In an election year, and in his first Budget Plan as prime minister of Singapore, Lawrence Wong offers some food for thought for the region. Industry leaders weigh in with their perspectives…
Singapore Prime Minister Wong delivered his first Budget as prime minister, where he addressed concerns such as the cost of living, job security and climate change.
As Singapore and regional businesses alike are navigating the different incentives announced yesterday, here are some insights and opinions from industry experts weighing in on the various areas raised in the 2025 Budget.
Kelvin Cen, Head of SEA, Bloomberg LP:
Singapore already has a formidable role as a hub for innovation and digital talent. Initiatives like the SkillsFuture Workforce Development Grant will further enhance Singapore’s ability to upskill and build the next generation of data and technology professionals, futureproofing local talent.
Png Kim-Meng, CEO, NTT DATA Singapore:
We fully support Prime Minister Wong’s position in lifelong learning, especially in today’s digital age where technological advancement is outpacing our skills and proficiency in emerging tech.
We believe that the private and public sectors must continuously work together to provide quality training, knowledge sharing, and cultivating a culture where employees are empowered to improve themselves.
Strongly aligned with the government’s roadmap in strengthening SkillsFuture, tech providers like us are equipping our employees through programs like the GenAI Talent Development Framework to future-proof their careers. We want to ensure that we are investing in our employees with skills and knowledge to stay competitive on the global stage.
Thomas Karthaus, Acting Head of Southeast Asia, Qualtrics:
The continued investment and expansion in SkillsFuture initiatives are particularly welcome as Singapore strengthens its position as an AI hub. For these efforts to have maximum impact, it is important they are matched with a willingness among local workers and organisations encouraging active participation and for the programs to be easily accessible.
Singapore is home to some of the highest volumes of workers open to using AI in the world. Our research also shows young employees entering the workforce are often some of the most engaged, motivated, and driven.
For organizations that harness this enthusiasm and investment, the impact for their business, employees, and the nation will be exponential. A critical part of this is ensuring employees receive the support, tools, and guidelines needed to succeed at work today and into the future.
Niko Walraven, Area Vice President APAC, Neat:
Singapore’s Budget 2025 has been designed to bolster the country’s technological infrastructure and foster lifelong learning and innovation. Programmes like the Enterprise Compute Initiative and a strengthened National Productivity Fund can be powerful catalysts to truly accelerate Singapore’s continued efforts in driving a strong culture of innovation.
With robust R&D investments and large-scale infrastructure projects in the pipeline, innovation thrives when individuals and businesses are empowered to freely collaborate and exchange ideas. Therefore, it’s essential for businesses to stay ahead by making strategic technology investments that not only streamline operations but also drive productivity, creativity, and collaboration.
I think the Budget presents a clear mandate to cultivate a workforce that is not only skilled but also deeply interconnected.
Chiu Wu Hong, Partner, Head of Private Enterprise, KPMG Singapore:
The S$150 million allocation for the Enterprise Compute Initiative in Budget 2025 is a significant boost for Singapore’s business landscape.
By enhancing access to advanced AI and high-performance computing resources, this initiative empowers enterprises to harness cutting-edge technologies, drive innovation and enhance operational efficiency.
This will further accelerate digital transformation and strengthen Singapore’s technological edge – benefitting the broader enterprise ecosystem.
To fully capitalise on this new initiative, businesses should seek guidance from trade associations and chambers, relevant government agencies, or third-party professionals to navigate the grant application process effectively.
With expert guidance, businesses can strategically leverage this newly available support to position themselves for long-term success in an increasingly AI-driven economy.
Budget 2025 underscores the Government’s unwavering commitment to position Singapore as a global leader in research and development.
The additional S$3 billion allocation to the National Productivity Fund builds on Singapore’s visionary investments made two decades ago in the Biopolis hub.
These strategic initiatives have propelled Singapore to the forefront of DNA microchip manufacturing, exemplifying how foresight and sustained support can transform emerging sectors into global powerhouses.
For enterprises in Singapore, this creates opportunities to leverage cutting-edge innovation, collaborate with world-class researchers, and break into global markets.
Edmund Heng, Partner, Technology Risk, KPMG Singapore:
As Singapore advances its AI innovation agenda, robust governance is essential to ensuring responsible and sustainable growth. Businesses should leverage the Enterprise Compute Initiative to implement AI governance tools and frameworks, while the Workforce Development Grants can help strengthen technical competencies across the Three Lines of Defense, reinforcing oversight of AI systems.
Collaboration is also key — businesses should engage with industry partners and government initiatives like AI Verify to exchange best practices and stay informed on evolving responsible AI standards. These efforts will enhance Singapore’s AI ecosystem and further establish the nation as a trusted global technology hub.
Kenneth Poh, Country Manager, NetApp Singapore and the Philippines: Singapore’s Budget 2025 reinforces the nation’s ambition to lead in AI innovation, laying the groundwork for an agile and future-ready economy. The S$150 million Enterprise Compute Initiative, for example, presents a significant opportunity for businesses to overcome AI adoption barriers and focus on execution.
We believe AI is only as powerful as the data that fuels it. It’s essential for organizations to build intelligent, scalable data infrastructure that enable them to collect, manage and unify any data, anywhere – across on-prem and hybrid cloud environments – to uncover insights, drive innovations and business outcomes.
Furthermore, as AI capabilities expand, so do cyberthreats. Ransomware and other attacks increasingly target AI infrastructures, making data both AI’s greatest asset and its biggest vulnerability. As such, businesses need to embed cyber resilience at every layer, prioritizing real-time threat detection, zero-trust architectures, and AI-driven safeguards.
In today’s era of data and intelligence, a future-ready data ecosystem and strong public-private partnerships will help Singapore solidify its position as a global AI and digital innovation hub.
Chua Hock Leng, Area Vice President, ASEAN and Greater China, Pure Storage:
As Singapore underscores the critical need for resilience in its annual budget, businesses must prioritise innovation and sustainability to navigate a complex global landscape. Singapore’s commitment to further reduce carbon emissions and the potential exploration of nuclear energy options demonstrate its commitment to foster a sustainable society. This ambition should inspire the nation’s technology ecosystem to embrace IT modernisation, ensuring technology and sustainability go hand in hand.
The $150 million allocation for a new Enterprise Compute Initiative to help businesses harness AI more effectively will be a tremendous boost for AI development in the country but we would like to see greater scrutiny into the energy consumption of data centres. This will also contribute to the country’s carbon goals.
Gayathri Peria, General Manager, Southeast Asia, SUSE:
Singapore’s Budget 2025 underscores a strong commitment to strengthening the nation’s technology innovation credentials, with new initiatives that enable businesses to scale and continually compete on the global stage. Technology organizations can help steward the way, and we are heartened by the collaboration that is already happening between public and private sectors here in the Little Red Dot.
Reducing software licensing fees frees up significant capital, allowing Singaporean businesses to strategically invest in crucial growth areas like talent acquisition, and international expansion. This is particularly important as Singapore businesses navigate a challenging macroeconomic landscape.
Among the new announcements, the Enterprise Compute Initiative stands out as a game-changer, reinforcing enterprises with critical AI tools, computing power, and expert consultancy capabilities via partnerships with major cloud service providers.
The government’s investment in AI infrastructure is commendable, and pairing it with open source AI’s rich ecosystem of tools and frameworks allows businesses to tailor solutions without the burden of proprietary software costs. This empowers businesses to leverage AI more effectively in the age of Smart Nation 2.0. By working with cloud service providers to support businesses with the necessary access and resources, Singapore can position itself to continually drive productivity and growth.
Existing initiatives like Open Government Products are a testament to the belief that Singapore has in open source technology and its power to increase inclusivity, drive innovation, and build products that better serve our populace.
Suvig Sharma, Area Vice President (ASEAN), Confluent:
Singapore has stood strong amidst an evolving global landscape with geopolitical uncertainties, as our economy expanded 4.4% in 2024. Given that industries across Singapore’s workforce have been driving the charge, it is heartening to witness PM Lawrence Wong’s focus on local technology and upskilling investments to strengthen resilience and drive sustainable growth.
With Singapore’s plans to triple its AI talent pool, it is critical to help businesses adopt best practices to maximise innovation, support workers to harness greater value & streamline workflows, while ensuring responsible use. PM Wong’s $150 million budget for the Enterprise Compute Initiative, which supports businesses to harness AI effectively around processes and systems, underscores the need to stay ahead of disruptive technologies.
One of the key processes for AI is data management – the effectiveness of AI is deeply dependent on having clean and up-to-date data – similar to building better health by choosing fresh, wholesome foods marked with Singapore’s Healthier Choice symbol. High-quality data is what drives accurate insights and better business decisions. With data volumes growing daily and demand for real-time responses increasing, data streaming platforms will play a crucial role in powering AI applications with trustworthy, fresh data to deliver relevant results without hallucinations.
To fully leverage these emerging technologies, companies need a skilled workforce. The new SkillsFuture Workforce Development Grant will be of tremendous help, helping businesses train their employees while adapting their workforce structures to new demands.
As roles like data streaming engineers become more essential, companies will need support to prepare their workforce to respond to these evolving fields. This effectively impacts real-life cases such as banks and other organisations, where they tap on real-time streams of accurate data to bolster smarter decision-making, like detecting fraud and allowing teams to access and use data independently and securely. For example, Trust Bank now fully utilizes governed real-time data, enabling flexibility and autonomy across various teams. We also collaborated with IMDA to support government agencies in delivering more responsive and effective citizen experiences.
Fabio Tiviti, Group Vice President, APAC & Japan Field Operations, Workday:
