Digitalisation tops R&D agenda for Singapore

As the digital transformation continues to gain speed across many industries across Singapore, the government has pledged to allocate more funds in the next five-year Research, Innovation and Enterprise (RIE) plan towards creating a digital economy.

According to Singapore’s Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat, a “significant portion” of the SGD$20 billion RIE2020 plan, which mapped out Singapore’s research and development strategy from 2016 to 2020, was spent on digitalisation.

While the details of RIE2025 are still being finalised, Heng said that more money will go towards developing Singapore’s digital economy, which will be “critical for the future.”

He added that the digital revolution provides countries with the opportunity to connect with each other more than ever before, and allows cross-border data flows for financial services to be improved.

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On Singapore’s part, the country is continuing to upgrade its trade platforms and working with other countries on how digital technology can be used to better manage cities.

Heng concluded, “If we can do better cross-border data flow of financial services, you can allow for better risk and business decisions, and that would allow for trade to continue to flow.”