們將與企業攜手同行，支援他們應對轉型，幫助他們適應、轉型並更強大地成長。經濟結構重塑委員會將在適當時候分享更多細節。
主席先生，我們值得信賴的商業環境基於消費者對企業和市場的信心。我贊同楊美林先生和盧安德烈先生關於加強對不公平貿易行為的威懾和執法的意見。
新加坡競爭與消費者委員會（CCS）已加強執法力度，促使企業承諾停止不公平行為。必要時，CCS也會對嚴重違規企業尋求法院禁令。然而，此類行動需經過細緻調查和合法程式。我感謝楊美林先生提出的建議，以提升CCS執法效率。貿易與工業部和CCS將認真考慮這些建議，作為政府定期審查《競爭法與公平交易法》（CPFTA）補救措施的一部分。
針對盧安德烈先生提出的加強對嚴重違規企業威懾的建議，我們向您保證，政府對此高度關注，準備採取全政府視角，強化消費者保護制度，以防範新興風險，並賦予執法機構更強執法權力。
為確保消費者保護制度與時俱進，政府於去年三月成立了獨立的消費者保護審查小組。該小組將提出建議，解決主要消費者關切，包括壓力銷售手法和新興數字危害，如未披露廣告。小組將在今年晚些時候向政府提交報告，供全面審議。
主席先生，未來數年將由我們今天採取的行動決定。通過提升生產力、支援增長和國際化，以及營造親企業環境，我們正在為更具韌性、活力和競爭力的企業生態系統奠定基礎。
通過與企業和行業協會緊密合作，我們將構建新能力，使企業能夠果斷應對不確定性並抓住機遇。有了這些基礎，我們有信心企業不僅能經受未來的不確定性考驗，還能以堅韌和目標持續成長、適應、轉型並取得成功。[掌聲]
主席：貿易與工業部國務部長陳振聲。
貿易與工業部國務部長（陳振聲）：主席先生，高階國務部長劉燕玲談到了我們如何幫助企業應對不確定性。為此，我們必須保持相關性，主要有兩方面：一是保持對訪客的吸引力；二是打造一個對創業者有吸引力的充滿活力的初創生態系統，吸引本地及海外創始人。
讓我們先談談如何讓新加坡對訪客更具吸引力。薩克提安迪·蘇帕特先生詢問了“旅遊2040”計劃的最新進展。旅遊2040是我們以優質旅遊為核心的長期路線圖。我們正在拓展能夠帶來更高旅遊收益的細分市場和地區，並與業界合作，創造更多精彩獨特的體驗。
我們2025年的表現反映了這一轉變。去年，我們接待了1690萬國際遊客，比2024年增長2.3%。更重要的是，2025年前三季度的旅遊收入達到239億新元，比2024年同期增長6.5%。
這一良好表現有多方面原因。去年，我們繼續舉辦世界級活動，包括Lady Gaga演唱會和2025年世界水上運動錦標賽。我們還承辦了大型會議、獎勵旅遊、會議及展覽（MICE）活動，並開放了主要景點，如雨林野趣和照明娛樂的“小黃人樂園”。
基於這一勢頭，我們預計今年國際遊客人數將達到1700萬至1800萬，旅遊收入約為310億至325億新元。為了保持對訪客的吸引力，我們將加強我們的舞臺、人才和演出。
先說我們的舞臺，即旅遊區和基礎設施。聖淘沙是我們的重要旅遊區之一。2019年，時任總理李顯龍談及建設大南部海濱，包括與聖淘沙共同開發布拉尼島。我很高興地更新，我們已啟動大聖淘沙總體規劃的第一階段。
第一階段，我們將升級聖淘沙基礎設施。我們將新增一個交通樞紐，連線聖淘沙和布拉尼島，統稱為大聖淘沙。該樞紐還將包含生活方式和酒店開發專案。我們還計劃更換聖淘沙快線，以提升連通性。我們將重塑海灘並增加海岸保護措施，讓遊客在保護聖淘沙免受海平面上升影響的同時，享受海灘時光。我們還將創造聖淘沙的新地標，如Imbiah Canopy，將成為Imbiah山頂的燈塔，引導遊客前往歷史建築和自然步道。今年晚些時候，我們將分享更多關於大聖淘沙總體規劃的細節，歡迎公眾與我們分享想法，共同重新構想和塑造大聖淘沙。
我還想向新加坡民眾更新我們重新整理烏節路的進展。歷史悠久的翡翠山將納入此次重新整理計劃。我們將在未來幾個月啟動招標，改造37號翡翠山，原新加坡中華女子學校舊址。該專案將是一個綜合用途開發，包含獨特的酒店概念、生活方式設施以及社群和公共空間。
我們還計劃於2026年第四季度完成格蘭奇路活動空間。該場地可容納3000人，能舉辦國際巡迴演出和本地藝人表演，將現場音樂、社群和文化活動帶到烏節路核心地帶。
我們也在提升郵輪基礎設施，鞏固作為亞洲領先郵輪樞紐之一的地位。今年十月，我們將濱海灣郵輪中心的容量從6800人提升至11700人，允許兩艘大型郵輪同時停靠，使我們能接待更多郵輪公司，如迪士尼探險號將以新加坡為家。我期待本週參加該船的命名儀式。
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第二，我們的人才。我們的旅遊從業人員和企業塑造了每位訪客的體驗。我們將繼續為他們提供卓越表現所需的工具。
例如，我們的旅遊領導力卓越與提升計劃為旅遊專業人士提供技術和可持續發展技能培訓。旅遊企業也在使用人工智慧和其他技術，我們將幫助他們更好地利用這些工具。新加坡旅遊局將在五月即將舉行的旅遊行業大會上，釋出旅行社和MICE行業的行業數字計劃，以及生成式人工智慧路線圖。
最後，我們必須呈現精彩的演出，策劃吸引訪客的活動陣容。我們繼續吸引藝術愛好者。除了於一月啟動2026年新加坡藝術周，我們還將“博特羅在新加坡”展覽帶到濱海灣花園，新加坡是東南亞的首個也是唯一一站。
與藝術愛好者一樣，音樂愛好者近年來也被新加坡吸引。今年，他們將欣賞到包括12月的BTS世界巡演，這得益於新加坡旅遊局與HYBE及Klook的合作。這將是BTS在韓國和日本之外最長的亞洲停留。
多年來，我們也使新加坡成為有吸引力的電子競技目的地。今年，我們將舉辦PGL Major Singapore 2026，這是東南亞首個反恐精英2大型賽事。
今年的一級方程式賽事也將不同且更精彩，因為我們首次獲得了F1衝刺賽的舉辦權。這意味著F1車隊將在週六爭奪積分。2026年全球僅有六個賽道舉辦此賽事。F1粉絲們知道，這將使我們的比賽週末更加激動人心。
我們的MICE行業也持續吸引優質訪客，鞏固新加坡作為商務目的地的地位。今年我們將舉辦重要活動，如亞洲乘客終端博覽會和亞太風電峰會。明年作為東盟主席國，我們將舉辦多場東盟活動，包括2027年東盟旅遊論壇。這是加強區域旅遊合作、向鄰國展示新加坡的重要活動。
先生們，這些綜合努力使我們成為有吸引力的目的地。接下來我將談談如何吸引初創企業。
我們的初創生態系統多年來顯著發展。初創企業的風險投資資金在過去十年增長了四倍多，從2014年的10億美元增至2024年的48億美元。我們在2025年全球初創生態系統指數中排名第四，較幾年前的第16名大幅提升。截至目前，我們擁有4500多家科技初創企業、220家孵化器和500家風險投資公司。
作為經濟結構重塑委員會創業議題的聯合主席，我與國務部長迪內什·瓦蘇·達什共同與初創生態系統各方利益相關者接觸，制定增強其資本、市場和人才獲取的建議。
高教授肯尼斯·吳問及如何加強除資本激勵外的路徑，使各階段和群體的新加坡人都能創業並在不受不利影響的情況下重返就業市場。我們正在委員會下制定更多措施，歡迎公眾分享您的想法。
我們的委員會一直在研究擴大初創企業資本獲取的方案，接下來我將分享我們的做法。
首先，我們將預留10億新元，擴大“Startup SG Equity”（SSGE）計劃。這將繼續投資早期初創企業，並擴充套件至成長階段的深科技初創企業。
目前，SSGE通過與合格私營投資者共同投資，以及通過基金中基金方式投資全球風險投資公司，支援新興和早期深科技初創企業。
其中一個基金是Matter Venture Partners，一家總部位於矽谷的硬科技風險投資基金。Matter已投資於新加坡早期初創企業，鼓勵其投資組合公司在新加坡建立強大的業務和研發基地，並指導本地初創企業創始人。
SSGE也惠及早期深科技公司，如Blue Whale Energy（BWE），該公司構建並運營虛擬電廠平臺，將其自有的鈉離子電池與邊緣控制軟體結合，打造靈活的能源網路。SSGE資金可幫助BWE吸引私人資本，加快其在新加坡的大規模部署及向其他市場的擴充套件。
黃世軒先生詢問我們通過額外注資10億新元試圖彌合的差距。我們現在擁有一批成熟的高潛力深科技初創企業，如Nuevocor，這是一家生物技術公司，開發針對由基因突變引起的心肌疾病的潛在救命藥物。Nuevocor於2025年5月完成4500萬美元的B輪融資，並將在美國和歐洲開展臨床試驗。像Nuevocor這樣的成長階段深科技初創企業需要大量資本，以超越早期支援實現規模化。
這就是我們支援他們的方式。
首先，我們將直接投資成長階段的深科技初創企業，如Nuevocor。這將為他們提供擴充套件運營、加強團隊和進入新市場所需的資本，同時保持新加坡作為其總部基地。
其次，我們將投資全球成長階段深科技風險投資基金。通過擴大我們的基金中基金策略，我們將吸引頂級成長投資者在新加坡設立據點。他們將帶來資本、全球網路、專業知識和豐富的前沿科技擴充套件經驗，助力我們的深科技初創企業在全球成長和擴張。
第三，我們將繼續與第三方投資者共同投資早期深科技初創企業。通過與可信投資者分擔風險，我們將催化私人資本，強化早期初創企業的市場紀律。
黃世軒先生詢問Startup SG Founder計劃是否僅適用於首次創業者。2024年4月，我們使該計劃更具靈活性。雖然主要申請人需為首次創業者，但他們現在可以與有過創業經驗的合夥創始人共同申請。
梁國明博士指出，我們的初創企業在種子階段獲得了良好支援，但隨著企業成熟，由於投資者退出流動性不確定，面臨困難。為此，我們正在加強企業在公共和私人市場融資的選擇。
讓我先談談我們的公共市場。
2022年，我們設立了15億新元的Anchor Fund，旨在吸引並支援高成長企業（包括有潛力的初創企業）在新加坡上市。我們已投入該基金大部分資金，支援企業邁向公開上市。
我們將啟動Anchor Fund的第二個15億新元批次，即Anchor Fund 2。與第一批次一樣，我們將與淡馬錫共同投資Anchor Fund 2。這是我們企業家精神委員會工作帶來的第二項舉措。
這將配合新加坡金融管理局（MAS）股票市場評審小組的新舉措。我們的股票市場已取得初步成效，首次公開募股活動增加，日均交易量提升。即將推出的新交所-納斯達克雙重上市橋樑將允許符合條件的公司以一套招股說明書同時在兩地上市。我將於下週與納斯達克管理層共同開啟納斯達克新加坡辦事處，我們期待與納斯達克團隊合作，推動全球上市板的啟動。
先生們，通過這些措施，我們旨在強化公共市場，使其成為成長型企業籌資和發展壯大的有力選擇。但我們也認識到，並非所有企業都願意通過公共市場融資。因此，我們必須幫助初創企業更好地獲取私人資本，以滿足多樣化融資需求。
齊鴻達部長已召集新工作組，制定加強新加坡作為成長資本領先中心的策略。我們已與工作組會面，期待制定措施，更好地幫助企業籌集私人資本並尋求其他非公開退出途徑。
先生們，這些舉措共同加強了對我們初創生態系統的支援，覆蓋企業成長各階段。
主席先生，我已談及如何繼續提升新加坡對訪客的吸引力，也談及如何通過強化初創生態系統，幫助創新企業發展和融資，使新加坡對初創企業、創始人和企業更具吸引力。
現在，我將把話筒交給貿工部國務部長顏曉芳，介紹我們如何滿足他們對空間的需求。
主席：請顏國務部長髮言。
貿工部國務部長（顏曉芳女士）：主席先生，貿工部國務部長陳振聲剛才談到如何通過提供資本催化初創社群發展。我將重點介紹我們如何為新加坡初創企業提供物理空間和關鍵基礎設施支援。
讓我先介紹JTC的One-North LaunchPad。One-North是我們的主要初創節點，是一個重要的知識與創新園區，匯聚了Grab、Razer、Sea等領先企業，以及A*STAR、新加坡國立大學（NUS）、國立大學醫院（NUH）和新加坡科學園等研究機構。自2015年JTC重新利用Block 71 Ayer Rajah Crescent並擴充套件初創中心以來，LaunchPad @ One-North已支援超過2400家初創企業，包括科技獨角獸Carousell、PatSnap和Nium。如今，這裡聚集了30多個孵化器、加速器和風險投資公司。
本土企業Igloo就是LaunchPad培育成功的初創企業之一。自2016年起從智慧鎖解決方案起步，現已發展為面向物業和設施管理的企業級門禁軟體。它已擴充套件至包括美國和中國在內的八個國家，擁有約80個全球分銷商，90%的收入來自海外。
數字發展與信息部最近宣佈，將其位於Cross Street的AI聯合辦公空間Lorong AI擴充套件至LaunchPad。為為Lorong AI等下一代初創企業創造更多空間，JTC將擴充套件並升級LaunchPad，打造亞洲旗艦初創目的地。這是繼近期與初創生態系統、風險投資基金和加速器的交流之後的舉措。此次升級將極大提升初創企業工作、生活和娛樂的活躍環境。
此次升級的重點之一，如總理在預算演講中提及，是名為“Kampong AI”的新AI園區。它將成為新加坡的AI樞紐和家園，是新加坡首個集工作與居住於一體的初創社群。預計2028年完工後，Kampong AI將成為AI初創企業和人才聚集、交流思想的場所。初創企業可在此安置研究人員和開發者，利用同地舉辦的活動、講座和演示。
主席先生，懇請允許我請書記員分發Kampong AI及我將介紹的其他專案的視覺資料。議員們也可通過MP@SG Parl應用訪問。
主席：請繼續。[資料已分發給尊敬的議員們。]
顏曉芳女士：副總理顏國興早前談及確立新加坡為AI領導者。Saktiandi Supaat先生也建議通過AI在各行業的擴散等生產力措施支援增長。我們的AI領導者和從業者新興社群迫切需要一個共享想法和打造新產品的空間。
Kampong AI將滿足這一需求。它由兩棟相鄰的七層建築組成——一棟擁有14,500平方米的商務園區單元和活動空間，可容納約70家公司；另一棟設有200個住宅單元。該專案通過改造擴充套件的LaunchPad內的舊樓開發，步行可達One-North和Kent Ridge地鐵站。
雖然預計2028年全面完工，但從2026年起，LaunchPad @ One-North將提供試點工作空間，供希望搶先入駐的企業使用。
轉向新加坡另一地區，JTC將在榜鵝數字區設立新的LaunchPad，分階段於2026年底完成。作為嵌入社群的智慧園區，榜鵝數字區是將智慧城市、機器人和網路安全領域創新轉化為現實解決方案的理想試驗場。這裡匯聚了初創企業、產業、學術界和社群。
榜鵝數字區內不斷壯大的企業和機構生態包括大華銀行、華僑銀行、GovTech、新加坡網路安全域性和新加坡科技學院（SIT）。培訓機構如SITLEARN（SIT的繼續教育培訓中心）將近距離觀察創新發展，將新技能納入成人學習課程。
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另一個關鍵支柱是榜鵝數字區的開放數字平臺，收集園區資料並支援逼真模擬。JTC正與信息通信媒體發展局、GovTech和SIT合作，提升資料收集與共享。開放數字平臺將把創新與榜鵝數字區基礎設施（如門架和電梯）連線起來，開展現實世界試點。例如，機器人初創企業dConstruct Robotics若部署自動送貨等應用，其機器人可在建築內導航，向用戶遞送包裹或食物，提升榜鵝數字區居民便利。
除了催化這裡的突破性發展，我們的企業還必須抓住區域機遇。預計到2030年，東盟將成為全球第四大經濟體，我們正建設包括柔佛-新加坡特別經濟區和巴淡-民丹-卡里蒙等節點。
JTC正規劃圍繞即將開通的快速交通系統（RTS）連線站的新加坡兀蘭門戶區，該區將成為我們通往柔佛-新加坡特別經濟區的北部門戶。該混合用途區佔地約35公頃，相當於50個足球場大小，將包括連線RTS和兀蘭北地鐵站的交通樞紐。首階段預計2030年左右完成。
兀蘭門戶區將為通勤者、居民及兀蘭北區工作者提供商業和生活設施，也將提供靈活的工業空間。鑑於其靠近RTS連線站，兀蘭門戶區將滿足在柔佛設廠、在新加坡設立區域總部的企業需求。
全球領先的精密光學供應商Edmund Optics展示了這一雙城模式的優勢。其兀蘭北岸設施作為銷售、創新和研發中心，而柔佛工廠負責製造零部件。作為Edmund Optics全球佈局的重要節點，這一雙城生態系統幫助公司保持成本效益和競爭力，同時為兩國人民提供就業。RTS連線站將使這一生態系統連線更加順暢。
感謝Victor Lye先生提出如何更好支援企業抓住柔佛-新加坡特別經濟區機遇的建議。貿工部將認真研究他的提案。
主席先生，除了提供優質工業空間，我們還必須維護和拓展新加坡的國際經濟空間。貿易是新加坡經濟的命脈。貿易總額超過GDP三倍，全球連通性為新加坡人創造了實實在在的機會。
然而，我們也知道全球貿易正趨向碎片化。各國優先考慮經濟安全而非開放市場，投資競爭日益激烈。Azhar Othman先生詢問我們如何更好支援企業開拓海外市場。
在這一不確定環境下，強有力的國際夥伴關係比以往任何時候都更為重要，以助力企業國際化。我們的策略聚焦三方面。
首先，我們深化與關鍵夥伴的經濟聯絡。我們繼續與美國和中國保持長期合作，基於共同經濟利益。
今年是新加坡與美國建交60週年，我們正擴大在人工智慧、量子技術和先進核能技術領域的合作。與中國方面，我們通過蘇州、天津和重慶的旗艦聯合專案持續加強經濟夥伴關係，重慶專案去年已慶祝十週年。
同時，我們加強與其他主要經濟體的合作。我們深化與印度在半導體、航空維修、檢修及大修服務和航天技術等高價值增長領域的合作，助力新加坡企業成為印度市場的先行者。
我們與歐盟及歐洲自由貿易聯盟簽署的數字經濟協定將於2026年初生效，為我們的企業在跨區域數字交易中提供法律確定性。
在區域層面，我們繼續推動東盟更深層次的經濟一體化。去年，東盟升級了兩項廣泛被貿易商使用的標誌性協議，即東盟貨物貿易協定和東盟-中國自由貿易區3.0。我們還簽署了數字經濟框架協議，致力於打造單一可信的區域數字生態系統。新加坡明年將擔任東盟主席，我們將與成員國合作，建設更無縫的經濟共同體，加速數字和綠色經濟增長。
我們正多元化與新興市場和增長領域的經濟聯絡，為新加坡企業開拓新機遇。我們通過與太平洋聯盟和南方共同市場的自由貿易協定，持續與拉美夥伴合作，同時通過新貿易和投資協定進軍南亞、中東和非洲市場，增強企業跨市場投資信心。
我們正在擴大數字經濟夥伴協定的成員，預計今年晚些時候哥斯大黎加和秘魯加入，中國和阿聯酋也在加入談判中。我們還啟動了與智利和紐西蘭的綠色經濟夥伴協定談判。
最後，我們積極通過與可信夥伴緊密合作，加強經濟安全。我們正敲定首個此類協議——與紐西蘭簽署的關鍵物資貿易協議，確保在全球危機期間，食品和藥品等關鍵商品貿易不中斷。
我們與志同道合國家合作，維護並塑造開放、基於規則的多邊貿易體系。我們發起了未來貿易與投資夥伴關係，匯聚16個小型、中型及貿易依賴國家，共同應對全球貿易和投資的新挑戰與機遇。我們持續擴大高質量區域協議，如全面與進步跨太平洋夥伴關係協定和區域全面經濟夥伴關係協定，同時通過首次對話搭建全面與進步跨太平洋夥伴關係協定、歐盟和東盟之間的橋樑。
主席先生，我們擴大經濟空間和創造優質工業空間的努力，使新加坡保持對企業的競爭力吸引力，催化創新。貿工部同事和我已分享了創造增長和優質就業的策略，這在不確定環境中尤為重要。我們將努力確保新加坡繼續成為值得信賴且充滿活力的貿易和資本樞紐，為新加坡人開創更光明的未來。
主席：部長們有無需要澄清的？Saktiandi Supaat先生。
Saktiandi Supaat先生：謝謝主席。我有三個澄清問題。首先，聽到副總理早前的講話，我感謝副總理顏國興的詳盡發言。他提到對GDP和通脹的重新評估。我想請教副總理，貿工部如何評估新加坡在三種情景下的脆弱性。
第一，關鍵行業如半導體和製藥可能面臨的關稅上調情景。第二，全球人工智慧投資流動放緩的情景。第三，副總理剛才提到的中東危機長期化和/或價格衝擊情景。相關問題是，貿工部是否已定義明確的觸發條件，如能源成本持續上漲或貿易中斷，在這些條件下將啟動有針對性且限時的支援？這是我的第一個澄清問題，主席。
第二，關於我們為滿足能源韌性和戰略需求而規劃的實體能源基礎設施預算。我注意到財政部預算檔案中，貿工部的發展開支從2025財年的約49.2億新元增至92.4億新元，增加約43億新元。我想請教陳部長或副總理，這些數字是否已包含我們為滿足能源韌性和戰略所規劃的部分能源基礎設施，如登陸點、能源儲存及其他替代能源專案？
最後一個問題是問國務部長陳振聲，我想感謝他在我的發言中對大聖淘沙總體規劃的最新情況介紹。我的問題是，我在發言中提到，除了聖淘沙和布拉尼之間的交通連線外，大聖淘沙總體規劃預計將帶來多少經濟貢獻和就業機會？將創造多少就業崗位，並將對GDP增加多少百分比的附加值？
主席：副總理顏金勇。
顏金勇先生：謝謝。首先，讓我回應薩克提安迪先生指出的各種情景下，我們對經濟和通脹的展望。
首先談關稅。我之前多次提及和解釋過。我認為關稅對新加坡有重大影響，不僅僅是新加坡與美國之間的直接關稅，這固然重要，但更重要的是我們當前所處的環境，在這裡關稅可以隨意調整，且通知時間非常短，甚至是一夜之間。如你所見，關稅已從美國的一項立法轉移到另一項立法。
此外，我們還必須考慮各國對這些關稅的反應，這些反應對我們也有影響。有時關稅上升會減緩經濟增長，關稅下降則刺激經濟。由於關稅上升，一些經濟體可能會提前出口，因此它們會加快製造和出口，進而可能從新加坡進口更多零部件，而我們正是向它們供應零部件。
因此，各國之間的貿易安排非常複雜，我們依賴基於規則的開放貿易體系。新加坡是一個開放經濟體，因此我們確實會從全球經濟增長中受益。如果全球關稅較低，將刺激更多經濟活動，貿易將繁榮，新加坡也將受益。就關稅而言，從新加坡角度看，較低的關稅對我們更有利，因為這促進更自由、更開放的貿易活動，這將惠及像新加坡這樣的開放經濟體。我認為這是我們必須始終規劃的事情。我們必須繼續發展我們的貿易網路，並希望加強貿易安排的韌性。這就是為什麼我們繼續以不同形式談判貿易協定，包括數字協定。這就是我們加強抵禦關稅防禦能力的方式。
關於人工智慧投資，這是我們正在著手的事情，我們希望能夠吸引人才和投資，以及解決方案提供者。他們能夠來到新加坡，在人工智慧運營商和利益相關者之間建立生態系統。這就是為什麼我們現在將“人工智慧巷”擴充套件為“人工智慧村”，以擁有更大的容量，並將工作和生活環境結合起來，形成完整的生態系統。希望這將自發產生動力，繼續吸引更多人工智慧投資。
關於中東危機，這剛剛發生在週末。我們仍在評估情況。我們需要牢記的是，霍爾木茲海峽是能源、液化天然氣和石油的重要航運通道，因此它是全球能源供應的重要渠道。新加坡也在很大程度上依賴來自中東的供應，此外還有本地區的供應。
因此，我們將繼續評估情況。我們預計如果中東衝突持續，將對整體能源成本產生重大影響。正如陳部長所解釋的，過去幾年新加坡已建立起韌性。我們採取了多項措施，加強對潛在外部能源供應衝擊的抵禦能力。其中一些措施因涉及機密和安全原因無法公開，有些陳部長之前已解釋過。如有需要，我會請他詳細說明。
關於發展開支，我將由陳部長談談能源方面的發展開支。但我們的發展開支顯著增加，部分原因是需要繼續吸引投資。正如許多人所知，隨著最低稅率的引入，稅收激勵的效力減弱，因此我們需要尋找其他方式將關鍵投資錨定在新加坡。這部分發展開支就是為此而設，旨在吸引投資來新加坡，繼續提供優質就業崗位。我將話筒交給陳博士。
下午2時45分
陳振聲博士：主席先生，針對薩克提安迪先生關於貿工部預算增量的澄清，答案是肯定的，預算增量確實考慮了多方面的增加開支。我提到了8億新元的脫碳重大挑戰。我們還有生物甲烷試驗區。我也提到了將推動多項工作的SPEED辦公室。我們還需要開始推動裕廊島的綠化。
此外，如果您還記得，無論是去年的財政預算辯論還是前年，議員們也預留了未來能源基金，但那更多是用於基礎設施建設，為互聯互通設施提供資金，準備引入部分可再生能源進口。
我沒有具體的細目分解哪些是組成部分。我們需要增量預算來開發試驗區，但正如我所說，我們不遺餘力，評估哪些路徑能為我們帶來可持續性、可靠性和安全性。
主席：陳國務部長有話要回應。
陳振聲先生：主席，我感謝薩克提安迪·蘇帕特先生對聖淘沙的關注。聖淘沙只是我們整體2040旅遊戰略中的一部分——當然是非常重要的一部分。我們預計旅遊收入將達到約470億至500億新元。這是我們的關鍵戰略：吸引高質量旅遊。
關於我之前提到的大聖淘沙總體規劃第一階段，完成後，預計到2045年，大聖淘沙將吸引約530萬國際遊客。隨著未來幾年我們將建設的各個階段，許多新的主題公園和景點，我認為聖淘沙將實現轉型。我們歡迎新加坡人和遊客前來參觀，增添旅遊活力。
主席：我看到有多位舉手發言，請簡明提出您的澄清問題。李顯龍先生。
李顯龍先生：主席，我之前談過新加坡和我們的企業不能僅靠成本競爭，必須繼續專注於創新。因此，我想請陳部長分享政府如何評估我們研發和公共資助智慧財產權商業化的經濟成果，包括企業成立、向本地企業授權、對GDP的貢獻以及高價值就業崗位。
陳振聲博士：主席先生，我理解議員對公共資助研究商業化及投資回報的興趣。我與他有同樣的情感和熱情。
我想強調一點，政府投資研發不僅僅像商業機構那樣。它必須做得更多。政府必須投資研發，長期建設我們的戰略能力，這是國家持續不僅要繁榮，還要領先競爭對手所必需的。我們實際上已經看到成果。
首先，我們企業和經濟的研發能力顯著提升。這使新加坡經濟能夠向產業和活動的價值鏈上游邁進，並在技術密集型領域取得全球領導地位，當然，在此過程中為新加坡人創造了優質就業。
如果看2016年至2023年約八九年間，企業研發總支出年複合增長率為7.8%，達到90億新元。因此，2023年公共部門每投入1新元研發，私營部門相應投入1.87新元，高於2016年的1.38新元。
私營部門研發企業數量也增長了33%，從2016年的約774家增至2023年的1030家。同一時期，研發企業的附加值增長了142%，每名員工的附加值增長了110%。
2016年至2023年間，私營部門研發崗位增長了36%，超過3萬個崗位，其中本地人佔70%以上。
以Mirxes為例，這是我們生態系統培育的研發企業之一。如今，其全球員工60%在新加坡，且大多是新加坡公民或永久居民，儘管該公司在香港上市。
研發能力的提升也使新加坡在半導體、生物醫藥等技術密集型領域建立了領導地位，並能探索前沿領域如空間技術。根據世界銀行集團資料，新加坡是全球第六大高科技產品出口國。新加坡已成為全球領先的生物製藥製造中心，行業產值在過去二十年翻倍，2023年超過180億新元。大型製藥公司如禮來、默沙東和輝瑞，繼續在One-North和大士醫療園區保持研發活動。
其次，我們增強的研發能力促進了充滿活力的初創生態系統和具有商業潛力的研發公司管道。這強化了我們的創新驅動型經濟，使新加坡處於新興技術前沿。正如陳國務部長早前提到的，我們的初創生態系統在StartupBlink 2025全球初創生態指數中排名第四。
自2020年以來，新加坡初創生態系統排名從第16位攀升至第四位，過去五年我們的科技初創企業每年獲得10億美元或以上的風險投資。
第三，我們在本地擁有全球領先的大學，供新加坡人就讀。國大和南大在2026年QS世界大學排名中分別位列第8和第12。強勁的大學排名吸引投資，推動創新，併為本地人才提供世界級教育。憑藉培養適應性強、數字化流利和創新準備充分的勞動力優勢，新加坡在2025年全球人才競爭力指數中，在135個經濟體中排名第一，超過瑞士登頂。
2014年至2024年，新加坡的領域加權引用影響指數從1.44升至1.76，意味著我們的研究被引用次數比全球平均高出76%，反映了我們學術研究人員及其成果的高質量。
第四，我們的研發能力對醫療保健、氣候變化和城市解決方案等戰略重點領域貢獻顯著。不久前，在新冠疫情期間，我們的研究人員是全球最早培養出SARS-CoV-2病毒的團隊之一。他們迅速開發了診斷試劑盒，支援資料驅動的公共衛生措施。
我想向尊敬的李顯龍議員和所有議員保證，我們從過去幾十年建立的科學基礎中獲得了良好的商業回報。僅過去五年，A*STAR和我們的高等院校技術已孵化出300多家新公司，230家本地中小企業和初創企業也授權了約300項A*STAR技術，此外我們的高等院校向中小企業和初創企業授予了900多項許可。這些衍生企業包括MetaOptics，利用A*STAR的材料和晶圓製造專長製造世界級鏡頭併成功上市；還有Amperesand，利用南大的先進固態變壓器技術鞏固其行業領先地位。
順便說一句，我分享的大部分資訊都可在公開資料中找到，如國家研發創新調查和A*STAR年度報告。我們將保持專注，堅定不移，繼續投資未來。希望這能澄清您的疑問。
主席：時間不多了，下一個澄清，賴偉國先生，感謝您八分鐘的發言。
賴偉國先生：主席，我感謝政治任命官員的回應和發言。關於我們對先進產業的投資，中小企業必須轉型，我歡迎甘秀凰國務部長分享關於兀蘭門戶的情況。
我的第一個問題是，我們是否有計劃在新加坡對面開發一個工業園區，即新加坡工業園區，以便我們能將這兩個門戶地塊部署到新加坡-柔佛特別經濟區，擴大新加坡的經濟空間？
第二個問題是，鑑於此將需要技術勞動力，我們能否建立一個框架，使新加坡技術工人能夠在特別經濟區生活和工作？
主席：甘國務部長，希望您的回應比陳部長簡短。
甘秀凰女士：主席，我感謝賴偉國先生對在柔佛-新加坡特別經濟區建立新加坡工業園區的想法的澄清。這是個有趣的想法，如果有商業方願意投資，我們很樂意協助推動。
關於讓人們能夠在特別經濟區居住並無縫工作，我們正在探索新加坡政府與馬來西亞政府之間的數字游牧簽證。順便告訴您，馬來西亞已有數字游牧簽證，允許外國人在馬來西亞居住而無需受僱。因此，我們已有可借鑑的基礎，正在考慮進一步完善。
主席：田佩玲女士。
田佩玲女士：主席，我想問陳部長。我很高興聽到有計劃探索更多替代能源，氫能是其中之一。我想了解新加坡是否計劃及早定位自己，塑造區域氫能供應鏈，而不僅僅是跟隨他人，而是引領這一領域？如果是，如何實現？
此外，考慮到整體能源安全和可持續性，有哪些措施支援本地企業和初創企業，或吸引它們來新加坡，深化該領域研發，最終實現能源，特別是氫能的商業化部署，以實現安全、可持續且可負擔的能源願景？
最後一個澄清是，談到可負擔性。隨著數字化和加大人工智慧投入，能源消耗肯定會增加，且隨著我們更多進口能源，可能會產生成本。我們如何減輕或防止這些成本轉嫁給本地企業和新加坡家庭，確保能源高度可及且負擔得起？
下午3時
陳振聲博士：主席先生，若允許我針對這三個澄清儘量簡明扼要回答。
主席：謝謝。
陳振聲博士：關於第一個問題，正如我剛才提到的氨氣研究，我們已與一家本地大型企業合作，開展前端工程設計（FEED）研究，不僅研究氨氣作為一種可能路徑——我知道議員提到的是氫氣——因為氨和氫都是分子，大家都比較瞭解。只是目前綠色氫氣的運輸非常昂貴，且物流鏈尚未建立。
因此，作為中介，我們需要一種載體，將綠色氫氣以綠色氨的形式運輸。我們正與新加坡海事及港務局緊密合作，因為我們的願景超越FEED研究和試驗區。我們希望最終如果能證明該試驗區的可行性，不僅將其作為綠色氫氣戰略中的一種能源形式，還可能成為綠色氨從東向西運輸的加註樞紐。
第二，關於如何幫助中小企業。確實，我們有計劃。對於許多大型試驗區，我們鼓勵發電公司和大型企業與本地中小企業合作，共同參與。我之前提到的8億新元脫碳重大挑戰，就是希望能吸引大型發電公司和跨國公司帶動本地中小企業，共同助力脫碳。
關於第三點，可再生能源進口。確實，能源多元化和能源轉型以實現低碳替代方案會帶來成本。首先，我們非常關注這種成本壓力及其可能對，尤其是我們的家庭和企業造成的影響。因此，我們的做法是，允許低碳能源進口商與大型能源使用者達成商業安排。比如谷歌、亞馬遜網路服務以及一些資料中心，我們允許他們進行談判，並對這些安排進行隔離保護。
但終有一天，政府將與各個行業配合碳稅，將這部分成本分攤開來。這不會在短時間內發生，但這是我們必須考慮的事情。長期來看，隨著脫碳程序推進，儘管天然氣將始終是我們的基礎能源，我們也非常關注繼續使用天然氣的成本，還要加上脫碳天然氣的成本，包括排放捕集、匯聚、運輸和儲存，這些都帶來額外費用。
因此，我們的碳定價反映了該能源生產方式的真實成本。我們希望能夠將這部分成本在全國範圍內進行社會化分攤。根本原則是，首先通過節能來應對，並提高管理峰值電價與試驗電價的效率。
這些措施仍在開發中。我們正在開發虛擬電網，也在模擬不同場景，並使用儲能系統確保基荷穩定。我認為這些是我們未來必須共同走的道路。當然，我期待田女士和本院其他議員在脫碳過程中給予大力支援。
主席：李鴻昌先生。
李鴻昌先生：首先，我感謝資政廖女士分享他們將為中小企業做的工作，特別是從可用性到未來更易獲取的措施。但我想用中文問一個補充問題，因為這是針對講中文的中小企業。
（中文發言）：[請參見中文發言稿。] 在採用人工智慧時，政府是否會考慮讓AI更加自動化，能夠翻譯成中文或其他語言，並提供語音朗讀功能，以便受中文教育的創業者更好地理解並受益？
廖燕玲女士：謝謝主席。請允許我用中文簡要回答李鴻昌先生的問題。
（中文發言）：[請參見中文發言稿。] 感謝李鴻昌先生提出建設性的問題。剛才他用中文發言時，我認真聆聽。其中一句話我覺得非常貼切——企業做得好，員工的工作保障才最有保障。我認為這是新加坡非常重要的社會環境。
貿工部之前的英文發言提到，我們為何積極推出企業轉型方案，該方案包含三個重要組成部分。
第一，幫助我們的中小企業，包括微型企業，提高生產力和成本效率。
首先，我們將大力推動企業採用人工智慧技術。任何去過中國的人都會看到李先生提到的技術，現在隨處可見。我們演講時，中文、英文或其他語言會同步顯示在螢幕上。因此，我們肯定會考慮這一建設性建議。我們也鼓勵企業不僅採用AI，還採用自動化和節能解決方案，正如陳振聲部長早前提到的。
第二，我想呼籲。貿工部和新加坡企業發展局將全力支援企業開拓本地及海外市場。正如我早前提到的，我們將做兩項重要調整：提高支援力度，擴大支援範圍，幫助企業抓住增長機會，拓展業務。
最後，不僅是貿工部、經濟發展局和新加坡企業發展局，在副總理顏金勇領導下，政府各機構將繼續營造親商、親民環境，建立誠信為本的營商環境。我們將整合簡化申請流程，讓中小企業包括微型企業更快更容易獲得政府支援，使他們能專注於業務創新和未來發展。
主席：實際上我正在用完我們的休息時間，以配合截止時間。截止時間是下午3點20分，今天下午將不設休息。
還有很多人舉手，我會盡量安排，所以建議大家跳過所有開場白，直接提問。同樣，前排議員也請儘量省略不必要內容，直接回答。[笑聲] 謝德榮先生。
謝德榮先生：主席，我儘量直奔主題。副總理提到增長來自深度，而不僅僅是技能。他特別提到縮短創新週期，我猜是指研究轉化。我認為新加坡已經在做這方面工作。所以我想問副總理，我們如何做得不同？是否有具體目標來加快研究轉化速度以縮短創新週期？
關於資政廖女士提到的“企業煥新”計劃，我想確認：我們是否擴大該計劃以支援有代際傳承和轉型需求的家族企業？如果是，具體如何支援？其次，行業協會在幫助推廣“企業煥新”計劃的好處中扮演什麼角色？根據我與行業協會合作的經驗，秘書處的能力是成功關鍵之一。貿工部是否也支援行業協會加強秘書處的能力建設？
顏金勇先生：主席，我簡短回答。首先，深化領導力和增強深度的方式之一，是在我們已有堅實基礎的跨國公司、企業和行業中發展領導力，比如半導體、製藥等領域。這些是我們的優勢領域。我們不僅想成為全球運營者之一，更想成為關鍵節點。
通過這樣做，我們也希望吸引關鍵運營職能，包括研發。我們希望他們將研發設施帶到新加坡，建設研發能力，從而縮短創新推向市場的過程。這是我們正在做的方式之一。
陳博士也提到我們的研發舉措、研發投資和轉化研究，促進知識轉化為商業產品和服務。這些都是我們的努力方向。我們也利用人工智慧幫助加速創新過程。許多公司已在研發過程中引入AI能力。
我想簡短回應沙基丹迪·蘇帕特先生早前的問題。他問政府啟動應對多種情景的觸發點是什麼。我想說，沒有單一觸發點。我們會全面考慮所有影響，邊走邊評估。如有必要，會推出相應舉措應對。例如，在SERT框架下，我們推出了“企業適應補助”（BizAdapt）和“GRIT”實習計劃，幫助員工轉型。
所以，我們會持續評估，必要時推出新舉措支援企業轉型。
主席：劉安德先生。哦，資政廖女士。
廖燕玲女士：謝謝主席，我簡短回應。感謝謝德榮議員關於家族企業和行業協會的兩部分問題。
主席：跳過這些，直接切入重點。
廖燕玲女士：關於家族企業，我想向他保證，早前提到提高對中小企業和非中小企業的支援水平，許多多代家族企業屬於此類。舉個快速例子，主席，三週前我出席了廣香泰新工廠開幕儀式——
主席：資政，請不要列舉太多例子。資政廖女士。
廖燕玲女士：他們與新加坡企業發展局和裕廊工業區發展局緊密合作，通過數字化轉型和人工智慧，產能提升不僅是兩倍或三倍，而是六倍。這是顛覆性的，因為他們現在能大幅提升出口能力。
關於行業協會，新加坡企業發展局和貿工部將繼續與各類行業協會密切合作，包括新加坡工商聯合總會（SBF）、新加坡中華總商會（SCCCI）、新加坡馬來商工聯合總會（SMCCI）、新加坡印度商會（SICCI）等。我們希望與他們合作實現“三個A、B、C”：一是倡導併成為其成員企業的聲音；二是與企業發展局及各經濟機構緊密合作，提升能力和實力；三是連線行業內成員企業，促進行業協會間合作。
舉例來說，過去幾年我們推出了許多行業協會專案。一個快速例子是行業協會獎學金計劃，由新加坡工商聯合總會牽頭。一個月前我去過SBF——
主席：資政廖女士。資政廖女士——
廖燕玲女士：——會見了第六屆學員。非常感謝。
主席：請您——好的。劉安德先生，最後一個問題。
劉武揚先生：這是給資政廖燕玲女士的問題。我的問題是，政府是否考慮過我的建議，將針對弱勢群體施加高壓推銷手段定為刑事犯罪，特別是鑑於我們對詐騙及詐騙團伙的嚴厲打擊？我認為，面對面詐騙本質上是同一套手法——利用恐懼和焦慮，針對弱勢群體，涉及金額數百至數千元，金額相當驚人。
廖燕玲女士：感謝劉安德議員。早前我已簡要回應。我想向他和楊美林議員保證，你們提到的問題非常相似，你們可能也聽過內政部政治任命官員在國會答辯時對詐騙的強硬立場。
下午3點15分
正如我早前發言所述，政府去年召集了獨立消費者保護評審小組。他們正按計劃向我們提交報告。我們會認真審視其中內容，因為焦點小組討論反饋涵蓋了議員提到的領域。
我想向他保證，不僅是競爭與消費者委員會（CCS），也不僅是貿工部體系，我們準備採取全政府視角，強化消費者保護制度，做到兩點：一是防範新興風險，二是確保執法機構具備必要能力和權力進行執法。
主席：時間已到。請問沙基丹迪·蘇帕特先生，您是否願意撤回修正案？
下午3點16分
沙基丹迪·蘇帕特先生：我不打算直接請求撤回修正案，首先要感謝副總理顏金勇、陳振聲部長、資政廖燕玲、國務部長艾爾文和國務部長顏秀芳回答我們所有質詢。共有約21個質詢，16位議員發言。我也感謝貿工部常任秘書及其團隊，因為貿工部未來有很多工作要做，我感謝他們。
基於此，主席，我請求撤回我的修正案。
主席：感謝各位議員放棄休息時間。
[(程式文本) 修正案經許可，撤回。 (程式文本)]
[(程式文本) 頭V項下1,861,722,800元列入主要預算。 (程式文本)]
[(程式文本) 頭V項下10,705,745,500元列入發展預算。 (程式文本)]
英文原文
SPRS Hansard · Fetched: 2026-05-02
The Chairman : Head V, Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI). Mr Saktiandi Supaat.
11.51 am
Productivity-led Growth for Singapore
Mr Saktiandi Supaat (Bishan-Toa Payoh) : Mr Chairman, I move, "That the total sum to be allocated for Head V of the Estimates be reduced by $100".
Mr Chairman, our economy today is less about weathering cyclical volatility and more about navigating deep structural change in the global order.
Geopolitical fragmentation, industrial policy competition, supply chain reconfiguration, decarbonisation pressures and rapid technological disruption have fundamentally reshaped the landscape.
Recent volatility in global technology stocks also reminds us how quickly shifts in risk sentiment can transmit across financial markets, trade and investment flows. This is now further amplified by escalating tensions in the Middle East, which are already driving energy price volatility, safe haven flows and heightened uncertainty across global markets and can translate into higher inflation, tighter financial conditions and weaker global growth.
For a small and open economy like Singapore, these external forces will continue to shape our growth trajectory.
In this environment, Singapore’s strategy must do three things simultaneously: strengthen business resilience, move decisively into higher-value growth areas and translate growth into quality jobs for Singaporeans. Ultimately, with constraints on labour and capital, growth must increasingly come from within, by deepening capabilities, innovation and knowledge, in other words, productivity. Both labour productivity and total factor productivity must become our primary engine of growth.
First, supporting businesses through structural transition. Externally, trade realignment, onshoring trends and slower global growth are making the operating environment more complex. Internally, firms must navigate digitalisation, artificial intelligence (AI) adoption, workforce redesign and sustainability pressures.
Government support schemes are necessary. But the key question is whether they are sufficiently deep to drive real transformation. How are our Industry Transformation Maps evolving to move firms up the value chain, rather than simply helping them manage costs? How are we measuring genuine productivity gains, not just adoption of digital tools, but outcomes such as management upgrading, process redesign and business model transformation?
More fundamentally, how are we ensuring that firms build internal capabilities, in management, innovation and operations, that generate sustained productivity gains and diffuse across the wider economy? More broadly, we should continue refining how our fiscal tools support transformation. For example, can we design more targeted AI diffusion support for small and medium enterprises (SMEs), tied to measurable outcomes such as productivity improvements, cost savings or new market access?
Can we strengthen wage and training co-funding for job redesign, particularly in sectors exposed to global competition, so that firms upgrade jobs rather than displace workers? And given the increasingly volatile global environment, should we consider a counter-cyclical accelerator, pre-approved support that can be activated quickly during downturns, so that firms and workers receive timely assistance without delays? More broadly, our fiscal tools should be fast, targeted and where appropriate automatic, supporting adjustment while reinforcing long-term discipline.
Second, strengthening non-tradeable sectors. While we focus on tradeable sectors, we must not neglect domestic sectors such as tourism, retail and food and beverage (F&B). Could the Minister provide an update on the Tourism 2040 roadmap? What are the key milestones for achieving "quality tourism"?
In an increasingly competitive region, with strong investments by neighbours such as Malaysia and Vietnam, how are we sharpening Singapore’s differentiation while managing the churn in attractions, restaurants and lifestyle offerings?
On the Greater Sentosa Master Plan, what progress can be made, and what is the projected economic contribution and job creation?
More broadly, are we developing precinct-level strategies, such as waterfront, cultural and lifestyle clusters, in a more coordinated way? A vibrant domestic services sector is not just supportive. It can itself be a source of innovation, productivity and capability development.
Third, capitalising on growth and frontier sectors. I agree that Singapore must stay ahead in advanced manufacturing, high-trust services and frontier domains, such as quantum, decarbonisation and space. But how will this translate into jobs? What are the projected job creation numbers over the next five to 10 years and how are these distributed across skill levels?
In advanced manufacturing, how are we ensuring that investments deepen local technical capabilities, not just raise output per worker? In trust-based services, such as financial services, arbitration and digital trust, how are we sustaining Singapore’s advantage as global regulatory regimes evolve? And in frontier sectors, what is the realistic timeline for scalable job creation? Growth must not only create jobs. It must build capabilities that endure and diffuse across the economy.
Fourth, anchoring capabilities locally. It is not sufficient to build capabilities. We must anchor them in Singapore.
One key area is the transfer of capabilities from foreign talent to Singaporeans. How effective has the Capability Transfer Programme been in practice? Where foreign expertise is required, are we embedding structured and measurable capability transfer requirements as part of investment conditions? Are firms receiving incentives required to demonstrate progression of Singaporeans into higher-value roles? Sustainable growth must ultimately be driven by the accumulation of local human capital and knowledge.
At the same time, skills supply must keep pace with demand. Is the Ministry working closely with our Institutes of Higher Learning (IHLs) to anticipate manpower needs in priority sectors? Given the cross-Ministry nature of this effort, how is coordination being strengthened to ensure timely and aligned talent development?
Fifth, Mr Chairman, energy security and economic resilience. As a resource-scarce country, we must accelerate our transition to greener energy to reduce vulnerability to global price shocks, especially in an era of heightened geopolitical fragmentation.
Kenya, whose President has expressed an ambition to be the "Singapore of Africa", now generates about 90% of its electricity from renewable sources. How does Singapore compare and how has our progress evolved over time?
What is the projected job creation from our decarbonisation push, across renewables integration, hydrogen, carbon management and grid resilience? How do we ensure that our sustainability ambitions are achieved while keeping energy reliable and affordable for households and businesses? And how can this transition catalyse new capabilities and industries locally, rather than simply raise costs?
Mr Chairman, our economic environment is undergoing deep structural change, requiring bold and coordinated action rather than incremental adjustments. Resilience without growth is stagnation. Growth must translate into jobs for Singaporeans and openness without anchoring local capability is unsustainable.
In a more volatile global environment, fiscal discipline and buffers give us the space to respond to shocks. But ultimately, our long-term competitiveness will depend on how deeply we build, retain and renew capabilities within our economy.
I look forward to MTI's clarifications on how it is sequencing these priorities and measuring success, not just in investment commitments, but in sustained capability development and meaningful employment outcomes for Singaporeans.
[(proc text) Question proposed. (proc text)]
Nurturing the Next Local Champion
Mr Shawn Loh (Jalan Besar) : Mr Chairman, before I begin, I declare my interest as the group managing director of Commonwealth Capital Group.
I have spoken in this House before about the importance of growing Singaporean multinational companies (MNCs) that are deeply rooted here. Ultimately, size matters. When a Singapore enterprise scales successfully, it anchors high value headquarter (HQ) functions here. It develops local managerial talent pipelines, and it contributes to economic and supply chain resilience. Singaporeans will benefit if we have more local companies crossing the $1 billion mark in annual revenues.
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MTI could consider setting an ambitious target for a number of new local companies to reach that scale by 2035 so that all Government agencies can marshal their resources to achieve this.
While it remains important to help the broad base of small and medium enterprises (SMEs), as defined by those earning below $100 million of annual revenue, there are unique challenges for companies to scale beyond $100 million. At the $100 million-level, these companies are still small enterprises on the global stage.
MTI could consider adding a separate tier of companies between $100 and $200 million in annual revenue, with slightly lower support than the SME tier, so that there is a gentler cliff effect in support levels, which are typically more generous for SMEs. Today, the support levels can drop from 70% to 30%. I wonder if this is incentivising some companies to stay below the $100 million mark in annual revenues unnaturally.
This is similar to legislation passing through the European parliament last week on a new tier of small mid-cap companies. Coincidentally, this new tier was set at 200 million Euros.
Many of our larger local companies are already winners in their respective industries. They are capable and ambitious, yet few manage to break into the next tier. That is because unlike other countries, we do not have a large domestic market. So, to scale further, our firms have to internationalise when they are smaller while operating headquarters with a higher-cost base. This is a structural disadvantage and makes scaling much more difficult.
So, to be clear, when the Government supports larger local firms to scale, it is no longer about picking future winners. It is instead about doubling down on current winners, helping them win even bigger in the future and thereby bringing more benefits to Singaporeans.
To scale, firms must do two things.
First, firms must develop more products and services with market fit. The Government has no business in telling companies what to do or how to do it. That is the job of entrepreneurial enterprises. But the Government can create a conducive economic infrastructure to improve the chances of success.
MTI's efforts to sustain a dynamic and vibrant enterprise ecosystem will help. Such an ecosystem can foster broader, deeper and richer collaborations that lead to a faster cycle of product development and market testing.
We also need to consider whether our factors of production, taken holistically, are competitive. These include manpower, land, energy and capital, to name a few. I will focus only on capital today.
Firms need access to sufficiently affordable capital in order to invest in fixed assets, such as machines to increase output, as well as working capital, which can grow quite quickly as firms scale. To that end, I have no objections to the Budget announcement to improve the Enterprise Financing Scheme for trade and fixed asset loans.
But organic growth is way too slow. We should be more impatient and help firms get to the moon faster. Focus on inorganic growth through mergers and acquisitions (M&A) to turbocharge our local companies. Affordable capital is also required for M&A.
Currently, the Enterprise Financing Scheme supports domestic acquisitions undertaken by firms up to $500 million in revenue, but this support lapses in a month. This was not mentioned in the Budget Statement. The Ministry should consider extending or broadening this support.
Second, once firms have product-market fit, they need to scale through new markets. We can do this in a few ways.
We can bring those markets into Singapore through tourism. This speaks to our tourism strategy to bring more high-spending tourists who can revitalise traditionally domestic-oriented industries, like F&B and retail. More tourists also mean more GST collections.
Of course, the more conventional way is to go into new markets overseas. When our firms expand overseas, the biggest constraints are often networks, credibility and distribution channels. This has traditionally been Government-led, but strong business-led communities can complement Government efforts. They can engage regulators and partners in a more informal and commercially driven manner; facilitate peer-to-peer sharing of intelligence and experiences; and build a sustained Singapore-branded presence.
I sometimes wonder why there are not more Singaporean business chambers of commerce overseas. For example, there does not seem to be one in the United States (US) or the United Kingdom (UK). Is the Government aware of any coordination challenges preventing similar business-led platforms from forming? Does the Government see any value in playing a stronger catalytic role to address these challenges?
Mr Chairman, I hope the Ministry can consider these perspectives to strengthen our enterprise landscape. Singaporeans can look forward to a new generation of Singaporean global enterprises with pride.
Enhancing Consumer Protection
Mr Melvin Yong Yik Chye (Radin Mas) : Mr Chairman, before I begin, I declare my interests as president of the Consumers Association of Singapore (CASE) as well as the co-chair of the Consumer Protection Review Panel.
Sir, our consumer protection regime must move faster against errant businesses. Today, when CASE refers a business to the Competition and Consumer Commission of Singapore (CCS) for breaches of the Consumer Protection (Fair Trading) Act (or CPFTA), it can take well over two years before an injunction is granted by the Courts. In recent cases, the process has taken between 28 and 39 months from referral to Court Order.
I do appreciate CCS for taking enforcement action and securing injunctions. But when enforcement takes years, consumers continue to suffer losses while cases are being processed. Errant businesses are allowed to continue their unfair practices for far too long.
We can and we must do better.
Today, CCS already exercises administrative powers under the Competition Act. I call on the Government to grant CCS similar administrative enforcement powers for breaches of the CPFTA. Such powers would allow CCS to act more swiftly – to issue directions, require compliance and stop harmful practices without relying solely on lengthy Court proceedings. This will free up judicial resources and, more importantly, protect our consumers earlier.
This is especially critical as unfair practices evolve.
We are already seeing a rise in dark patterns – deceptive online design tactics that manipulate consumers into making unintended purchases. These include hidden subscriptions, subscription traps that are difficult to cancel and AI-generated fake reviews that mislead consumers.
These practices spread quickly online. Our enforcement tools must move just as quickly. A nimble digital economy requires a nimble regulator. Beyond digital practices, we are also deeply concerned about the sharp rise in prepayment losses.
In 2025, consumers suffered over $2.7 million in prepayment losses. This is a 40.4% increase from 2024. While many of these cases arise from certain sectors, the broader concern is this – businesses with weak financial standing continue to collect large prepayments to sustain cashflow. When such businesses fail, consumers are left bearing the losses.
The risk is asymmetrical. Businesses gain immediate cashflow. Consumers bear the downside. I therefore call on the Government to introduce a mandatory cooling-off period for all businesses that collect significant prepayments. Consumers should have time – away from sales pressure – to consider their purchases carefully and to reconsider large prepaid commitments. A cooling-off period restores balance. It encourages responsible selling and gives consumers space to make rational decisions.
Finally, I would like to update that the Consumer Protection Review Panel has been studying a range of issues affecting consumers, including better monitoring of unfair practices in the digital age and prepayment safeguards. Public consultations will begin on 16 March 2026.
I must stress that consumer protection is not anti-business. It is pro-trust. Let us act decisively to protect that trust —
The Chairman : Mr Andre Low, you may take your two cuts together.
Strengthening Consumer Protection
Mr Low Wu Yang Andre (Non-Constituency Member) : Chairman, let me begin with a Latin phrase every lawyer knows – caveat emptor. Buyer beware. This was a doctrine that was borne for a simpler world – a world of physical retail and handshakes, where buyer and sellers stood on more equal ground.
This world is gone. Today, the ordinary Singaporean faces sophisticated commercial machinery engineered to extract compliance in revenue through confusion, inertia and sometimes even fear. The CPFTA was not designed for this world. It is falling short today and Singaporeans are paying the price.
I will address two dimensions to this failure: first, the deceptive commercial practices that quietly train our wallets of everyday consumers; and second, the physical predation targeting our most vulnerable and destroying their retirement savings.
First, deceptive commercial practices. Long part of the playbook of usual suspects, like telecommunications companies (telcos) and gyms, the CCS has already demonstrated that such misconduct is spreading to other industries, like direct-to-consumer brands and e-commerce.
In August 2024, CCS took action against Sterra, a water filter brand that falsely claimed that Singapore's tap water was unsafe to drink and sold products marketed as being manufactured in Korea and Singapore when they were in fact manufactured in China. Last December, CCS acted against PRISM+ for fake countdown timers on their website that served no technical function and simply reset to zero; and against COURTS for silently adding unsolicited products to customers' shopping carts. COURTS knew about this in 2024 but they made no changes until the CCS intervened.
These are just the headline cases, but beyond them, quieter practices extract money daily from consumers: fixed-term contracts advertised at introductory rates that apply only to the first few months, deliberately creating the impression that the full contract is cheaper than it really is; trials that convert silently to fully paid subscriptions with no active consent; and third-party services bundled into telco packages, like Netflix subscriptions, free for three months and then cancellable only by navigating a maze designed specifically to outlast the consumer's patience.
Each year, CASE and the CCS, between them, receive 40 to 50 complaints about such cases. This is just the tip of the iceberg and many similar tactics abound.
The Government has convened a Consumer Protection Review Panel last March. I welcome this and I look forward to its findings. But I also want to add my perspective about what I see as most urgent.
One, any advertised price for fixed-term subscription must reflect the average cost across the full contract term. A promotional rate that applies only part of the term cannot be used as the headline figure. Two, we should ask for explicit active consent before any trial converts to a paid subscription. Silence is not consent. Three, we should enforce contractual symmetry. If it is one click to sign up, it should be one click to cancel. Four, we should empower the CCS with direct administrative powers like the UK's Competition and Markets Authority, which can levy fines of up to 10% of global annual revenue for consumer law breaches without going to Court.
Today, many companies behave well, but some bad actors act with impunity until they are taken to task. We need to give the CCS stronger teeth to tackle their bad behaviour. Voluntary compliance agreements after the fact are not deterrence.
Predatory Sales Targeting the Vulnerable
Deceptive commercial practices drain wallets, but what I turn to now is worse – physical, face-to-face predatory behaviour that has cost some Singaporeans their retirement savings entirely.
CASE's February 2026 report recorded a 76% surge in beauty industry complaints last year, with consumers losing over $2.1 million.
Consider what happened at a hair salon chain, where an elderly man came in for an $8 haircut. Midway through it, a staff member showed him images on a monitor and told him his scalp was haemorrhaging although no scanning device was ever used. His personal identification number (PIN) was entered into the payment machine while his payment total was covered. He left having paid nearly $1,000 for treatments he never consented to.
Another chain of beauty salons – 53 complaints, exceeding $980,000 in total. In one case, a single consumer was charged at least $370,000. More than 40% of complainants were aged 60 and above.
Finally, Nail Palace. Its managing director was sentenced to four months' imprisonment in September 2024 – but note this – for contempt of Court, for failing to notify customers of injunctions against the chain, but not for the original predatory behaviour. That was handled as a civil matter throughout. The gap in the law is precisely what must be closed.
So, this is my final ask: I invite MTI to consider working with the Ministry of Home Affairs and the Attorney-General's Chambers to examine criminalising severe predatory sales tactics that are directed at vulnerable people. France's consumer code already does this. The "abus de faiblesse", abuse of weakness crime, carries up to three years imprisonment for exploiting a consumer's age, illness or psychological vulnerability. The UK's consumer protection legislation similarly expressly prohibits aggressive commercial practices, with penalties extending up to two years imprisonment.
Chairman, when a business confines a vulnerable senior in a room, manufactures a medical scare and then extracts their life savings through coercion or psychological tactics, the law must have a name for that and consequences to match.
Through-train Initial Public Offering for Technology Venture
Dr Neo Kok Beng (Nominated Member) : Mr Chairman, I would like to declare that I have innovation studios which create and invest in technology and innovation ventures for the global market.
We are actually living in a very exciting time, with lots of disruptive innovations and technology. The question is how we in Singapore explore and exploit such opportunities.
If we look at the, let us say, air taxi market that I am involved in, you can see that there are, on NASDAC or NYSE, companies that are worth between about $8 billion and $16 billion in valuations, but they have not sold a single craft. They have pre-orders, but they have not actually sold a single craft. So, they are pre-commercialisation, but the market recognise the opportunities and fund them.
Do we have such an exchange in Singapore? I think that is the big question. For technology companies and especially new ventures, really, we need to find a different formula. If you look up north, a little bit further, in Hong Kong, they have the pre-commercialisation listing rules for biomedical under the listing 18A rules or the 18C rules, which is specialist technology companies.
We can learn a little bit from that, but they cater for a bigger market.
In Singapore, we have lots of startups, technology ventures resulting from the universities' research, and also from the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), from our research institutes. There are also a lot of AI innovation opportunities from the private sector. The question is always a gap, the gap between the people that are looking for money and the people looking for exit from the investment. So, they are all staring at each other. Who is going to move first? That is where the pre-commercialisation stage funding is required for all these technology ventures.
I would like to propose that we close this gap. That for technology ventures that are globally oriented and leadership driven, g-o-l-d, I will call it these gold nuggets that we have. And I believe we have a lot of gold nuggets. My doctorate is in innovation. I have trained a lot of innovative teams in the universities. So, how to bring these gold nuggets to become actually a big gold bar? I believe that our exchange can be structured for special listing rules for the technology ventures in the size of about $50 to $100 to 150 million, giving them the special access so that the —
The Chairman : Mr Gerald Giam.
Bridging the Micro Enterprise Gap
Mr Gerald Giam Yean Song (Aljunied) : Sir, micro and small enterprises are the backbone of our community. They provide economic stability for the nation and livelihoods for many workers. However, their economic contribution remains disproportionately low. They employ 45% of our workers but contribute only 11% of nominal value added. This productivity gap translates into lower salaries. These businesses can afford to pay their workers.
ASME has observed that the current classification of SMEs is too broad. A micro enterprise with 10 employees and $1 million in revenue, faces fundamentally different hurdles compared to a medium-sized company with 200 staff and $100 million in turnover. By grouping them together, we risk applying one size fits all solutions that may not reach the smallest players.
Would the Government adopt ASME's suggestion to delineate micro enterprises and SMEs in national policy-making and data collection? Tailoring grants and other assistance to the specific operational realities of each tier will make Government support more effective for them. ASME estimates that a 10% uplift in the value added of this segment could translate to an additional $6.5 billion dollars in annual gross domestic product (GDP), equivalent to more than one percent of growth. Focusing more on these micro and small enterprises is a significant opportunity to lift the wages of many Singaporeans.
Family Businesses and SME Renewal
Mr Edward Chia Bing Hui (Holland-Bukit Timah) : Mr Chairman, I would like to speak on SME transformation. SMEs employ seven out of 10 workers in Singapore and form the backbone of our economy. In supporting transformation, we must recognise that many SMEs are family-run businesses facing generational succession and ownership transitions. This is not only a governance issue. It is an economic and cultural one.
Business transformation often cannot progress meaningfully until ownership structures are stabilised. Where succession is unclear or governance frameworks remain informal, it becomes difficult to invest in digitalisation, expansion or strategic pivots. Transformation requires clarity of leadership and ownership.
I therefore suggest that our SME transformation framework integrate succession planning and family ownership transition as core components of enterprise upgrading.
Cultural nuances also shape how ethnic family businesses approach governance and decision-making. This was evident during a Government Parliamentary Committee (GPC) of Finance, Trade and Industry engagement with the Singapore Malay Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SMCCI), where heritage businesses shared how cultural norms influence succession and continuity. Different communities may view succession and professionalisation differently, and a one-size-fits-all model may not be effective. Enterprise Singapore could deepen engagement with ethnic chambers such as the Singapore Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCCI), the SMCCI, and the Singapore Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SICCI) to support more tailored approaches.
Enterprise Singapore could also expand support to cover family ownership transition, including grants for succession planning, governance restructuring and ownership transfers. Institutions such as Singapore Management University’s Business Families Institute can partner with chambers to develop tailored succession playbooks.
As more heritage SMEs reach generational handover points, a smooth ownership transition is critical to preserving long-established enterprises. By integrating succession support into SME transformation policies, we can strengthen long-term enterprise resilience while retaining the cultural and social value that these businesses contribute to Singapore.
Support SMEs
Mr Lee Hong Chuang (Jurong East-Bukit Batok) : Chairman, about 70% of our Singapore workforce, approximately 2.5 million people are employed under the SMEs. SMEs are the backbones of our economies. This is not a small number. When SMEs do well, Singaporeans do well. If no Singaporean should be left behind, then I think no SME should be left behind too. Instead, they should stay ahead.
Much has been said about supporting individuals across different groups in the past few days. These are important sharing and decisions, yet, beyond assistance, many Singaporeans are asking fundamental questions. Where are the good jobs and how do we secure them?
Singaporeans want opportunities and not depend on just Government handouts. They ask not for a fish, but for the skill and an environment that can allow them to fish for themselves. For that to happen, our SMEs must thrive. I believe strong enterprises create good jobs. When a company grows, workers grow with them.
Over the years, many schemes have been introduced to support SMEs. The issue today is often not about availability, but the ease of accessibility.
Many SME owners are fully occupied in their daily operations. They do not have the bandwidth to navigate multiple schemes. Firms with stronger administrative support navigate the system easier. Smaller enterprises, often those who need the most help may not even know where to begin. This is not about unwillingness. It is about bandwidth and capability.
Perhaps the next step is to make the access to support the more proactive and intelligent. When an SME logs into a Government portal, whether it is for a licence, grant or financing, could there be an integrated AI assistant that understand the firms' profiles and suggest relevant programmes and schemes automatically? Using secure login data, such a system could guide business owners in real time and outline the next step clearly. This would simplify navigation and help ensure that no SME is left behind simply because it lacks time or administrative capability.
Chairman, let me share a simple analogy. For a seed to grow into a healthy and strong tree, sunlight alone is never sufficient. It needs fertile soil and a stable environment. In our economics, we can imagine enterprises are the seeds and Singapore business environment is like the soil. The rule of law, financial stability and open trade networks form the foundation for growth. On this foundation, institutions play distinct roles. For example, the Economic Development Board (EDB) shapes the strategy direction. Enterprise Singapore supports the upgrading and capability building. The National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) advances job redesign and skill upgrading so worker grows alongside with businesses.
The question is not whether support exists today, but whether it operates in sync. First about execution. This year's Budget provide tax rebates and expansion support. This comes timely, yet businesses ask, are the processes clear? Are the timelines predictable? For many SMEs, complexity itself becomes a barrier. If the soil is stable, business will take root. If the pathway is clear, they will grow.
Second, practical AI adoption. AI must deliver productivity and not just promise. Enterprises care about outcomes, reducing administrative work, improving responsiveness and strengthening data management. Our objective must reflect real productivity gains and not cost inflation.
Third, coordination within agency. When strategy investments are brought into Singapore, are local enterprises supported to build capability at the same time? When company upgrades system, can job redesign and skill upgrading move together? If policies too, are better aligned, businesses will spend less time navigating schemes and more time transforming.
Chairman, enterprise upgrading and AI adoption are a matter of national competitiveness and not just for SMEs. As our region accelerates transformation, Singapore must ensure that our SMEs are active participants and not bystanders. The Budget has set the direction. Our task is to keep the soil fertile so that our enterprise, the seed of our economy can grow steadily and strongly. In Mandarin, please.
( In Mandarin ) : [ Please refer to Vernacular Speech .] SMEs are the foundation of the economy. Enterprises are like seeds and the environment is like soil. When enterprises are able to develop, the people benefit. The key to policy lies in ensuring that supported projects and initiatives truly take root, work in synergy and operate efficiently.
If I could describe this in one sentence, it would be: "Strengthen enterprises to invigorate business; invigorate business to benefit the people." That is to say, when we strengthen enterprises, we also invigorate business, and when business is invigorated, the people will benefit.
Strengthening Enterprise Ecosystem
Mr Ng Shi Xuan (Sembawang) : Chairman, besides an income and wealth gap, I would like to explore a third gap, the enterprise ecosystem gap. A strong business ecosystem requires both MNC investments and a resilient SME base. They are two sides of the same coin. When MNCs grow, they bring capital and technology. But our SMEs must be able to grow alongside them and support them locally and regionally.
Today, many MNCs are incentivised to invest heavily in AI and robotics. While this strengthens our economy, it also accelerates disruption across supply chains. With the recent changes to our Preferential Additional Registration Fee rebates, let me use example of a car workshop.
With EVs, there is no engine oil change and fewer mechanical components. Maintenance cycles are longer. These shifts recurring revenue patterns and affects the broader after-market value chain, from workshops to parts distributors. At the same time, newer EVs require proprietary diagnostic software. Independent workshops may lack authorised access or compatible systems. This results in a technology and access issue.
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On the other hand, many workshops are not yet using AI tools for diagnostics, inventory planning or cash flow management. They face restricted access on one end and slow digital adoption on the other. This could create an enterprise ecosystem gap where larger firms surge ahead due to technology and skill, while smaller enterprises struggle to keep up with access, tools and capabilities.
One practical way to narrow this gap is to offer SMEs a year-long subscription to enterprise AI tools, similar to the approach I suggested in my muted Ministry of Finance (MOF) cut. This lowers the barrier to adoption and allows business owners to experiment, learn and integrate AI into daily operations before committing long term.
As we push ahead with AI and advanced industry, we must ensure our SMEs are equipped to adapt alongside the industries we are transforming.
Supporting SMEs to Grow and Thrive
Ms Denise Phua Lay Peng (Jalan Besar) : Chairman, on helping our SMEs grow and thrive. Singapore is not short of schemes. We have advisory support, such as CTO-as-a-Service; intermediaries like the Singapore Business Federation, SME Centres and ASME; platforms like GoBusiness; the Productivity Solutions Grant and the Enterprise Development Grant, even AI Centres of Excellence.
On paper, the ecosystem looks comprehensive. SMEs can be segmented by digital maturity and sector. They can access advice on human resources, marketing, finance and operations. Yet outcomes remain uneven. Many SMEs are still struggling; not just to transform but to stay afloat.
From industry conversations, three structural challenges emerge.
First, bandwidth. Owners are consumed by rent, manpower, compliance and cashflow issues. Transformation requires time and focus. Many simply do not have that headspace.
Second, capability depth. Diagnostics can identify gaps, but implementation requires managers who can redesign workflows, integrate systems, manage change and measure returns. Many SMEs lack this internal execution capability.
Third, structural fragility in certain sectors. In F&B especially, margins are thin and volatility is high. Entry barriers remain however relatively low, yet closure rates are high. Many enter without fully appreciating labour intensity, rental volatility and tight margins. Even with grants, a fragile cost base makes transformation daunting.
Sir, another perspective is this: not all SMEs are equally positioned to transform at the same pace. Some are willing but lack capability. Some are capable but constrained by structure. Some may not yet be ready.
In a resource-constrained environment, should we more deliberately prioritise SMEs that are willing and able, or potentially able, to scale, to innovate and uplift productivity meaningfully? Can we develop clearer readiness indicators, so that support is more disciplined and catalytic? At the same time, how do we avoid leaving behind firms that require capability-building before they can qualify for deeper transformation support?
We have built platforms, provided grants and created segmentation tools. Yet the implementation gap persists.
So, I ask: do we need more precise industry segmentation, not just by size or digital maturity, but by structural conditions? Are we investing enough in building internal execution capability and upgrading the capability of intermediaries who advise SMEs? Can we introduce measures that free up leadership bandwidth for strategic upgrading? Are we confronting structural fragility in sectors like F&B, so new entrants can assess their viability more realistically? And most importantly, how do we help SMEs move beyond digital adoption to sustained, measured productivity growth, especially those with intent and potential to compete?
In the AI era, survival and superficial adoption are not enough. Transformation must be real. So, how will the Government help bridge this implementation gap, so that our SMEs can truly thrive?
Support for Local SMEs
Ms Tin Pei Ling (Marine Parade-Braddell Heights) : Chairman, Singapore SMEs face distinct challenges alongside day‑to‑day operational constraints and pressures to transform, they must internationalise because our domestic market is limited.
Rental and manpower are among their largest cost components. Compliance burden is also a concern, and I had raised this in my cut to MOF last week.
Beyond general labour shortages, firms increasingly need digitally skilled talent who can deploy AI to raise productivity, automate routine tasks and scale operations. They also require coherent enterprise‑level AI strategies and rapid transformation to stay competitive in this AI era. The measures in Budget 2026 are therefore welcome.
I just have one question on this particular point. Learning from past experiences administering grants and credits, how will the Government ensure that financial support and eligibility criteria for tax deductions are precisely targeted, so that funds are spent effectively to create the intended impact. In Chinese, “钱用在刀口上”.
On rentals, there had been speculations that foreign capital inflows are pushing up commercial rents and crowding out local operators. Notably, based on the Parliamentary reply by Deputy Prime Minister Gan Kim Yong in January 2026, China is the second largest owner of retail businesses in Singapore. Even though Chinese owners account for only 3% of retail businesses, the perception of displacement cannot be ignored, and this can affect community sentiment and our unique Singapore “personality”.
What steps will MTI take to ensure local SMEs remain the anchor in Singapore? Can the Ministry consider targeted measures, such as rental relief schemes, tenancy support for heritage and neighbourhood retailers, incentives for landlords to prioritise local tenants or co‑investment platforms that enable local businesses to secure long‑term premises?
Finally, SMEs need help managing rising costs and reaching beyond our shores. Will MTI expand programmes to help these SMEs further optimise costs in areas, such as group procurement, energy efficiency grants, shared services, market access and trade facilitation?
International Trade
Mr Azhar Othman (Nominated Member) : Chairman, I would like to declare that I am the executive chairman of Enercon Asia, a company with presence in seven countries.
In light of the tariffs imposed by the US on various countries, including Singapore, it is crucial for the Ministry to explore potential partnerships with other nations and develop additional Free Trade Agreements (FTAs).
The importance of diversifying our business relationships cannot be overstated. It would be beneficial for the Ministries to provide guidance on which countries present valuable opportunities for our businesses to establish connections and a presence. As a small nation, Singapore must seek assistance and explore opportunities globally to thrive in the current economic landscape.
Becoming a Networked Economy
Mr Victor Lye (Ang Mo Kio) : Mr Chairman, first let me declare my interest as chief executive officer of an investment firm and advisor to companies investing in Singapore and other parts of the world.
During the Budget debate, I spoke about trust as Singapore’s competitive advantage in a fragmenting world. We need to expand our economic space, to change from a GDP to a gross national product (GNP) mindset, linking up in a network with cities, their hinterlands and their peoples who are aligned with us. Today, I propose four practical ways to shift towards becoming a networked economy.
Shift one, let us measure economic value created beyond our borders. For decades, we measured GDP, activity within Singapore’s borders.
But over the years, more and more Singaporeans and firms operate and create value overseas. We should measure their overseas activity, their value added, to reflect our actual economic network strength. I suggest that MTI develops GNP indicators to track value created globally by Singapore and Singaporeans overseas.
Shift two: let us encourage Singaporean firms to hunt as a pack overseas. A good place to start is the Johor-Singapore Special Economic Zone (SEZ). We should view the SEZ as an extra lung, where our SMEs can grow and thrive.
How? I offer four suggestions.
Suggestion one – position Singapore as the trusted gateway to the SEZ. Let us take a proactive approach in marketing the Johor-Singapore SEZ. As I shared in my Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) Committee of Supply (COS) cut, foreign policy can support our economic effort to expand our economic space as a networked economy. We need to work closely, more closely, with our Malaysian counterparts. This can deepen interdependence and create stronger ties for mutual benefit.
It will need a calibration of the mutual trust, given our past experience. But the strategic direction is clear from the perspective of any inward foreign investor. Johor and Singapore can and will play a synergistic role for them. Singapore anchors the trust-dependent core – headquarters governance, treasury, IP, data, compliance and legal, while the Johor hinterland provides scalable economic space. We in Singapore capture the trust premium here, while unlocking cost and space constraints that we have right next door as one integrated operating model.
So, my question is, how can MTI direct EDB, Enterprise Singapore and other economic agencies in coordination with MFA to package and to market a two-side deployment proposition, where inward investors or anchors enter Singapore through Singapore as the trusted gateway and deploy into the Johor-Singapore SEZ?
The second suggestion – how can we organise a plug-and-play SME ecosystem? Singapore's effort to bring inward investments into the SEZ should become business opportunities for our local SMEs. To achieve this, we can structure a SEZ supplier programme where we, for instance, can identify the inward investors, input requirements and standards. We pre-qualify SMEs who can meet such standards and finally, we match them to these anchors or inward investors.
Suggestion three – let us develop sectoral investment packages. These can be identified in certain strategic industries, for example, manufacturing and logistics, digital and data services, food production and coaching, businesses that can take advantage of Johor's strength and Singapore's complementarities. Each package can include shared infrastructure options, regulatory playbooks, talent and professional services support and a directory of Singapore SME suppliers.
Suggestion four – publish a Johor-Singapore SEZ outcome scorecard. MTI can track outcomes, such as the number of two-side deployments across Singapore and the SEZ by sector. We can look at the number of Singapore SMEs matched successfully with inward investors, and we can also measure incremental SME revenue as a result of using such complementarities across Johor and Singapore.
And let me continue with shift three, creating good jobs overseas for Singaporeans. Mr Chairman, there are young and mid-career Singaporeans who may not be aware of the opportunities in the region or some who are unable to price in the risk of working overseas. So, I suggest considering: one, curating overseas job placements for Singaporeans from entry to senior roles. Two, we can offer incentives for firms to rotate staff regionally so that it becomes part of their career development.
Three, we can provide support and flexible childcare or education pathways for Singaporeans returning home. Shift four: towards a network economy, developing artificial intelligence (AI) as our trusted Infrastructure. Singapore's advantage is not about adopting AI but being the most trusted place to deploy AI.
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For example, regional ports are adopting AI independently. But who sets the interoperable standards? Who provides the trusted platform where competing ports can share data for network optimisation?
In cross-border finance, each financial institution is building its own AI infrastructure. But who can offer the coordination layer for these tools to work together so that capital can flow efficiently? Singapore can. How? By developing and leading effective AI governance and secure data exchange frameworks. In a fragmented world, the trusted coordinator becomes invaluable.
In closing, Mr Chairman, MTI, MFA, the Ministry of Manpower and our economic agencies are doing a fine job. However, going forward, in this very fragmenting world, we need to change the way we look at how we grow our economy.
I have shared four shifts: from measuring domestic to tracking global value; from individual expansion to ecosystem; from a locally-bound workforce to an overseas one; and finally, AI as trusted infrastructure. With these, we become a networked economy.
Economic Regionalisation for Singapore
Ms Elysa Chen (Bishan-Toa Payoh) : Chairman, over the past 30 years, many MNCs have based their Asia Pacific headquarters in Singapore, positioning us as a gateway for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). In a volatile global environment, economic connection is more critical than ever. Regional collaboration with ASEAN, including initiatives, like the Johor-Singapore SEZ, has unlocked competitive and strategic advantages for all parties.
In my Budget speech, I shared that four in five Singapore SMEs plan to expand overseas. Yet only 3.1% of our resident workforce has worked overseas full-time for at least six months. Many businesses and workers lack experience operating beyond Singapore. This may deter regional expansion.
Schemes, like the Enterprise Development Grant, help defray the costs of setting up businesses abroad. Will MTI consider strengthening such support to provide smoother, lower-risk entry into foreign markets? On the manpower front, will MTI expand the Global Ready Talent Programme or explore grants to co-fund Singaporeans' relocation costs within ASEAN?
If not, can MTI share how it plans to build capacity in three areas: first, increasing international firms' readiness to appoint Singaporeans to regional roles; second, strengthening business leaders' ability to operate in diverse markets; and third, encouraging Singaporeans to relocate for regional opportunities?
If Singapore is to remain a gateway to ASEAN, we must not only host regional headquarters, we must raise a generation of Singaporeans ready to lead beyond our shores.
Risk-calibrated Global Expansion
Mr Mark Lee (Nominated Member) : Chairman, in a tighter Singapore, domestic scale alone will not sustain enterprise growth. For Singapore businesses, internationalisation is essential for long-term competitiveness and resilience.
The Middle East conflict that unfolded over the weekend reflects how quickly geopolitical conditions can shift. Energy markets react, insurance premiums adjust, shipping routes are reassessed and payment and compliance risks increase. In such an environment, uncertainty can cause firms to hesitate.
How will MTI continue to send a strong and consistent message that despite heightened geopolitical risks, Singapore firms must press on with internationalisation and that the Government will stand behind them as they do so?
At the same time, we must recognise internationalisation risk is not uniform. It varies sharply by market. Parts of Southeast Asia, the Middle East, Africa and Latin America often carry elevated political, regulatory and receivable risks. Working capital cycles are longer. Payment discipline can also be less predictable. Could MTI consider differentiating internationalisation support not only by firm size, but also by market risk profile, with enhanced working capital guarantees, political risk coverage or expanded risk-sharing mechanisms in higher-risk corridors?
Second, many overseas projects today are too large or too complex for individual SMEs. Procurement frameworks favour scale, track record and integrated capability. Encouraging consortium-led bids, enabling firms to "hunt as a pack", would allow complementary Singapore companies to pool capabilities, share risk and compete for projects none could secure alone. Could existing schemes be restructured more explicitly to support consortium-based international bids, including shared financing and coordinated market entry?
Finally, as firms from Northeast Asia and Europe increasingly view Singapore as a gateway into Southeast Asia, our ecosystem must deepen its regional fluency – regulatory expertise, multilingual advisory capability and strong in-market partnerships anchored through our trade associations and chambers. We must strengthen not just financing support, but market intelligence, corridor expertise and in-market execution platforms.
In a more uncertain world, the answer is not retreat. It is a calibrated expansion backed by credible risk-sharing and a confident ecosystem —
The Chairman : Assoc Prof Kenneth Goh.
Entrepreneurship in a Changed World
Assoc Prof Kenneth Goh (Nominated Member) : Thank you, Chair. Budget 2026 positions AI, alongside strategic capabilities such as quantum, advanced manufacturing and space, as critical to Singapore's ability to thrive in a changed world. The thrust is clear – upgrade firms, reskill workers and build new growth engines.
That is the right direction. But transformation will not be fully realised without our entrepreneurs.
Technological shifts do not only upgrade incumbents, they create new markets. AI lowers startup overheads. Advanced manufacturing and deep tech open new value chains. As we build capabilities within firms, we must also enable more Singaporeans to build new ventures around these emerging domains.
Let me raise three areas.
First, de-risk entrepreneurial participation. About half of new firms do not survive beyond five years. Fewer than 1% become unicorns. When people see these statistics, the instinctive response is, "It's too risky. We don't want to try."
But if too few are willing to try, the economy suffers. Innovation slows. New growth engines do not emerge. To bridge that gap, we must reduce the perception that entrepreneurship carries a permanent career penalty. Entrepreneurship should be normalised as another step in a career journey, not a make-or-break endpoint. It should be seen as part of lifelong learning – a period of experimentation, skill development and value creation.
May I ask the Ministry, beyond capital incentives, how are we strengthening pathways that allow Singaporeans – from fresh graduates to mid-career professionals – to venture into entrepreneurship and return to employment without stigma or structural disadvantage? After all, research shows that the average founder of high-growth firms are in their early to mid-40s. Experience and networks matter, especially in complex sectors. Small nations, like ours, cannot afford permanent talent loss from temporary setbacks.
Second, we can convert national missions into startup growth. As sectoral missions unlock opportunities in AI, manufacturing, connectivity and healthcare, how do we ensure Singapore-based startups are meaningfully plugged into these platforms? Can procurement pathways, pilot projects and structured partnerships be strengthened so that startups led by Singapore-based founders can validate and scale? In frontier sectors, such as quantum and space, can cross-agency sandbox models support experimentation and co-learning while accelerating deployment?
If we get this right, national missions can catalyse local venture growth and not just enterprise upgrading.
Third, we need to anchor long-term value. It is one thing to grow new ventures here, it is quite another to ensure that as they scale globally, they remain anchored in Singapore. If strategic decision-making, IP and leadership functions relocate elsewhere in pursuit of capital and customers, we risk losing gains in control, capital formation and ecosystem spillovers.
The expansion of the Startup SG Equity fund and the Equity Market Development Programme (EQDP) are all important steps, but my question is, as more Singapore companies scale globally, how do we ensure leadership, IP ownership and value creation remain anchored here so that —
The Chairman : Mr Ng Shi Xuan.
Startups and Growth
Mr Ng Shi Xuan : Chairman, I would like to speak on three things: funding, founders and talent for our startups.
With the additional $1 billion injection into our Startup SG Equity, I would like to ask MTI what specific gap we are trying to close? Is the constraint today early-stage formation or is it at the growth stage, where companies have product-market fit but struggle to scale regionally? Is it a shortage of later-stage capital or is it a lack of sector depth in areas, such as deep tech and industrial solutions?
I would appreciate clarity on how MTI has diagnosed this gap and how the capital will be deployed? Are we crowding in experienced regional and global growth funds? Are we co-investing alongside operators who can help companies to expand beyond Singapore? We should also avoid concentrating public funds within the same small pool of startups. Co-investment should widen participation, deepen sector capabilities and bring in new founders and new markets.
Beyond funding, I would like to check on the Startup SG Founder scheme. I heard that one of the founders must be a first-time founder to get this scheme. But we know that startups fail due to a myriad of reasons. In the spirit of supporting and encouraging entrepreneurship, I would like to check if this criterion can be reviewed?
On talents, hiring a full-time chief AI officer can be costly for early-stage firms. This is distinct from the chief technology officer (CTO) advisory schemes. A CTO builds the product. A chief AI officer shapes data strategy, model development and responsible AI use across the organisation. Could we explore a chief AI officer as a service model, allowing experienced AI leaders to support multiple startups so that they can deploy AI properly and scale with confidently?
Funding, talents and founders help companies to grow.
The Chairman : Deputy Prime Minister Gan.
The Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Trade and Industry (Mr Gan Kim Yong) : Mr Chairman, let me thank all Members who have spoken on MTI's COS.
Last year, Singapore's economy grew by 5%, performing better than expected despite a challenging global environment. At the same time, we must be clear-eyed. Singapore is entering a new phase in our economic journey. The rules that allowed Singapore to prosper for decades have fundamentally changed. We face a more complex global environment, marked by heightened great-power competition, rising protectionism and a more fragmented global order.
The United States (US) Supreme Court has struck down the reciprocal tariffs that were imposed last year and the US Administration has since replaced it with a new Section 122 tariff of 10% for up to 150 days. President Trump has also announced that he intends to raise it to 15%. The details are not there yet. There is still considerable uncertainty about how the tariff will evolve over time.
We are working with the Singapore Economic Resilience Taskforce (SERT) tripartite members to provide information to and gather feedback from businesses and workers to help them navigate these uncertainties.
These developments exemplify the unpredictable and uncertain global trading environment that we must now navigate. That is not all. Over the weekend, the conflict in the Middle East escalated, with the US and Israel launching an attack on Iran, and Iran retaliating by counterattacking Israel and US' bases in the region. The Strait of Hormuz, which is a key shipping route for crude oil and liquefied natural gas (LNG), has been closed.
In the near term, this could result in an increase in global energy prices. Depending on how protracted the conflict is, higher energy prices could lead to higher costs for businesses and consumers and weigh on the global and Singapore economies. We are monitoring the developments closely and will reassess our GDP and inflation forecasts if necessary.
Major structural forces are also reshaping industries, businesses and jobs.
AI and automation are transforming how value is created and how work is organised. The global push to decarbonisation is also changing industrial processes, influencing investment patterns and impacting relative competitiveness.
Together with our demographic constraints that I spoke about last week, sustaining growth and creating good jobs will become more challenging. Yet even in this more difficult environment, there are good opportunities for Singapore as a trusted, knowledge-driven and connected hub.
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This is why the Government set up the Economic Strategy Review (ESR) to take a hard, honest look at how Singapore must reset our economic strategy. We will have to work harder and smarter, be creative and take calculated risks, and explore bold solutions to reach the higher end of our GDP trend-growth of 2% to 3% per annum, on average, over the next decade and create good jobs.
Let me outline broadly five strategic thrusts and my colleagues in MTI will elaborate later. First, we will establish and deepen our leadership in key growth sectors, while pushing the frontier into new areas of growth. As our economy matures, growth and good jobs can no longer come from scale alone. Growth must increasingly come from depth – by establishing and deepening global leadership in sectors where Singapore already has strong foundations.
Mr Saktiandi Supaat asked about our plans for the advanced manufacturing, trust-based services and frontier sectors. Singapore is already a global node in advanced manufacturing sectors, such as semiconductors, medical products, specialty chemicals and aerospace, which contribute significantly to our economy and provide good jobs.
We want to secure and extend our leadership in these sectors – we will step up investments in AI, automation and digital technologies to raise productivity, improve quality and reliability, and become more flexible and resilient. As factories become more automated and data-driven, demand will grow for skilled jobs, such as automation and robotics engineers, process engineers, data specialists and advanced equipment technicians, that command higher wages.
We will also focus research and development (R&D) resources to sharpen our technological edge, shorten innovation cycles and help firms move ideas faster – from the lab to the factory floor and into the market. In parallel, we will accelerate the adoption of low-carbon and resource-efficient technologies, so that our industries remain competitive as the world transitions to a low-carbon future. By reinforcing these strengths, we will build deep, competitive ecosystems that anchor high-value activities here and support good, skilled jobs for Singaporeans.
Beyond manufacturing, we are also extending our lead in modern services. In this volatile and uncertain world, trust has become the most sought-after asset. Our trust premium has enabled us to establish ourselves as a global hub for finance, capital and IP. We will build on this to develop Singapore as a global hub for trust-based services, such as risk advisory, cybersecurity, AI assurance and Testing, Inspection and Certification. This will create new opportunities in modern services.
Even as we deepen our existing strengths in advanced manufacturing and modern services, we must also push the frontier into new areas of growth, such as quantum, decarbonisation technologies and space-related industries. As these industries grow, they will open up new career opportunities for Singaporeans.
Taken together, these will deepen what we already do well in advanced manufacturing and modern services, while creating new engines and expand Singapore's growth frontier, and secure high-quality jobs for Singaporeans.
Second, we must sustain a dynamic and vibrant enterprise ecosystem, spanning multinational corporations, high-growth companies and a vibrant start-up community. Leading MNCs, both local and foreign, will continue to be a core pillar of our economy. They bring scale, advanced technologies, global networks and high-quality jobs. We will continue to work with MNCs to anchor high-value activities here, including R&D, advanced manufacturing, regional and global headquarters functions, and strategic roles.
At the same time, the next phase of growth will increasingly come from a new generation of emerging enterprises – growth-stage companies that have yet to establish themselves as a leading MNC but have demonstrated both the potential and ambition to become future industry leaders.
We must be prepared to take some risks to support such promising enterprises by providing them with a trusted base to operate from, and scale to international markets. One such company is Workato, an enterprise software firm that helps businesses automate workflows and integrate systems across their operations. Workato's Asia Pacific revenue has increased 10-fold over the past five years, with a customer base of more than 12,000 companies across sectors, such as manufacturing, financial services and healthcare.
Singapore can serve as a strategic base for Workato's global expansion, anchoring product development, AI innovation and regional leadership here, while creating high-value opportunities for Singaporeans and strengthening our talent pipeline.
I agree with Assoc Prof Kenneth Goh that anchoring and partnering companies, like Workato, in Singapore at an early stage of their growth is important as it would allow us to shape where strategic HQ decisions are made, where core capabilities are built and where long-term value is created. As these companies grow from Singapore, they will create new roles here in areas, such as R&D, product management, marketing and business development.
EDB will step up efforts to identify and anchor such companies, working closely with leading venture capital and private equity partners. We will provide bespoke, end-to-end support, such as market access assistance, regulatory facilitation and access to ready-to-use facilities, to help these companies anchor in Singapore and grow their presence here.
Done well, this will allow us to capture long-term economic value, strengthen our pipeline of leading enterprises and reinforce Singapore's position as a trusted base for globally leading companies to be here and to scale. We will not just be a landing pad, but also a launching pad for potential global companies.
Alongside this, we will continue to sustain the vibrancy of our start-up community and foster an entrepreneurial culture where people dare to dream and take risks. Minister of State Alvin Tan will share more on our plans for our startups. By sustaining dynamic and vibrant enterprise ecosystems, we will reinforce Singapore's position as a trusted and connected base for global business and ensure that our economy remains at the forefront of innovation and growth.
For our enterprises to raise productivity, upgrade capabilities and scale innovation faster than before, AI is the critical enabler. Our third thrust is therefore to establish Singapore as an AI leader, as well as an AI-empowered economy. We want to empower our companies to harness AI end-to-end, by redesigning business processes, embedding AI into core operations, developing proprietary applications, transforming workflows and upgrading jobs and skills.
To date, we have supported over 60 companies to establish AI Centres of Excellence. These are in-house teams focussed on developing and deploying AI solutions. We will take this further by launching a "Champions of AI" programme later this year. Under this programme, we will target a select group of Singapore-based companies with the ambition and commitment to make AI a core driver of productivity, innovation and growth. We will partner these companies to transform their businesses, by embedding AI across core operations, organisational processes and workforce practices.
This includes leadership and workforce training, as well as support to develop and execute AI transformation projects with clear and measurable business impact. These companies will also invest in retraining and upskilling their employees, enabling their workers to take on high-value AI-enabled job roles.
Let me give DBS as an example. AI has been embedded throughout the bank's operations, from customer engagement to risk management and operational efficiency. For instance, through personalised AI-driven nudges, DBS guides retail customers to make better investment and financial decisions. These customers saved twice as much, invested five times more and had nearly three times higher insurance coverage than those who did not.
In risk management, AI analyses millions of transactions daily to detect unusual patterns and intercept suspicious activity in real-time to better protect its customers. DBS has also deployed AI in institutional banking, reducing processing times for trade documentation by 60%. This helps businesses move faster, with greater certainty, especially in cross-border transactions.
DBS is equipping all 40,000 of its employees with foundational understanding and practical exposure to AI. It is also reskilling employees into new job roles that are being created through the integration of AI – for example, from customer service officers into AI agent monitoring managers and GenAI evaluators. AI has also provided some employees with the opportunity to move into new career pathways – for instance, from customer service roles into relationship management roles.
DBS' journey demonstrates how companies can deploy AI to enhance business value while strengthening their workforce. In 2025, DBS reported that economic value from its data analytics, AI and Machine Learning initiatives achieved a record of approximately $1 billion. AI champions are pathfinders. We will learn from their experiences, show the way forward and give other firms the confidence to move faster and deeper in their own AI journeys.
We also want to be an AI leader in the development, testing, deployment and scaling of AI. We will drive AI transformation at the sector level through AI Missions, starting with advanced manufacturing, connectivity, finance and healthcare – sectors where Singapore already has strong foundations.
For each Mission, we will work with the industry to define sharp, sector-specific problem statements in areas where AI can drive breakthrough transformations. Around each Mission, we will build full-stack ecosystems, including datasets, computing resources, regulatory sandboxes and solution providers. This will shorten the path from development to deployment and from testing to scale.
These Missions will generate demand for new skills, creating clusters of expertise anchored in Singapore. AI Missions serve as rallying flags to attract global AI talent and companies focused on real-world applications, mobilise whole-of-nation efforts across the Government and industry, and concentrate investments and enablers for greater impact.
We will also establish an AI Park as a focal point where talent, problem owners, researchers and resources can come together to create synergy and nurture a deep ecosystem. We already have Lorong AI; and we will now also build an entire "Kampong" – Kampong AI at One-North. "Kampong AI" will accelerate collaboration and serve as a centre of gravity for AI excellence.
These efforts – "Champions of AI", AI Missions and "Kampong AI" – will position Singapore as a place where AI solutions are built, proven and scaled, empowering firms across the economy and establishing AI leadership in key sectors.
Even as we grow our economy, our competitiveness will depend not only on innovation, but also on the ability of our businesses to adapt, reposition and transform. Firms will increasingly face the need to relook at how they operate. Business models that once worked well may no longer be viable under the current and future environment. In response, firms may need to pursue different pathways, transforming their business models, restructuring their operations or, where necessary, scale down or even exit specific products, services or parts of their operations.
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Our next thrust is therefore to support our businesses to proactively and confidently navigate these transitions. Such adjustments are a normal and necessary part of economic renewal. But we recognise that the process can be difficult, challenging and sometimes, painful.
We will work closely with trade associations and chambers, enterprises and the Labour Movement to support firms as they go through these transitions, helping them assess their options early, restructure responsibly, pursue new growth opportunities, including exploring overseas markets and manage change in a way that strengthens long-term competitiveness and supports workers through the transition.
I agree with Mr Shawn Loh that with our small domestic economy, many growth opportunities lie beyond Singapore's shores. We want to help our companies to not only export their products and services, but also to expand and invest internationally. This will allow them to benefit from the growth of the global economy, while anchoring value, capabilities and leadership functions here in Singapore.
We will step up support for leading companies pursuing significant overseas ventures that may involve higher risks and capital outlay, especially in developing and emerging markets, but which give them a real and lasting foothold in key markets and value chains. In addition to growing their revenue and profits from overseas, these companies will bring value back to Singapore through better jobs, stronger demand for local capabilities and deeper integration into global growth opportunities.
I agree with Ms Elysa Chen and Mr Victor Lye on the importance of supporting and preparing our entrepreneurs and workers embarking on internationalisation. The Ministry of Manpower will share more on this.
We will also safeguard and expand our international economic space. Minister of State Ms Gan Siow Hwang will elaborate more on our plans to deepen and diversify our economic links with our trading partners.
Mr Chairman, the global environment will remain uncertain. The road ahead will not be easy. But Singapore has succeeded so far not by waiting for certainty, but by planning long term, acting early and moving ahead decisively.
The ESR has outlined our strategy going forward. Our five strategic thrusts build on our strengths, embrace new opportunities, harness technology, keep Singapore open and connected and support our people through change, every step of the way.
We will ensure growth must translate into good jobs for Singaporeans. Above all, our strategy is to give workers the confidence to adapt, businesses the ability to compete and every Singaporean a share in our progress and a stake in our future. If we continue to stay united, remain agile and nimble and keep investing in our people, Singapore will not just navigate change – we will shape it. [ Applause .]
The Chairman : Mr Ng Shi Xuan.
Battery as an Enabler
Mr Ng Shi Xuan : Chairman, I declare my interest as a business owner that manufactures, assembles and distributes batteries locally. But I rise to speak about batteries not just as a product, but as an enabler for economic growth.
Singapore may not manufacture battery cells at scale, but that is not where our competitive advantage lies. Our strengths and high value segments, such as system design, integration, battery management software, safety engineering, testing, compliance and project management. These are areas where our Singapore-based companies can compete and differentiate themselves.
Today, many local companies are already working with IHLs and research institutes for technology capabilities, while leveraging regional manufacturing to produce competitive solutions. With the right positioning and partnerships, we can serve Southeast Asia and beyond.
Industry platforms, such as the Singapore Battery Consortium, have played a useful role in bringing in together the different players. I understand that National Research Foundation's (NRF's) funding for the Consortium will end on 31 March. May I seek clarification on whether support for this platform will continue and whether its scope can be expanded beyond research collaboration to include commercialisation support and market access.
Sir, I would also like to raise a practical trade issue affecting some of our companies. A handful of firms have shared that while they carry out substantial work in Singapore, including system integration, battery management software, safety engineering on compliance, this value-add may not always be fully reflected for trade purposes. I hope MTI can review whether our frameworks adequately recognise modern system integration and software-driven value-add in sectors like energy storage.
Batteries enable solar deployment, power data centres, electrified fleets and strengthen grid resilience. With the right policy support, Singapore can capture meaningful value in this growing sector.
Singapore Energy Strategy
Ms Tin Pei Ling : Chairman, secure energy and we secure our destiny. Beyond meeting Singapore's basic needs, our energy demand will rise as we digitalise and double down on AI.
Singapore's energy strategy has always been shaped by three structural realities: we have no natural resources, we face land constraints and we depend almost entirely on imported energy. These constraints constantly force us to balance the energy trilemma – security, sustainability and affordability.
Today, natural gas supplies roughly 95% of our electricity. It remains our most viable transition fuel, reliable and relatively lower in emissions. We have diversified supplies through pipeline gas and LNG imports and invested in critical infrastructure, such as our LNG terminal.
At the same time, we are accelerating decarbonisation. I welcome continued efforts to maximise solar deployment on rooftops and reservoirs, pilot regional electricity imports under the ASEAN Power Grid initiative and study hydrogen as a potential long‑term option. These are necessary steps.
Yet, our strategy must continue to evolve in the face of rising geopolitical uncertainty, supply chain fragmentation and intensifying climate pressures. The latest conflict involving Israel, US and Iran is a stark example. Disruptions to key shipping routes like the Strait of Hormuz where a large portion of LNG passes could send energy prices soaring.
I therefore pose several questions to the Ministry.
First, on energy security. As we deepen regional electricity imports, how is MTI assessing geopolitical concentration and supply risk? What plans are in place to diversify sources and build redundancy into our long-term energy import strategy?
Second, on supporting our national AI push. With rising demand for computing power and data centres, how is MTI working with local and international partners to ensure sufficient, sustainable power supply while promoting energy efficient digital infrastructure?
Third, on hydrogen. Hydrogen is promising for low carbon power and for hard to abate sectors, such as maritime and petrochemicals. But costs and supply chains remain challenging. When does the Ministry assess hydrogen to be commercially viable at scale for Singapore? How are we positioning ourselves early enough to shape, rather than follow, regional hydrogen supply chains? What support is being offered to firms and startups to deepen R&D and commercialise hydrogen technologies in Singapore?
Fourth, on carbon pricing and competitiveness. Singapore's carbon tax is expected to rise to signal decarbonisation. How does MTI balance competitiveness for trade exposed sectors with the need for credible carbon pricing? Are there plans to deepen international carbon market linkages or other measures to manage domestic cost pressures?
Fifth, on impact on Singaporeans and companies. How will the Ministry ensure households and businesses continue to access reliable energy at affordable prices during this transition?
Energy policy today is not just about keeping the lights on. It is about resilience in a fractured world and competitiveness in a low-carbon economy.
Strengthening Energy Resilience
Mr Edward Chia Bing Hui : Mr Chairman, I rise to speak on electricity, because in today’s AI-driven economy, energy is a strategic capability. Quite simply, no power, no go.
Earlier this month, I asked about Singapore's energy resilience and grid stability as renewable deployment grows and electrification accelerates. We are pursuing decarbonisation and digitalisation simultaneously and our electricity system must support both without compromising reliability or affordability.
First, on decarbonisation. Global energy prices are volatile. How do we keep Singapore's transition to low-carbon electricity credible despite price volatility? Investors need certainty, yet committed off-take arrangements may raise costs relative to market prices. How do we balance investment certainty with affordability? Clear policy signals will be critical to sustain private capital.
Second, on grid stability. Electricity demand is rising structurally. AI data centres, quantum computing, semiconductor fabrication, advanced manufacturing and transport electrification will significantly increase consumption, while imports and intermittent sources like solar diversify supply.
Intermittency now exists on both supply and demand. Electrified transport and fast-charging infrastructure will create concentrated demand peaks. What investments are we making in grid reinforcement, storage and system balancing to ensure reliability remains uncompromised? For sectors such as data centres and semiconductors, energy reliability is non-negotiable.
Third, on pricing and incentives. Electricity pricing does not always reflect supply variability. Could more dynamic pricing better align demand with peak renewable generation? A time-differentiated grid emissions factor could incentivise load shifting, reduce strain and support decarbonisation. Regulatory frameworks should also continue enabling private investment in renewable generation and energy storage.
Mr Chairman, energy resilience, affordability and decarbonisation are the foundations of national competitiveness. As Singapore advances as an AI and advanced manufacturing hub, our electricity system must remain stable, forward-looking and climate aligned, because energy security is the foundation of economic security.
The Chairman : Minister Dr Tan See Leng.
The Minister for Manpower (Dr Tan See Leng) : Mr Chairman, as the Deputy Prime Minister has highlighted, the rules that allowed Singapore to prosper have fundamentally changed. Technologies, especially AI, are rapidly disrupting industries. Climate change continues to accelerate, and its impact is affecting our way of life. How do we therefore seize opportunities in spite of all these challenges?
We will leverage science and technology to establish leadership in key growth sectors and push the frontier into new growth areas. We will also strive to establish Singapore as an AI leader, transforming our advanced manufacturing industry. Powering these efforts, at the core, is energy, which must be sustainable, secure, reliable and affordable.
To extend our lead in advanced manufacturing, we will continue to direct national-level R&D resources towards our key growth sectors.
Our Research, Innovation and Enterprise (RIE) 2025 investments have boosted the R&D capability and capacity of our economy as well as created good jobs. For manufacturing, the annual private sector R&D expenditure in 2023 was $4.3 billion, which is a 54% increase from 2016. Industry R&D jobs grew by 36% between 2016 and 2023 to more than 30,000, of which more than 70% were filled by locals.
One key growth sector is semiconductors. We have built strong R&D capabilities through past RIE investments, and we have anchored a total of more than $30 billion in investments from semiconductor companies, over the past four years. We will further invest $800 million to establish the RIE Flagship in Semiconductors, focusing on high-impact technology areas, such as Advanced Packaging and Advanced Photonics, which boost chip performance while cutting power use.
The Flagship will translate research into products and encourage more advanced R&D and manufacturing activities, creating good jobs in Singapore.
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The Flagship will also bring together efforts under the National Semiconductor Translation and Innovation Centre (NSTIC). Since its launch in RIE2025, NSTIC has achieved several breakthroughs, including in high-speed data transmission and metalens fabrication. It has since attracted over 10 industry partners and has built a strong commercialisation pipeline.
Last year, the Deputy Prime Minister announced our investment in NSTIC (R&D Fab), which is our semiconductor R&D fabrication facility. It is on track to commence operations by 2027, and companies have shown strong interest in the facility’s collaboration space.
We will also invest $60 million in NSTIC (Power Electronics) to strengthen Singapore’s competitiveness in next-generation power electronics. Within a year, we aim to double the carrier mobility of silicon carbide technologies, enabling the potential development of smaller, but more efficient power systems. Use cases include extending the driving ranges of electric vehicles (EVs).
Another key growth sector is biomedical, which remains robust despite its inherent volatility. To boost sector growth, we announced two R&D translational platforms in 2024, namely the Nucleic Acid Therapeutics Initiative (NATi) and MedTech Catapult. These platforms are attracting global partners, they are uplifting local enterprises, and training talents to anchor high-value R&D activities and jobs in Singapore.
For example, MedTech Catapult is working with a local startup, Vivo Surgical, to develop its verification prototype to be ready for clinical studies, and has onboarded the company onto its venture acceleration programme.
Given the good progress of these platforms, we intend to scale them further under RIE2030.
Besides public sector efforts, the private sector also plays a crucial role in our innovation ecosystem. Through our Research and Innovation Scheme for Companies (RIS(C)), we have attracted substantive private research and innovation investments, building capabilities and creating high-value jobs for locals.
In the past five years, companies have committed more than $14 billion to research and innovation investments here; and it has created more than 12,000 jobs in research, development, and innovation roles. Again, with locals filling more than 70% of these positions. Some examples. Grab's Artificial Intelligence Centre of Excellence has hired around 50 people, while Evonik, the German chemicals giant, has hired over 100 researchers for its Asia Research Hub in Singapore.
Building on this, we will invest more than $3 billion in RIS(C) in RIE2030.
Beyond existing growth sectors, we will boldly pursue emerging technologies that can drive breakthroughs across our economy. One example is space technology, the “final frontier”, which is rapidly moving from science fiction to real-world applications.
Space technology is already used in our daily lives, powering navigation and connectivity. As technologies advance, as costs fall, smaller countries like Singapore can capture opportunities in the growing space economy. This can create good jobs for Singaporeans in areas such as engineering and data science, while enabling businesses to capture value from space-enabled services and applications.
One such opportunity is space-based Earth observation, which can be used in industries such as maritime, sustainability and finance. A local startup, Arkadiah Technology, is using satellite data in its partnership with a global agribusiness company – Golden Agri-Resources – to support digital measurement, reporting and verification. This enables more accurate carbon accounting of tropical forests.
To advance our ambitions, we will be establishing the National Space Agency of Singapore (NSAS), which I announced last month. From the initial 30 officers from the Office for Space Technology and Industry (OSTIn), NSAS is expected to double in size over the next three years.
As we develop our growth sectors, we will continue to partner firms to equip Singaporeans with in-demand and emerging skills.
Earlier, the Deputy Prime Minister shared our vision to establish Singapore as an AI leader, with an AI-empowered economy, through the development and execution of AI Missions across four priority sectors. One priority sector is Advanced Manufacturing. We will work with industry partners to further develop the AI Missions and we will provide an update later.
These preliminarily will be anchored on three thrusts. First, we will leverage AI and robotics to transform our manufacturing facilities to achieve best-in-class outcomes that can become more agile, more resilient and more efficient. Second, we will harness AI to create first-in-the-world solutions, by enhancing product designs and accelerating development cycles. Third, we will drive broad-based sectoral transformation, by helping companies adopt AI in key operations to accelerate the deployment of solutions across the ecosystem.
To support these efforts, we will strengthen two key enablers. First, A*STAR's Sectoral AI Centre of Excellence in Manufacturing (AIMfg). Launched about a year and a half ago, AIMfg has supported close to 30 firms in developing and adopting AI-enabled solutions.
For example, Sunningdale, which is a large local manufacturer of precision-engineered plastic components, is partnering AIMfg to develop an AI-powered defect detection system. Early trials are promising, with expected annual cost savings of more than $150,000 for each product.
AIMfg has also developed a set of common AI models that address typical business needs, such as a predictive maintenance model for rotary devices. This reduces resources and time needed to develop custom solutions from scratch.
Moving forward, AIMfg will further drive AI-led transformation with partners and expand the suite of common AI models.
Second, we will build capabilities in Embodied AI. Embodied AI brings AI into our physical world – robots that can sense their surroundings, that can reason independently and they can act with purpose in unfamiliar environments.
We will invest in R&D to address complex problems faced by our companies and provide shared infrastructure for researchers and companies to test new Embodied AI technologies. Such infrastructure can accelerate deployment of technologies in frontier sectors, which is something that Assoc Prof Kenneth Goh talked about. We will begin with the Advanced Manufacturing, Aviation and Maritime sectors. This can seed new growth areas, by attracting next-generation Embodied AI startups as well as grooming local champions.
To fully unlock AI’s potential for businesses, we will also contemporaneously build an AI-ready workforce through education and training, and support companies in job redesign and workforce transformation. I will elaborate on these efforts in my Ministry of Manpower speech tomorrow.
Mr Chairman, given these shifts, our economy is becoming more digital and innovation-driven. As pointed out by Ms Tin Pei Ling and Mr Edward Chia, energy powers all these efforts. For our economy and our way of life, energy is existential. As demand grows and as we decarbonise, the Government will continue to strike a pragmatic balance between energy sustainability, security and affordability. Decarbonisation will come with costs, but it cannot and it will not be at all costs.
Let me illustrate this using an example, which will also address Ms Nadia Samdin’s earlier question on carbon tax. We will regularly review the transitory allowances, which only cover a portion of companies’ emissions, for us to strike the right balance between maintaining a price signal to encourage investments in low-carbon solutions and managing the rising costs.
As we pursue a diversified portfolio of renewable energy pathways, we will also focus on scalable and cost-effective solutions. As with Singapore’s Water Story, we will first prioritise pathways that support our self-sufficiency and resilience, by maximising our indigenous sources.
Solar remains our most viable option in the near term. We have made remarkable progress. Last year, we reached our 2030 target of two gigawatt-peak (GWp) of installed solar capacity, five years ahead of schedule. We are therefore raising the target to three GWp – an increase of 50% – by 2030, and we aspire to double last year’s achievement within the second half of the 2030s.
However, even with widespread deployment, solar will only supply, at best, about 10% of our future electricity needs, due to land constraints and climate conditions. So, while solar energy is important, it is insufficient. That is why we are currently studying our geothermal resource potential.
Besides indigenous sources, we are also pursuing other low-carbon pathways. Electricity imports from the region can diversify and decarbonise our energy mix. To date, we have awarded around 8.4 gigawatts (GW) of Conditional Approvals to promising projects. Of which, three GW have advanced to Conditional Licences. We are working closely with project developers to secure the necessary regulatory approvals to commence construction soon.
Through close collaboration and cooperation with our neighbours, which is essential, as we strive towards our regional vision of the ASEAN power grid, our first wave of electricity import projects will likely come from Indonesia and Peninsular Malaysia. To prepare for imports from Indonesia, we have identified suitable subsea cable connection routes and landing sites. We are also conducting a full feasibility study on a second interconnector between Singapore and Malaysia. If this is developed, this could provide up to two GW of bilateral interconnection capacity, on top of the one GW of capacity from our existing interconnector.
Beyond this, we are also exploring other low-carbon solutions. As I have said before in this House, no option is off the table. First, we are exploring biomethane as a viable low-carbon fuel through a regulatory sandbox of up to 300 megawatts (MW). Its compatibility with existing infrastructure minimises the need for costly asset upgrades. Since last year, we have seen strong industry interest. We are currently evaluating proposals for the sandbox, and we expect to appoint demand-supply aggregators soon.
Second, we are studying the potential of low-carbon hydrogen, including its derivatives, or its carriers, such as ammonia. Last October, we appointed a consortium led by Keppel to conduct Front-End Engineering Design (FEED) studies for the next phase of the ammonia pilot project for power generation and bunkering.
Third, we are also studying the potential of carbon capture, utilisation and storage solutions to decarbonise hard-to-abate sectors. We will continue working with countries that have suitable geological sites for carbon storage, such as Australia, Indonesia and Malaysia, on bilateral agreements to offer the private sector greater investment certainty. We are also studying ways to store captured carbon permanently in products such as building materials.
Based on the results, we will assess how these pathways can be scaled up, the type of mix possible, to achieve our decarbonisation ambitions.
Let us be real. Even as we pursue all of these options, we must remain clear-eyed about their inherent challenges. Imported electricity comes with significant geopolitical risks and uncertainties. Other low-carbon solutions are not yet ready for deployment at scale, either due to technological nascency or under-developed supply chains.
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Thus, while we have not made a decision – and let me reiterate this, we have not made a decision – we are seriously studying the potential deployment of advanced nuclear energy technologies, such as small modular reactors.
Nuclear energy has the potential to be a safe, reliable and cost-competitive option. Its high fuel density is especially attractive for land-scarce Singapore. Just think about it. Five one-inch-tall pellets, which are each smaller than my thumb, can generate the same amount of energy as one Olympic-sized swimming pool of natural gas. We are intensifying our capability building, especially in nuclear safety and technology assessment.
We will do so in line with the International Atomic Energy Agency's Milestones Approach, and we will partner international leaders such as the US, France and the Republic of Korea. In fact, just this morning, this is one of the few moments I come in with a tie, this morning, the Energy Market Authority (EMA) just signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Korea Hydro and Nuclear Power Company, which operates South Korea's entire fleet of 26 nuclear energy reactors, on the sidelines of the President's visit from the Republic of Korea.
Public trust will be essential. We will work closely with partners on raising awareness, not just for nuclear, but more fundamentally, the existential nature of energy.
As Mr Edward Chia and Mr Ng Shi Xuan have pointed out, we must continue to ensure the continued reliability of the grid, as Singapore moves to a heterogeneous mix of energy.
Last year, EMA and SP Group launched the Future Grid Capabilities Roadmap to set clear directions for capability building in areas, such as system inertia and flexibility technologies. EMA is also piloting a Virtual Power Plant regulatory sandbox with industry partners and assessing whether more energy storage systems are required, to address challenges such as intermittency.
Underpinning all these efforts is science and technology as the key enabler. We are launching a new $800 million Decarbonisation Grand Challenge under RIE2030, in support of our 2035 abatement targets and 2050 net-zero ambitions. Building on past efforts, we are significantly increasing investments in promising solutions to reduce power sector and industry emissions and, at the same time, to ensure a reliable and resilient power system.
Under this Grand Challenge, we are launching a new programme, Singapore Pilots for Energy and Enterprise Decarbonisation (SPEED). Speeding is an offence for the Land Transport Authority. But this SPEED is essential. This supports local translational Research, Development and Demonstration activities and it catalyses private investments, to scale up promising yet nascent technologies.
Mr Chairman, innovation and technology will continue to push and propel Singapore to greater heights, and it will create good jobs for generations to come.
As the Deputy Prime Minister pointed out earlier, we are a climate realist. As we strive towards our net-zero ambition, we have to constantly remain mindful of the challenges, such as the geographical constraints and rising decarbonisation costs to businesses and households.
But that said, we will do our utmost best to secure a clean and green future, because this is for our future generations, with a stable and reliable flow of energy, which is existential for our economy and our way of life. [ Applause .]
The Chairman : Senior Minister of State Low Yen Ling.
The Senior Minister of State for Trade and Industry (Ms Low Yen Ling) : Mr Chairman, Deputy Prime Minister Gan Kim Yong spoke about how Singapore is now entering a new phase in our economic journey.
We are committed to empowering businesses to succeed and thrive in this new landscape. We will continue to nurture a dynamic and vibrant enterprise ecosystem, where enterprises confidently navigate change and succeed.
Businesses today face increasing pressure to adapt in an uncertain world. We have gained keen insights from our engagements with SMEs and the trade associations and chambers (TACs), including the Singapore Business Federation about the challenges on the ground.
Several Members have raised similar concerns, particularly in relation to our SMEs – Mr Saktiandi Supaat, Mr Mark Lee, Mr Lee Hong Chuang, Mr Shawn Loh, Ms Tin Pei Ling, Mr Ng Shi Xuan and Ms Denise Phua. I want to assure them that the Government is leaving no stone unturned to support and to journey alongside our enterprises as they adapt, transform and innovate to overcome the challenges faced.
I am pleased to share that the Government has tailored a "Business Refresh Package" that comprises a suite of enhancements to existing schemes, to enable, equip and empower our enterprises at every step of their journey to stay resilient, grow and thrive by: one, enhancing their productivity and cost efficiency; two, growing their revenue and helping them capture fresh opportunities at home and abroad; and three, fostering a pro-enterprise and trusted business environment.
We will also enable our businesses to proactively navigate transitions, while continuing to strengthen our consumer protection framework.
Let me now elaborate on each thrust of the "Business Refresh Package".
First, enhancing productivity and cost efficiency. Over the years, the Government has rolled out a range of schemes to support companies in capability building, productivity and efficiency improvements. Businesses that can do more with less and respond quickly to changes are best positioned to stay competitive. Structural changes brought about by AI and decarbonisation will mean that businesses have to adapt to stay relevant. But these changes also present opportunities for businesses to transform and to grow.
I want to assure Mr Saktiandi Supaat, Mr Ng Shi Xuan and Ms Denise Phua that we will continue to enable and empower enterprises across all sectors to optimise production processes and to reduce business costs, especially through technology and automation.
For example, enterprises with warehousing operations are increasingly adopting automated logistics solutions to enhance operational efficiency. They can tap on schemes, such as the Enterprise Development Grant (EDG) for funds, and advisory support from industry partners, like the Republic Polytechnic's Centre of Innovation for Supply Chain Management (COI-SCM).
One quick example is the company Frosts Food & Beverage, which operates facilities totalling 75,000 square feet in Bedok and Tuas for the storage and distribution of food products. In partnership with COI-SCM, Frosts conceptualised and rolled out a four-way shuttle automated storage and retrieval system at its Bedok facility. This has led to manpower efficiency improvements of over 30% and approximately $100,000 in annual cost savings for the company.
Beyond productivity improvements, we are continuing to help our enterprises move towards a low-carbon future. We have heard from Minister Tan See Leng earlier.
In 2024, we extended the Enterprise Financing Scheme (EFS)-Green for two years and expanded the scope to cover companies adopting green solutions, in addition to green technology developers. We will extend the EFS-Green for another five years. This will facilitate continued access to financing for companies seeking to build green capabilities and capture new opportunities in the green economy. In addition, to help companies manage rising energy costs and reduce their environmental footprint, we will extend the Energy Efficiency Grant (EEG) for one year. This will provide continued support for investments in energy-efficient equipment.
The second thrust of our package helps the businesses grow revenue by capturing opportunities at home and abroad.
We will help our businesses seize opportunities from the shifting international business environment. I want to assure Mr Shawn Loh that we will continue to strengthen access to financing through schemes like the EFS. In fact, launched in 2019, the EFS has supported thousands of enterprises in securing financing for a wide range of business activities.
We will enhance the EFS in two ways. To allow lenders greater flexibility in structuring loan facilities, we will remove the facility-level sub-caps of $20 million and $30 million per borrower group for the EFS-Trade Loan and the EFS-Fixed Assets Loan respectively, while retaining the overall cap of $50 million. This means that our enterprises can obtain loan facilities that best meet their needs, whether is it fulfilling their contracts, executing projects, or undertaking capital investments. In addition, we will permanently expand the scope of the EFS-Mergers and Acquisitions (M&A) to support companies in securing financing for both domestic and overseas acquisitions.
As global supply chains reconfigure and our domestic market matures, our enterprises are increasingly looking to seize opportunities beyond our shores. Our approach has always been to lower the barriers to entry, to strengthen access to markets and to provide calibrated support. However, like what Members have said, we recognise that expanding businesses overseas now comes with increased risks and uncertainty, like what Mr Mark Lee has mentioned.
Mr Mark Lee and Mr Azhar Othman will be glad to hear that we are indeed stepping up our efforts to help our businesses as they embark on their internationalisation journeys.
First, we will increase the support levels for grant schemes that help businesses venture abroad, from 50% to 70% for SMEs, and 30% to 50% for non-SMEs. This includes schemes like the Market Readiness Assistance (MRA) grant, the Business Adaptation Grant and the Global Innovation Alliance.
Second, we will further enhance the MRA grant. Members will remember at MTI's COS debate last year, I announced an extension of the $100,000 grant cap to 31 March 2026.
This year, in addition to extending the $100,000 grant cap, we will remove new markets criteria and will extend grant support to all local businesses, including both SMEs and non-SMEs. I think this is a point that Mr Shawn Loh will appreciate. This will not only support businesses in accessing new markets but also enable them to deepen their presence in existing markets.
Next, we will enhance the Double Tax Deduction for Internationalisation (DTDi) scheme. To help the companies seize overseas opportunities with greater speed and certainty, we will increase the expenditure cap for automatic DTDi-qualifying activities from $150,000 to $400,000 and make existing qualifying activities eligible for automatic deductions.
Lastly, the Global Innovation Alliance will have a refreshed strategy which supports startups' market expansion across two tracks, "Launch" and "Grow". Startups new to the market will be supported through "Launch" programmes focused on market discovery and familiarisation, shorter market sprints and early customer and partner discovery. Startups and SMEs requiring more tailored support can tap on "Grow" pathways to access specialised partnerships to support expansion, deeper market penetration and accelerate technology maturation.
Mr Chairman, no discussion of our enterprises will be complete without mentioning our heartland shops. Heartland shops intersect closely with the lives of everyday Singaporeans, contributing to the character and the vibrancy of our communities.
Helping our heartland enterprises also entails enabling their adaptation and renewal for the future. Over the years, the Government has supported heartland enterprises in refreshing their product offerings, adopting novel concepts and creating experiences that draw footfall and in fact, increasingly, online orders as well, and also strengthening community ties.
To encourage the rejuvenation of our heartland shops, we will enhance the support levels of our heartland schemes, the Enhanced Visual Merchandising Programme and the Heartland Enterprise Placemaking Grant, from 50% to 70%. We encourage our heartland shops to take this opportunity to refresh their stores and conceive exciting placemaking activities.
Many of our heartland shops are small and micro enterprises, which, as Mr Gerald Giam has mentioned earlier, play a fundamental role in the local economy. The Government certainly recognise the unique challenges faced by firms of different sizes, including micro-SMEs. We have developed targeted assistance to address specific needs and support their long-term growth.
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For example, enterprises in sectors with high concentrations of micro-SMEs, such as F&B and Personal Services, are benefiting from sector-specific support to tackle operational challenges, raise productivity and thereby, improving their top line and bottom line.
We understand, many of the F&B establishment face structural cost pressures and capability gaps, as mentioned by some of the Members, including Ms Denise Phua, earlier. And this was also indicated in the recently launched Food Services Productivity Report commissioned by Enterprise Singapore and the Singapore Productivity Centre. This, in turn, leads to compressed margins and limited ability to scale sustainably. However, the same report also revealed that the top F&B performers were able to generate close to three times more sales per man-hour, compared to those at the bottom.
When we look closely at it, the top performing F&B establishments observed five key practices: number one, generally, they embraced and adopted digitalisation and automation; number two, implemented strategic menu design; number three, streamlined workflows and space layouts; number four, outsourced labour-intensive preparation work; and number five, adopted effective workforce management.
Mr Chairman, MTI and Enterprise Singapore will continue to do our utmost to enable and to equip our F&B establishments to gain these critical capabilities.
To help our businesses adopt such best practices, during the Food Services Forum held months ago, we launched three new initiatives to support the food sector to: one, optimise operations through the F&B Process Optimisation programme (POP); two, to strengthen their supply chains through the FoodX Programme, which then supports the F&B companies in centralising their food preparation; three, to accelerate the digital transformation.
Besides all these sector-specific schemes, micro-SMEs looking to build their core capabilities and scale up can also tap on schemes, such as the EDG and Productivity Solutions Grant (PSG), for customised support. So, we encourage them to approach any of our 10 SME Centres for tailored advice and guidance.
Mr Chairman, underpinning our efforts to help businesses enhance productivity and efficiency and grow is a pro-enterprise and trusted business environment. This is the focus of the third thrust of the Business Refresh Package. Beyond enhancing enterprise support, the Government will streamline grant processes to make it easier for our businesses to access the full suite of available measures.
I am pleased to announce a new grant, EDGE, which will provide a single shopfront for Government grants, merging the MRA grant, PSG and EDG. We will simplify the grant application process by combining Enterprise Singapore's three flagship grants, and businesses will find it easier to navigate and apply for funding as they only need to submit a single application under the combined grant framework.
The new EDGE grant will support up to $100,000 per year for eligible activities. Businesses that require more support for customised projects can certainly continue to apply to Enterprise Singapore. Businesses will always have the flexibility to embark on projects aligned to their specific needs. Enterprise Singapore will launch EDGE in the second half of 2026. And once launched, the enhancements to the MRA grant that I just mentioned earlier will come under EDGE.
Mr Chairman, last year, the Government set up the Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises Pro-Enterprise Office (SME PEO). The SME PEO supports businesses by addressing regulatory feedback that spans multiple public agencies, as well as issues arising in new or emerging sectors where regulations may be unclear.
Building on the work of the Alliance for Action on Business Competitiveness in 2024, we also announced three Statements of Commitments under the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Pro-Enterprise Rules Review, to enhance regulatory agility and to reduce compliance burden for businesses. The SME PEO has been working with agencies to implement these commitments.
First, to publish clear service standards for regulatory applications, with a target of 30 working days where possible. I am pleased to share that agencies have published service standards for 93% of their business regulatory applications, with 80% of these applications processed within 30 working days. This helps make our processes more transparent and predictable for businesses.
Second, to extend the validity of business licences to at least three years, and up to five years where we can. Today, 45% of all business licences have a validity period of at least three years. And in three years' time, by 2029, this will increase to 80%, with agencies actively reviewing their policies.
Lastly, to streamline processes to reduce sequential approvals and repeated requests for information. We have simplified multi-agency processes to shorten administrative timelines and to reduce back-and-forth with approving authorities. For example, companies required to undergo Quantitative Risk Assessments (QRA) are expected to save more than 40 days per application following the streamlining of processes by the relevant agencies.
We will also continue to work with agencies to simplify internal processes across domains. One such area is the industrial lease assignments or the transfer of industrial land sites in the secondary market. Currently, all assignment applications are subject to JTC's comprehensive assessment of the buyer's business plan and economic contributions, regardless of the land area or the remaining tenure of the site.
Moving forward, the assignment assessment process will be streamlined for small sites of up to 1.5 hectares, with short remaining lease tenure of no more than 15 years. The proposed uses must support manufacturing activities and there must also be sufficient infrastructure capacity at the sites. JTC will exempt these cases from the full assessment process and will only carry out requisite checks to ensure that assignees comply with prevailing policy and land use guidelines. The revised workflow could reduce the processing time for eligible assignment applications to within one month from the date of the full application. JTC will release more details on this initiative in the first half of this year.
Even as we support firms in pursuing their growth ambition and simplify the processes, we must be prepared to proactively navigate transitions. Companies shared that with the ESR that understanding their business health and future options were vital in navigating transitions.
As Deputy Prime Minister Gan Kim Yong highlighted, businesses will need to adapt to shifting global trade flows, technological disruptions and in fact, tighter resource constraints amid steep changes in the global landscape. This may entail reinventing operating models, as Mr Edward Chia has mentioned earlier, for family and heritage businesses, managing generational transitions to safeguard their legacies.
Businesses can reposition and transform by moving into higher value-added activities, optimising operations, offshoring where appropriate or pivoting towards more viable opportunities to redeploy resources more productively.
The creation, the growth and the consolidation of businesses are all part of a very healthy, vibrant and dynamic enterprise ecosystem. We will journey with our companies every step of the way as they navigate transitions and be their support to help them adapt and emerge stronger. The ESR Committee will share more details in time to come.
Chairman, our trusted business environment is underpinned by consumers' confidence in our businesses and market. I agree with Mr Melvin Yong and Mr Andre Low on the need for robust deterrence and enforcement against unfair trade practices.
The Competition and Consumer Commission of Singapore (CCS) has stepped up its enforcement efforts and secured undertakings from businesses to cease unfair practices. Where necessary, CCS has sought Court injunctions against egregious businesses. However, such actions require careful investigation and due legal process. I thank Mr Melvin Yong for his suggestions to enhance the efficiency of CCS' enforcement actions. MTI and CCS will certainly consider this, as part of the Government's regular review of the remedies under the CPFTA.
On Mr Andre Low's suggestion to strengthen deterrence against egregious companies, we would like to assure you that the Government is monitoring this very closely and stands prepared to take on a whole-of-Government view to enhance our consumer protection regime to safeguard the emerging risks as well as the need to give our enforcement agencies more teeth.
To ensure that our consumer protection regime is up to date, the Government convened an independent Consumer Protection Review Panel last year in March. The Panel will put forward recommendations to address key consumer concerns, including pressure sales tactics and emerging digital harms, such as undisclosed advertisements. The Panel will submit its findings to the Government later this year for a thorough review.
Mr Chairman, the years ahead will be defined by the steps we take today. Through our efforts to raise productivity, support growth and internationalisation, as well as to foster a pro-enterprise environment, we are laying the groundwork for a more resilient, dynamic and competitive enterprise ecosystem.
By working closely with our businesses and trade associations, we will build new capabilities that allow our businesses to respond decisively to uncertainty and to seize opportunities. With these foundations in place, we are confident that our enterprises will not only weather the uncertainty ahead, but continue to grow with strength, resilience and purpose to adapt, transform and succeed. [ Applause. ]
The Chairman : Minister of State Alvin Tan.
The Minister of State for Trade and Industry (Mr Alvin Tan) : Mr Chairman, Senior Minister of State Low Yen Ling spoke of how we are helping businesses weather uncertainty. To do so, we must stay relevant in two ways: first, remain attractive to visitors; second, build a vibrant startup ecosystem that is attractive to founders, here and beyond.
Let us start with how we are making Singapore more attractive to visitors. Mr Saktiandi Supaat asked for updates on Tourism 2040. Tourism 2040 is our long-term roadmap that is anchored on quality tourism. We are expanding our reach in segments and markets that can drive higher tourism returns and working with our industry to create more exciting and distinctive experiences.
Our 2025 performance reflects this shift. Last year, we welcomed 16.9 million international visitors, a 2.3% increase from 2024. Importantly, our tourism receipts reached $23.9 billion in the first three quarters of 2025, a 6.5% increase compared to the same period in 2024.
There are a few reasons for this good performance. Last year, we continued to deliver world-class events, including concerts by Lady Gaga and the World Aquatics Championships 2025. We also hosted major meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions (MICE) events and opened major attractions, such as Rainforest Wild and Illumination's Minion Land.
Building on this momentum, we expect international visitor arrivals to reach between 17 million and 18 million this year, bringing in approximately $31 billion to $32.5 billion in tourism receipts. To remain attractive to visitors, we will strengthen our stage, our people and our show.
Let me start with our stage. These are our precincts and infrastructure. One of our key tourism precincts is Sentosa. In 2019, then-Prime Minister Lee talked about building the Greater Southern Waterfront, including developing Pulau Brani together with Sentosa. I am pleased to update that we have commenced the first phase of our Greater Sentosa Master Plan.
In Phase One, we will upgrade Sentosa's infrastructure. We will add a new transport hub to link Sentosa and Brani, which are collectively known as Greater Sentosa. It will also house lifestyle and hospitality developments. We also plan to replace the Sentosa Express to improve connectivity. We will also rejuvenate our beaches and add coastal protection measures, so visitors can enjoy a day on the beach, even as we protect Sentosa from rising sea levels. We will also create new icons in Sentosa, like Imbiah Canopy, which will become a beacon atop Mount Imbiah that leads visitors to heritage buildings and nature trails. We will share more details about our Greater Sentosa Master Plan later this year and I invite the public to share your ideas with us as we continue to reimagine and shape Greater Sentosa.
I would also like to update Singaporeans on our progress to refresh Orchard Road. The historic Emerald Hill will be part of this refresh. We will launch a tender in the coming months to transform 37 Emerald Hill, site of the former Singapore Chinese Girls' School. This will be a mixed-use development featuring unique hotel concepts, lifestyle offerings and community and public spaces.
We are also on track to complete the Grange Road Event Space in the fourth quarter of 2026. The 3,000-capacity venue can host international touring acts and local artistes – bringing live music, community and cultural events right at the heart of Orchard Road.
We are also enhancing our cruise infrastructure and reinforcing our position as one of Asia's leading cruise hubs. In October, we increased Marina Bay Cruise Centre Singapore's capacity, from 6,800 to 11,700 passengers. This enables two large cruise ships to berth concurrently, allowing us to welcome more cruise lines, like Disney Adventure, which will call Singapore home. I look forward to attending the ship's christening this week.
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Second, our people. Our tourism workers and businesses shape how every visitor experiences Singapore. We will continue to equip them with the tools to excel.
For example, our Tourism Leadership Excellence and Advancement Programme equips tourism professionals with skills in both tech and sustainability. Our tourism businesses have also been using AI and other tech, and we will help them better use these tools. The Singapore Tourism Board (STB) will unveil the Industry Digital Plans for the Travel Agents and MICE industries, alongside a GenAI Roadmap, at our upcoming Tourism Industry Conference in May.
Finally, we must put on a good show and curate an exciting line-up of events that attract visitors. We continue to be attractive to art lovers. In addition to kicking off Singapore Art Week 2026 in January, we have brought "Botero in Singapore" to Gardens by the Bay. Singapore is the first and only stop here in Southeast Asia.
Like art fans, music fans have been attracted to Singapore over the last few years. This year, they will enjoy acts like BTS World Tour in December, made possible through STB's partnership with HYBE and Klook. It will be BTS' longest-running Asian stop outside of Korea and Japan.
We have also made Singapore an attractive e-sports destination over the years. This year, we will host PGL Major Singapore 2026, the first Counter-Strike 2 Major event in Southeast Asia.
This year's F1 will also be different and more exciting, because we have secured our first ever F1 Sprint event. This means that F1 teams will also compete for championship points on Saturday. We are one of only six circuits to host this in 2026. F1 fans will know it will make our race weekend even more exciting.
Our MICE industry also continues to attract quality visitors and position ourselves to cement Singapore as a business destination. We will host major events this year such as the Passenger Terminal Expo Asia and the RECHARGE Wind Power Summit Asia Pacific. We will host many ASEAN events as chair next year, including the ASEAN Tourism Forum 2027. This is an important event for us to strengthen regional tourism cooperation and showcase Singapore to our neighbours.
Sir, these collective efforts position us as an attractive destination. I will next speak about how we are going to be attractive to startups.
Our startup ecosystem has evolved significantly over the years. Venture capital (VC) funding to startups more than quadrupled in the past decade, from US$1 billion in 2014 to US$4.8 billion in 2024. We are ranked fourth in the Global Startup Ecosystem Index 2025, up from 16th a few years ago. To date, we have over 4,500 tech startups, 220 incubators and 500 VC firms.
As co-chair of the ESR Committee on Entrepreneurship, alongside Minister of State Dinesh Vasu Dash, we have engaged stakeholders across the startup ecosystem to develop recommendations to enhance their access to capital, markets and talent.
Assoc Prof Kenneth Goh asked how we can strengthen pathways beyond capital incentives so Singaporeans of all stages and all groups can venture into entrepreneurship and return to employment without being disadvantaged. We are developing further measures under our committee and we welcome members of the public to share your ideas.
Our committee has been working on ideas to expand startups' access to capital, and I will share how we are doing so.
First, we will set aside $1 billion to expand the Startup SG Equity (SSGE) scheme. This will be to continue to invest into early-stage startups as well as expand into growth-stage deep tech startups.
Today, SSGE supports new and early-stage deep tech startups by co-investing with qualified private sector investors and investing in global VC firms that in turn invest in these startups through a fund-of-funds approach.
One such fund is Matter Venture Partners, a Silicon Valley-based HardTech VC. Matter has invested in early-stage Singapore-based startups, encouraged its portfolio companies to have a strong business and R&D footprint in Singapore, and mentored local startup founders.
SSGE also benefits early-stage deep tech companies like Blue Whale Energy (BWE), which builds and operates a Virtual Power Plant platform, combining its own sodium-ion batteries with edge-based control software to create a flexible energy network. SSGE funding can help BWE crowd in private capital and speed up its development for large-scale deployment in Singapore and expansion into other markets.
Mr Ng Shi Xuan asked about the gap we are trying to close with the additional $1 billion injection. We now have maturing crop of high-potential deep tech startups like Nuevocor, a biotech firm that develops potential life-saving medicines for heart muscle diseases caused by genetic mutations. Nuevocor closed a US$45 million Series B funding round in May 2025 and will enter clinical trials across the US and Europe. Growth-stage deep tech startups like Nuevocor need substantial capital to scale beyond our early-stage support.
This is how we are supporting them.
First, we will directly invest in growth-stage deep tech startups like Nuevocor. This will provide them with the capital they need to scale their operations, strengthen their teams and enter new markets while remaining anchored in Singapore as their home base.
Second, we will invest in global growth-stage deep tech VC funds. By expanding our fund-of-funds approach, we will attract top-tier growth investors to establish their presence in Singapore. They will bring capital, global networks, expertise and deep experience in scaling frontier tech, helping to grow and expand our deep tech startups globally.
Third, we will continue co-investing with third-party investors into early-stage deep tech startups. By sharing risks with credible investors, we will catalyse private capital and strengthen market discipline for our early-stage startups.
Mr Ng Shi Xuan asked if the Startup SG Founder programme only applies to first-time founders. In April 2024, we have made the programme more flexible. While the main applicant needs to be a first-time founder, they can now partner founders who have previous startup experiences to apply.
Dr Neo Kok Beng pointed out that our startups receive great support during the seed stage but face difficulties as they start to mature, due to uncertainty of exit liquidity for investors. To address this, we are strengthening options for companies to raise capital in both public and private markets.
Let me first speak about our public markets.
In 2022, we set up the $1.5 billion Anchor Fund to attract and anchor listings of high-growth companies, including promising startups. We have deployed the bulk of this fund to support companies in their journey towards public listing in Singapore.
We will now launch the second $1.5 billion tranche of the Anchor Fund, or Anchor Fund 2. Like the first tranche, we will co-invest in Anchor Fund 2 with Temasek. This is the second move arising from our ESR Entrepreneurship Committee's work.
This will complement the new initiatives from the Monetary Authority of Singapore's (MAS') Equities Market Review Group, which has seen our equity market achieve some early wins with increased IPO activity and higher average daily trading volumes. Our upcoming SGX-Nasdaq dual listing bridge will also allow eligible companies to simultaneously list on both exchanges with one set of prospectus. I will open NASDAQ's new Singapore Office next week with NASDAQ's management and we look forward to working with the NASDAQ team in the run-up to the launch of the Global Listing Board.
Sir, with these measures, we aim to strengthen our public markets as a compelling choice to anchor growth companies as they raise capital and grow from Singapore. But we recognise that not every company will want to raise capital through our public markets. We must thus help our startups better access private capital to meet their diverse financing needs.
Minister Chee Hong Tat has convened a new workgroup to develop strategies to strengthen Singapore as a leading centre for growth capital. We have met the workgroup and look forward to developing measures to better help our companies raise private capital and pursue other non-public exits.
Sir, together, these initiatives strengthen support for our startup ecosystem, across the growth stages of our companies.
Mr Chairman, I have spoken of how we will continue to make Singapore more attractive to visitors. I have also spoken about how we will continue to make us even more attractive to startups, to founders and to enterprises, by strengthening our startup ecosystem and helping innovative companies thrive and seek funds.
I will now handover to Minister of State Gan Siow Huang to speak about how we are addressing their need for space.
The Chairman : Minister of State Gan.
The Minister of State for Trade and Industry (Ms Gan Siow Huang) : Mr Chairman, Minister of State Alvin Tan has just spoken on how we can catalyse startup communities by availing capital to help them scale. I will focus on how we provide physical space and critical infrastructure to support startups in Singapore.
Let me start with LaunchPad @ One-North. One-North by JTC is our main node for startups. It is a major knowledge and innovation district and it houses leading firms such as Grab, Razer, Sea and research institutions in A*STAR, the National University of Singapore (NUS), National University Hospital (NUH) and Singapore Science Park. Since JTC repurposed Block 71 Ayer Rajah Crescent and expanded the startup hub in 2015, LaunchPad @ One-North has supported over 2,400 startups, including tech unicorns Carousell, PatSnap and Nium. Today, it hosts over 30 incubators, accelerators and venture capital firms.
Home-grown company Igloo is one such startup that LaunchPad has nurtured to success. Beginning with smart lock solutions in 2016, it has scaled to enterprise-grade access control software for property and facilities management. It has expanded to eight countries, including the US and China, with about 80 global distributors and 90% of its revenue coming from abroad.
The Ministry of Digital Development and Information announced recently that it is extending its AI co-working space, Lorong AI, at Cross Street to LaunchPad. To create more space for next-gen startups such as those in Lorong AI, JTC will extend and refresh LaunchPad, making it Asia's flagship startup destination. This follows recent engagements with the startup ecosystem, including venture capital funds and accelerators. The refresh will essentially boost the vibrant environment for startups to work, live and play.
A key highlight of the refresh, as mentioned in the Prime Minister's Budget speech, is a new AI park called "Kampong AI". This will be Singapore's hub and home for AI. It will be the first startup community in Singapore with work and living spaces under one roof. When ready in 2028, Kampong AI will be the place for AI startups and talent to congregate and exchange ideas. Startups can house their researchers and developers here, leveraging the events, speakers and demos happening at the same place.
With your permission, Mr Chairman, may I ask the Clerk to distribute visuals of Kampong AI and other developments that I am sharing on. Members may also access them through the MP@SG Parl app.
The Chairman : Please proceed. [ Handouts were distributed to hon Members. ]
Ms Gan Siow Huang : Deputy Prime Minister Gan had spoken earlier on establishing Singapore as an AI leader. Mr Saktiandi Supaat also suggested that our growth be supported by AI diffusion across sectors, among other productivity measures. It is crucial for our budding community of AI leaders and practitioners to have a space to share ideas and build new products.
Kampong AI will meet this need. It comprises two adjacent seven-storey developments – one block with 14,500 square metres of business park units and event spaces accommodating around 70 companies. The other block will have 200 residential units. It will be developed through repurposing blocks in the extended LaunchPad, within walking distance of One-North and Kent Ridge Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) stations.
While only fully ready by 2028, pilot workspaces will be available in LaunchPad @ One-North from 2026 onwards for firms that want a headstart.
Moving on to another part of Singapore, JTC will be establishing a new LaunchPad at Punggol Digital District, completing it in phases from end of 2026. As a smart district embedded within the community, Punggol Digital District (PDD) is the ideal testbed for translating innovations in smart city, robotics and cybersecurity sectors into real-world solutions. It houses startups, industry, academia and the community under one roof.
The growing ecosystem of companies and agencies in PDD include UOB, OCBC, GovTech, Cybersecurity Agency of Singapore and Singapore Institute of Technology (SIT). Training providers, such as SITLEARN, SIT's Continuous Education Training centre, will have a front-row view of innovation development to incorporate these new skills into its adult learning curriculum.
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Another key pillar is PDD's Open Digital Platform, which collects district data and allows lifelike simulations. JTC is working with the Infocomm Media Development Authority, GovTech and SIT to enhance the collection and sharing of the data. The Open Digital Platform will link the innovations to PDD's infrastructure, such as gantries and lifts, to run real-world pilots. For instance, if a robotics startup like dConstruct Robotics wants to deploy applications, such as autonomous delivery, their robots can navigate buildings to deliver parcels or food to users, bringing greater convenience to the PDD occupants.
Beyond catalysing groundbreaking developments here, our firms must seize opportunities regionally. ASEAN is projected to be the world's fourth-largest economic bloc by 2030 and we are building nodes including the Johor-Singapore Special Economic Zone and Batam Bintan Karimun.
JTC is master-planning an exciting new Woodlands Gateway district around the upcoming Rapid Transit System (RTS) Link station, which will be our northern gateway to the Johor-Singapore SEZ. This mixed-use district, spanning up to 35-hectares, that is about the size of 50 football fields, will include a transport hub connected to the RTS Link and Woodlands North MRT stations. The first phase is expected to complete around 2030.
Woodlands Gateway will offer commercial and lifestyle amenities for commuters, residents and people working in the Woodlands North area. It will also provide flexible industrial spaces. Given its proximity to the RTS Link, Woodlands Gateway will cater to firms siting manufacturing in Johor with their regional HQ functions in Singapore.
Leading global precision optics supplier, Edmund Optics, demonstrates the benefits of this twinning model. Its facility in Woodlands North Coast serves as a sales, innovation and R&D facility, whilst its Johor facility manufactures the components. As a crucial node in Edmund Optics' global footprint, this twinned ecosystem has helped the firm remain cost-efficient and competitive while providing jobs to people in both countries. The RTS Link will make this ecosystem connection even more seamless.
I thank Mr Victor Lye for his suggestions on how we can better support our firms to seize the opportunities in the Johor-Singapore SEZ. MTI will study his proposals carefully.
Mr Chairman, beyond providing quality industrial spaces, we must also safeguard and expand Singapore's international economic space. Trade is the lifeblood of Singapore's economy. With total trade exceeding three times of our GDP, global connectivity creates real opportunities for Singaporeans.
However, we know that global trade is also fragmenting. Countries are prioritising economic security over open markets and competition for investments is intensifying. Mr Azhar Othman asked how we could better support our firms to access overseas markets.
In this uncertain environment, strong international partnerships are more crucial than ever to help our firms internationalise. Our approach focuses on three strategies.
First, we are deepening our economic ties with key partners. We continue to engage with the US and China as long-standing partners based on shared economic interests.
We mark 60 years of Singapore-US diplomatic relations this year and we are expanding cooperation in AI, quantum and advanced nuclear energy technologies. With China, we continue to strengthen our economic partnership through flagship joint projects in Suzhou, Tianjin and Chongqing, which celebrated its 10th anniversary last year.
Meanwhile, we are enhancing our partnerships with other major economies. We are deepening our engagements with India in high-value growth areas, such as semiconductors, aviation maintenance, repair and overhaul services and space technology, positioning Singapore companies as early movers into India's market.
Our Digital Economy Agreements with the EU and the European Free Trade Association are entering into force in early 2026. These will provide our companies with legal certainty in cross-regional digital transactions.
Closer to home, we continue to push for deeper regional economic integration through ASEAN. Last year, ASEAN upgraded two landmark agreements which are used extensively by our traders. These are the ASEAN Trade in Goods Agreement and ASEAN-China Free Trade Area 3.0. We also concluded the Digital Economy Framework Agreement to work towards a single and trusted regional digital ecosystem. As Singapore assumes ASEAN Chairmanship next year, we will work with fellow members to build a more seamless economic community and accelerate growth in our digital and green economies.
We are diversifying our economic links with emerging markets and growth sectors to unlock new opportunities for Singapore firms. We continue to work with our Latin American partners through FTAs with the Pacific Alliance and MERCOSUR, whilst venturing into South Asia, the Middle East and Africa with newer trade and investment agreements. This will boost our firms' confidence to invest across these dynamic markets.
We are expanding participation in the Digital Economic Partnership Agreement. It will soon grow to six members with Costa Rica and Peru joining later this year, while China and the UAE are in accession discussions. We have also launched negotiations on the Green Economy Partnership Agreement with Chile and New Zealand.
Lastly, we are actively strengthening our economic security through close collaboration with trusted partners. We are finalising a first-of-its-kind Agreement on Trade in Essential Supplies with New Zealand. This is to keep our trade in essential goods, like food and pharmaceuticals, uninterrupted even during global crises.
We are partnering with like-minded countries to uphold and shape the open, rules-based multilateral trading system. We launched the Future of Trade and Investment Partnership, bringing together 16 small, medium and trade-dependent countries to address emerging challenges and opportunities in global trade and investment. We continue to expand high-quality regional agreements, like the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership and Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, while building bridges through inaugural dialogues between the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership, EU and ASEAN.
Mr Chairman, our efforts to expand our economic space and create quality industrial spaces enable Singapore to remain a competitive destination for firms and to catalyse innovation. My MTI colleagues and I have shared on our strategies to create growth and good jobs for Singaporeans, and this is crucial amidst a climate of uncertainties. We will strive to ensure that Singapore remains a trusted and dynamic hub for trade and capital, securing a brighter future for Singaporeans.
The Chairman : Clarifications for the Ministers? Mr Saktiandi Supaat.
Mr Saktiandi Supaat : Thank you, Mr Chairman. I have three clarifications, Mr Chairman. One is, on hearing Deputy Prime Minister's comments earlier from his speech, I would like to thank Deputy Prime Minister Gan for his quite extensive speech earlier. He mentioned about the reassessment of GDP and inflation. I would like to ask the Deputy Prime Minister, in terms of MTI's assessment of Singapore's vulnerability, in view of the impact of three scenarios.
First, is the scenario of potential tariff increases on key sectors, such as semiconductor and pharmaceuticals, that is one. Second is, slowdown in global AI investment flows, if that happens. Thirdly, Deputy Prime Minister mentioned just now about the protracted scenario of Middle East crisis and/or price shocks. My related question is on enterprise support in that segment is, whether the Deputy Prime Minister can clarify whether MTI has defined clear trigger conditions, such as sustained increases in energy costs or trade disruptions, under which targeted and timebound support will be activated? That is my first clarification, Chairman.
Second is on our plans to budget for physical energy infrastructure to meet our energy resilience and strategy. I note in MOF's Budget documents that our development expenditure for MTI has increased from about $4.92 billion in FY2025 to $9.24 billion, an increase of about $4.3 billion. Can I ask Minister Tan or Deputy Prime Minister whether the numbers already include some of our plans for energy infrastructure to meet some of the energy resilience and strategy, including, for example, landing points, energy storage and whatever new alternative energy that we are taking.
The last question is to Minister of State Alvin Tan, I would like to thank him for his updates on the Greater Sentosa Master Plan in my cut. My question is, I embedded in my speech, what is the projected economic contribution and job creation from the Greater Sentosa Master Plan besides the transport connection between Sentosa and Brani, how many jobs will be created and how many percent value added into GDP will it add to?
The Chairman : Deputy Prime Minister Gan.
Mr Gan Kim Yong : Thank you. First, let me address the issue on our outlook for our economy and inflation as a result of the various scenarios that Mr Saktiandi has pointed out.
First on tariffs. I mentioned and explained several times before. I think tariffs have a significant impact on Singapore, not just the direct tariff between Singapore and the US. That is important. But what is even more important is the environment under which we are now operating, where tariffs can be adjusted at will, and with very short notice, overnight. As you have seen, the tariffs have been shifted from one legislation to another under the US.
And also, we have to take into account the reactions from the various countries in response to these tariffs, which have an impact on us. Sometimes, when the tariffs go up, it slows down the economy. When tariffs come down, it stimulates the economy. And as a result of tariffs going up, some economies may decide to front-load their exports, so they ramp up their manufacturing, they ramp up their exports and as a result of them ramping up their exports, they may then import more components from Singapore, and we supply components to them.
So, it is a very complicated web of trading arrangements among countries, and we depend on a rules-based, open trading system. Singapore is an open economy. So, we really will benefit from the global economic growth. If global tariffs are lower, then it will stimulate more economic activities and trade will flourish, and Singapore will benefit from it. For tariffs, from Singapore's point of view, a lower tariff is better for us, because then it facilitates freer and more open trading activities, and that will benefit open economies, like Singapore. I think this is something that we always have to plan for. We have to continue to develop our trading network and we want to strengthen our resilience in our trading arrangement. That is why we continue to negotiate trading agreements in different forms, including digital agreements. So, that is how we strengthen our resilience in terms of our defence against the tariffs.
On investment in AI, this is something that we are embarking on and we hope to be able to attract both talent and investments, as well as solution providers. They are able to come to Singapore and create this ecosystem among AI operators, AI stakeholders. That is why we are now expanding our Lorong AI into a Kampong AI, so we have a bigger capacity, and we can bring together both working and living environment so that it is an entire ecosystem. And hopefully this will generate a momentum on its own and continue to attract more investments into AI.
On the Middle East crisis, this just happened over the weekend. We are still assessing the situation. What we need to bear in mind is that the Strait of Hormuz is a key shipping route for energy, for LNG, for oil. And therefore, it is important as a supply channel for the world's energy needs. Singapore also depends significantly on supplies from the Middle East, in addition to our supplies in this region.
So, it is something that we will continue to assess. We do expect that if the conflict in the Middle East is protracted, I think it will have a significant impact on the overall energy cost. Singapore over the last few years, as Minister Tan has explained, has built up our resilience. We have built in as several measures to strengthen our resilience against potential external shocks in energy supply. Some of these we will not be able to share because they are confidential and security related, some of it I think Minister Tan has explained earlier. I will ask him to elaborate if necessary.
On the development expenditure, I will leave Minister Tan to talk about the energy expenditure for development. But our development expenditure has a significant increase partly, because of the need to continue to attract investments. As many of you are aware, with the introduction of the minimum tax, tax incentive is now less effective and therefore, we will need to look at other ways of anchoring key investments into Singapore. And this development expenditure is part of it. It is designated to allow us to be able to attract investments to come to Singapore to continue to provide good jobs. I will hand it over to Dr Tan.
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Dr Tan See Leng : Mr Chairman, the short answer to Mr Saktiandi's clarification on the incremental delta for the MTI budget does take into consideration different aspects of the increased spending. I have alluded to the Decarbonisation Grand Challenge of $800 million. We have also got a biomethane sandbox. And I also alluded to the SPEED office that is going to drive quite a number of these. There are also requirements for us to start to embark on the greening of Jurong Island.
Separate to that, if you recall, either at last year's COS or the COS of the year before, Members of this House have also set aside a Future Energy Fund. But that will be more related to infrastructure development, funding infrastructure for interconnectors to prepare them for some of the renewable energy imports.
I do not have an exact breakdown as to which are the components. There are sandboxes that we will need the incremental budget to develop, but each one of these pathways, as I have said, as we leave no stone unturned, we want to evaluate which can give us that sustainability, the reliability and also the security that is needed.
The Chairman : There is something for Minister of State Tan to respond to.
Mr Alvin Tan : Chairman, I thank Mr Saktiandi Supaat for his interest in Sentosa. Sentosa is just one part – a very important part, of course – of our overall Tourism Strategy 2040. We expect tourism receipts to reach about $47 billion to $50 billion. And this is our key strategy: to attract high quality tourism.
With respect to the Greater Sentosa Master Plan Phase One, which I mentioned earlier, once it has been completed, Greater Sentosa is expected to attract approximately 5.3 million international visitor arrivals in 2045. With all of the different phases that we will be building across the years, many new theme parks and also attractions, I think Sentosa will transform. We welcome Singaporeans and visitors to visit and add to our tourism vibrancy.
The Chairman : I see a number of hands raised. So, please ask your clarifications very succinctly. Mr Mark Lee.
Mr Mark Lee : Chairman, I have spoken earlier about how Singapore and our businesses cannot compete on costs alone but must continue to focus on innovation. As such, I would like to ask Minister Tan to share how the Government assess the economic outcomes of our R&D and the commercialisation of public-funded IP, in terms of enterprise formation, licensing to local firms, contribution to GDP and higher value jobs.
Dr Tan See Leng : Mr Chairman, I understand the Member's interest in the commercialisation of publicly funded research and also the returns on investments. I share the same sentiment and passion as his interests.
I just wanted to emphasise a point. The Government is not investing in R&D like a commercial outfit alone. It has to do significantly more than that. It has to invest in R&D, to build over the longer term our strategic capabilities, the strategic capabilities that is required for our country, to continue to not just thrive, but to be able to run ahead of our competition. And we are actually seeing fruits of our labour.
First, the R&D capacity of our firms and our economy, it has increased significantly. This has allowed our Singapore economy to move up the value chain of industries and activities and take global leadership positions in technologically-intensive sectors and, of course, in the process, creating good jobs for Singaporeans.
If we look at over an eight- to nine-year horizon, from 2016 to 2023, the total annual business expenditure on R&D grew by a compound annual growth rate of 7.8%, reaching $9 billion. So, in 2023, every $1 spent by the public sector on R&D saw $1.87 correspondingly invested by the private sector, and this is up from the $1.38 in 2016.
The number of private sector R&D firms has also grown by 33% to 1,030 firms, from 2016 to 2023. And over the same period, value-added contributed by R&D firms grew by 142%, and value-added per worker for R&D firms grew by 110%.
Between 2016 and 2023, R&D jobs in the private sector grew by 36%, reaching more than 30,000, with locals filling more than 70% of these roles.
We take Mirxes, for example, which is one of the R&D firms nurtured by our ecosystem. Today, 60% of its global staff are based here in Singapore and they are largely Singaporeans or Singapore PRs. This is despite its listing in Hong Kong.
The increase in the R&D capacity has also enabled Singapore to establish leadership in technologically intensive sectors, such as semiconductors and biomedical and we could pursue frontier areas, such as space technology. And today, Singapore is the sixth largest exporter of high-tech goods globally, according to the World Bank group. Singapore has established itself as a leading global hub for biopharmaceutical manufacturing, with industry output doubling over the past two decades to exceed $18 billion in 2023. And major pharmaceutical companies like Eli Lilly, MSD and Pfizer, continue to maintain R&D activities across precincts at One-North and Tuas Medical Park.
Secondly, our increased R&D capacity has enabled us to build a vibrant startup ecosystem and a pipeline of commercially viable R&D companies. This strengthens our innovation-driven economy and positions Singapore at the forefront of emerging technologies. As Minister of State Alvin Tan mentioned earlier, our startup ecosystem is ranked fourth in the world in StartupBlink's Global Startup Ecosystem Index 2025.
Since 2020, Singapore's ranking as a startup ecosystem has climbed from 16th to fourth position and over the past five years, our tech startups have secured US$1 billion or more annually in venture capital investments.
Third, we have developed globally leading universities right at our doorstep for our Singaporeans. NUS and NTU, they were ranked eighth and 12th respectively in the QS World University Rankings in 2026. Strong university rankings attract investments, drive innovation and it provide our own people with world-class education. Riding on our strength in cultivating an adaptable, digitally fluent and innovation-ready workforce in the age of AI, Singapore was ranked first amongst 135 economies in the Overall Talent Competitiveness Index, based on 2025 Global Talent Competitiveness Index, overtaking Switzerland to the top spot.
From 2014 to 2024, Singapore's Field-Weighted Citation Impact has risen from 1.44 to 1.76. This means that our research is cited 76% more than the global average. This reflects the high quality of our academic researchers and their work.
And fourth, our R&D capabilities also contributed significantly to our strategic priorities in areas such as healthcare, climate change and urban solutions. Not too long ago, during COVID-19, it was our researchers, who were amongst the first in the world to culture the SARS-CoV-2 virus. They rapidly developed the diagnostic kits, and enabled data-driven public health measures.
I want to assure our hon Member, Mr Mark Lee, and all Members that we have generated good commercial traction from the scientific base that we have built over the past many decades. Just the last five years alone, A*STAR and our IHLs' technologies have spun off more than 300 new companies, 230 local SMEs and startups have also licensed some 300 A*STAR originated technologies, while over 900 licences were awarded by our IHLs to SMEs and startups. These spin-offs range from MetaOptics, which leveraged on A*STAR's material and wafer fab expertise to make world class lenses and achieved a successful initial public offering (IPO); to Amperesand, which leveraged on NTU's advanced solid state transformer technology to extend its lead as a category leader.
Most of the information by the way that I have shared, can be found in public sources, such as the National Survey of RIE and our A*STAR annual report. We will be focused. We will always stay the course and we will continue to always invest in our future. I hope that clarifies.
The Chairman : We are running out of time. Next clarification, Mr Victor Lye, reward for your eight-minute cut.
Mr Victor Lye : Chairman, I thank the political officeholders for their response and speeches. With regard to our investments in the advanced industries, the SMEs are going to have to transition, and I welcome Minister of State Gan Siow Huang's sharing about Woodlands Gateway.
My first question is, do we have any plans to perhaps develop an industrial estate, a Singapore industrial estate across from Singapore, so that we can deploy these two sites' gateway to the SEZ, which expands Singapore's economic space.
My second question is with regard to that, there is going to be a need for skilled labour. Can we facilitate a framework whereby Singapore skilled workers can live and work in the SEZ?
The Chairman : Minister of State Gan, I hope your response will be shorter than Minister Tan's.
Ms Gan Siow Huang : Mr Chairman, I thank Mr Victor Lye for his clarifications on the idea of a Singapore industrial estate in the Johor-Singapore SEZ. It is an interesting idea and we will be happy to facilitate if there are interested commercial parties that are willing to invest in this estate.
On creating arrangements for people to be able to live in the SEZ and be able to work seamlessly in both places, we are exploring a Digital Nomad Pass between the Singapore Government and the Malaysian government. And just for your information today, Malaysia already has an existing Digital Nomad Pass, which allows foreigners to reside in Malaysia without being employed there. So, there is already something that we can leverage and we are looking at enhancing it further.
The Chairman : Ms Tin Pei Ling.
Ms Tin Pei Ling : Chairman, I would like to ask the Minster Tan. I am glad to hear that there are plans to see how we can utilise more of the alternative sources for energy, hydrogen being one of them. So, I would like to understand whether Singapore is looking at positioning ourselves early, to shape the regional hydrogen energy supply chain instead of just following others, but to take the lead in this. If so, how?
And also, as we look at overall energy, security and sustainability, what might be in place to support firms and startups, whether locally in Singapore, or to attract them to Singapore, to deepen their R&D in this area, and eventually towards commercialising the deployment of such energy, especially hydrogen, so that we can move towards that secure, sustainable and hopefully, affordable energy vision.
Last clarification is that we talk about affordability. As we digitalise, as we double down on the AI, consumption will definitely increase and also, as we import more of these energy into Singapore, there could be cost associated with this. How do we mitigate or prevent such cost being passed on to local businesses and Singaporeans households so that it remains highly accessible and affordable to them?
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Dr Tan See Leng : Mr Chairman, with your permission – because there are three clarification statements – I would try my best to be succinct and brief.
The Chairman : Thank you.
Dr Tan See Leng : To the first point, indeed, as I have alluded to just now on the ammonia study that we have proceeded with, we have actually worked with a local conglomerate where we have moved on to do FEED studies, where not only do we look at ammonia as one possible pathway – and I will tell you why we look at ammonia; I know the Member was talking about hydrogen – because ammonia as a molecule, hydrogen as a molecule, they are both quite well understood. It is just that today, the transportation of green hydrogen is very, very, very expensive and logistically, today, the chains are not established yet.
So, as an intermediary, we will need a carrier and to carry that green hydrogen across, we carry it in the form of green ammonia. So, we are working closely with the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore because our aspirations are beyond the FEED study, beyond the sandbox. We are hoping that eventually, we could potentially, if we are able to prove the viability and feasibility of that sandbox, we can, not just use that as one form of energy as part of our green hydrogen strategy, but we could also potentially be a bunkering hub in the transportation and the movement of green ammonia from the east to the west.
On the second part, in terms of how we want to help the SMEs. Indeed, we do have plans. For many of these bigger sandboxes, we encourage – whether it is the generating companies (gencos), whether it is large companies – to work locally with our SMEs as well to bring them along. And the point that I alluded to earlier on, on the $800 million Decarbonisation Grand Challenge, is something that we hope to be able to crowd in from the big gencos, the big MNCs, to our local SMEs to bring them along in helping us to decarbonise.
To the third point on renewable energy imports. Indeed, part of that diversification and energy transition resulting in lower carbon alternatives will come with costs. To start off with, we are very mindful of the type of cost pressures and the pain that it may inflict, in fact, that it would inflict on, more importantly, our households and our businesses. So, where we come in is, we try to allow for the low carbon importers to strike up commercial arrangements with the big energy intake customers. So, the likes of, whether it is Google, Amazon Web Services, some of these data centres, we allow them to negotiate and we ring-fence it.
But there will come a time when the Government will work with all of the different sectors alongside with our carbon tax to smear that price along. It will not happen within this very short period of time, but it is also something that we have to take into consideration. And for the longer term, as we move on to decarbonisation, notwithstanding the fact that the natural gas will always be our base, we are, indeed, mindful of the cost of continuing with natural gas, then you have to add the cost of decarbonising that natural gas, the emissions you have to capture – you have to aggregate it, you have to transport it, then you have to store it – these also come with costs.
So, our carbon pricing is a reflection of the true cost of that particular modality of energy generation. And with that, we hope to be able to socialise it across our entire population, our country. The underlying principle has to be how we deal with, first and foremost, through energy conservation and how do we become a lot more efficient in managing peak pricing versus trial pricing.
But those are in the developmental process. We are developing the Virtual Power grid. We are also working on different simulated scenarios. We are also using energy storage systems to ensure that base load is always maintained. I think these are the paths that we will all have to undertake collectively as we move forward. And of course, I look forward to the strong support of Ms Tin and fellow Members of this House as we decarbonise.
The Chairman : Mr Lee Hong Chuang.
Mr Lee Hong Chuang : First, I want to thank Senior Minister of State Low for sharing what they are going to do for SMEs, in particular, from availability to making it easier to access in future. But I thought I just wanted to ask this supplementary question in Mandarin, as it is more for the Chinese-speaking SMEs.
( In Mandarin ) : [ Please refer to Vernacular Speech .] When adopting artificial intelligence, will the Government consider whether AI could be more automated, capable of translating into Chinese or other languages, as well as providing voice reading, so that Chinese-educated entrepreneurs can better understand and benefit more?
Ms Low Yen Ling : Thank you, Mr Chairman. Please allow me to reply very succinctly to Mr Lee Hong Chuang, also in Mandarin.
( In Mandarin ) : [ Please refer to Vernacular Speech .] I would like to thank Mr Lee Hong Chuang for his constructive question just now. When he was speaking in Chinese earlier, I was listening attentively. There was one sentence that I thought was very apt – that when enterprises do well, people have the greatest job security. I think this is a very important social environment in Singapore.
MTI's English speeches earlier mentioned why we are vigorously launching the enterprise transformation package, which has three important components.
The first important component is to help our SMEs, including micro enterprises, enhance productivity and cost efficiency.
First, we will vigorously promote our enterprises' adoption of AI technology. Anyone who has visited China would have seen the technology Mr Lee mentioned; it is everywhere now. When we give speeches, Chinese, English or other languages are simultaneiously shown on the screen. So, we will definitely consider this constructive suggestion. We also encourage enterprises to adopt not only AI, but also automation and energy-saving solutions, as Minister Tan See Leng mentioned earlier.
Second, I would like to make an appeal. MTI and Enterprise Singapore will definitely support our enterprises in developing not only the important local market, but also overseas markets. As I mentioned earlier, we will make two important adjustments: increasing our support intensity and expanding the scope of support to help our enterprises seize growth opportunities and expand their businesses.
Finally, Government agencies, not just MTI, EDB and Enterprise Singapore, under the leadership of Deputy Prime Minister Gan Kim Yong, will continue to create a pro-business, pro-people environment, building a business environment based on integrity. We will integrate and simplify application processes so that SMEs, including micro enterprises, can obtain Government support more quickly and easily, enabling them to focus their energy on business innovation and future development.
The Chairman : I am actually using up all our break time in order to meet the guillotine time. The guillotine time is 3.20 pm, so there will be no breaks this afternoon.
There are still many hands raised. I will try to accommodate as much as possible, so, I suggest skip all the preambles, just ask your clarifications. Likewise for the front benchers, skip all the — skip whatever you can, and just answer. [ Laughter .] Mr Edward Chia.
Mr Edward Chia Bing Hui : Sir, I will try to go straight to it. The Deputy Prime Minister mentioned about how growth comes from depth and not just skill anymore. And in a particular part, he said about shortening innovation cycles, and I presume it is about research translation. And I think that is something Singapore is already doing. So, I want to ask the Deputy Prime Minister, how are we doing it differently and are there specific targets in terms of the speed of research translation to shorten innovation cycle?
Also about the Business Refresh scheme that Senior Minister of State Low mentioned, I just wanted to check: are we expanding the scheme to also support business families with generational succession and pivot? And if so, how so? And then second, what is the role of trade associations in helping to diffuse the benefits of the Business Refresh scheme? And in my experience working with trade associations, quite a distinct part of the success factor is also the secretariat. So, is MTI also supporting trade associations to beef up the capacity and capability of the secretariats?
Mr Gan Kim Yong : Mr Chairman, I will keep it short. First, I think one of the ways to deepen our leadership and to strengthen our depth is to develop leadership in our MNCs, in our companies, in our sectors where we already have a strong foundation, like semiconductors, pharmaceuticals and so on. These are the areas that we already have a strength. We want to not just be one of the operators in the world, but we want to become a key node.
And by doing so, we also want to attract key operation functions here, including R&D. So, instead of doing R&D elsewhere, we want to encourage them to bring the R&D facilities here, build the R&D capabilities in Singapore. This will then help them shorten the process of bringing innovation to the market. So, I think this is one way that we are doing so.
Dr Tan has also mentioned about our initiatives in R&D, our investments in R&D and the translational research to facilitate the translation of knowledge into commercial products and services. So, these are the various efforts we are doing. We are also using AI to help us to see how we can facilitate and speed up the process of innovation. So, I think many companies are already introducing AI capabilities in the R&D process to allow them to do so.
I just want to make a very quick response to Mr Saktiandi Supaat's question earlier. I think he asked what are the triggers for the Government to start to respond to many of these scenarios. I just want to say that there is no single trigger. We will need to take into account holistically all the impact and make assessments as we go along. As and when, if necessary, we will roll out initiatives to respond to these scenarios. Under SERT, for example, we rolled out the Business Adaptation Grant (BizAdapt) and also rolled out GRIT as an internship programme to help support workers to do the transition.
So, I think, as we go along, we will make assessments. As and when necessary, we will roll out new initiatives to support businesses in this transition.
The Chairman : Mr Andre Low. Oh, Senior Minister of State Low.
Ms Low Yen Ling : Thank you, Mr Chairman, I will keep it very brief. I want to thank the Member Mr Edward Chia for his two-part question about the family —
The Chairman : Skip all that; get straight to the point.
Ms Low Yen Ling : — family business, as well as the other one on TACs. On family businesses, I want to assure him that earlier on, when we mentioned that we raised the support level for SMEs and non-SMEs and indeed, many of our multi-generational family businesses are in that category. A quick, quick example, Mr Chairman, three weeks ago, I graced the opening of Guang Xiang Tai's new factory opening —
The Chairman : Senior Minister of State, please do not list a lot of examples. Senior Minister of State Low.
Ms Low Yen Ling : — they have been working very closely with Enterprise Singapore and JTC, and in one stroke, because of them onboarding digitalisation transformation and as well as AI, they have managed to increase their production capacity by not just double or triple, but six times. This is game-changing because they are able now to really increase their export capacity.
On TACs, Enterprise Singapore and MTI will continue to work very closely with our range of TACs, including SBF, SCCCI, SMCCI, SICCI and so on. And we want to work with them to achieve three things, "ABC". One, to advocate and be a voice for their members' company in their sector; two, then also to work closely with Enterprise Singapore and the various economic agencies to build the capacity and the capabilities; three, to connect the member company within the sector and, in fact, to also facilitate inter-TAC collaboration.
An example is in the last few years, we have launched a lot of programmes for TACs. A quick example is the TAC Fellowship Programme. This is a programme that is spearheaded by SBF. Just a month ago, I went to SBF —
The Chairman: Senior Minister of State Low. Senior Minister of State Low —
Ms Low Yen Ling: — to meet the sixth cohort of — Thank you very much.
The Chairman: Can you please — Yes. Mr Andre Low, last clarification.
Mr Low Wu Yang Andre : This is directed to Senior Minister of State Low Yen Ling. S o, my question is, does the Government have any perspective on my suggestion to criminalise high-pressure sales tactics that prey on our vulnerable populations, especially given our tough line on scams and scam syndicates? The way I see this is, essentially, in-person scams is the same playbook – they leverage on fear and anxiety, and they prey on the vulnerable, and the sums involved of hundreds and thousands of dollars can really be quite eye-watering.
Ms Low Yen Ling: I want to thank Member Mr Andre Low. In my earlier speech, I have also responded very succinctly. I want to assure him, as well as Mr Melvin Yong, I think you touch on very similar issues, and you probably heard from the political office holders speaking at the Ministry of Home Affairs COS about their tough stance against scams.
3.15 pm
You would have heard in my earlier speech, I shared that the Government convened an independent Consumer Protection Review Panel last year. They are on track to table their findings to us. We will take a very thorough look at some of that because some of the feedback from the focus group discussions actually cover the areas the Member talked about.
I want to assure him that it is not just CCS, not just the MTI family, but we stand prepared to take a whole-of-Government view to enhance our consumer protection regime to do two things. One, to safeguard the emerging risk and also, to ensure that the enforcement agencies are given the necessary capacity and teeth to enforce.
The Chairman : We have run out of time. Can I invite Mr Saktiandi Supaat, if you would like to withdraw the amendment?
3.16 pm
Mr Saktiandi Supaat : Instead of going straight away to say I seek leave to withdraw my amendment, I have to thank Deputy Prime Minister Gan, Minister Tan, Senior Minister of State Low Yen Ling, Minister of State Alvin and Minister of State Gan Siow Huang for answering all our cuts. There were about 21 cuts and 16 Members. But I also thank the Permanent Secretary of MTI and his team, because there were a lot of things that MTI will have to do and will be doing going forward, and I thank them for that.
On that basis, Mr Chairman, I seek leave to withdraw my amendment.
The Chairman : I thank all Members for giving up your break time.
[(proc text) Amendment, by leave, withdrawn. (proc text)]
[(proc text) The sum of $1,861,722,800 for Head V ordered to stand part of the Main Estimates. (proc text)]
[(proc text) The sum of $10,705,745,500 for Head V ordered to stand part of the Development Estimates. (proc text)]