DPM Gan Kim Yong at the Future Economy Conference 2026

Added: 2026-05-14

[00:00:00]Distinguished guests, members of the economic strategy review committee, our partners from industry, unions, academia, and the community. Very good morning to all of you. About a year ago, we launched the economic strategy review or ESR to chart the path forward as Singapore was entering a new phase in our economic journey.

[00:00:27]For many decades, Singapore benefited from globalization and a rules-based international order. We succeeded and thrived by making ourselves useful to others as a trusted, connected, and reliable partner.

[00:00:46]But the conditions that shaped our success have shifted. Geopolitical tensions are rising. Economic decisions are increasingly shaped by national security considerations, focusing on resilience, self-sufficiency, and strategic control.

[00:01:05]Technology is advancing rapidly, especially in AI. This will create new opportunities, but also disrupt industries, business models, and jobs.

[00:01:18]Climate change and the lowcarbon transition will reshape costs, investments, and competitiveness.

[00:01:26]And the nature of work itself is changing. We can no longer assume that economic growth will naturally generate as many good jobs as before.

[00:01:37]These are not passing headwinds. They are structural shifts in the global operating environment.

[00:01:45]The development of the past year have reaffirmed and reinforced this new reality.

[00:01:52]The ongoing energy crisis has shown how quickly disruptions can cascade through the global economy affecting energy markets, shipping routes, production costs, inflation, and business confidence around the world. For Singapore, such disruptions are not distant events. We are deeply connected to the global economy economy. That connectivity gives us opportunities, but it also exposes us to volatility.

[00:02:26]This is why ESR matters. It is not simply a response to immediate challenges. It is about how Singapore position itself for the longer term to stay competitive, create good jobs and remain relevant in a more fragmented, contested and fastchanging world. At its heart, the ESR asks a fundamental question. How should Singapore respond to this new environment?

[00:02:58]The ESR sets out three strategic imperatives. First, we must sharpen Singapore's value proposition so that the world continues to need Singapore and value what we offer.

[00:03:13]Second, we must become more agile and adaptable so that our firms and workers can move with change rather than be overtaken by it.

[00:03:24]Third, we must build resilience while driving competitiveness so that Singapore remains open and connected yet better prepared for shocks.

[00:03:36]Let me take each in turn. The first imperative is to sharpen Singapore's value proposition.

[00:03:44]Singapore has never competed on size. We do not have a large domestic market, abundant land or natural resources.

[00:03:54]That means we cannot try to do everything. Our strategy has always been to focus on areas that matter and to do them well. It will no longer be enough for Singapore to be efficient, stable, and well-run. These remain essential strengths, but in a more competitive world, we must go further. We must be clear where Singapore can lead, where we can anchor differentiated capabilities, and where we can offer value that others cannot easily replicate.

[00:04:30]This begins with our core sectors.

[00:04:33]Singapore has already built strong foundations in advanced manufacturing, modern services, logistics, finance, and technology. These sectors do not just contribute to our economy. They are drivers for innovation, capability building, and good jobs.

[00:04:53]We want to deepen and extend our lead in these areas. That means continuing to attract highquality investments and frontier activities in these sectors.

[00:05:05]But it also means doing more with firms that are already here to support their growth, helping them to transform their operations, adopt AI and digital technology, strengthen sustainability, improve productivity and deepen partnerships with our research institutions, suppliers and workers.

[00:05:28]We must go beyond hosting economic activities just for our companies here towards anchoring their higher value capabilities in Singapore such as innovation, supply chain coordination, regional leadership and talent development. This way Singapore becomes more than just a location. We become a critical node in their global operations. And that is how we make our ecosystem more valuable, more trusted, and more difficult to replace.

[00:06:06]At the same time, we cannot only defend today's strengths. We must also build tomorrows.

[00:06:14]This means taking calculated bets in emerging areas where Singapore has a credible right to play. To be clear, not every bet will succeed. But if we only choose traditionally safe options, we will not break new grounds or grow new industries.

[00:06:34]AI will be a key part of this. It is likely to reshape economies in the way electricity or internet once did.

[00:06:44]Singapore does not need to compete by building the biggest frontier models or the largest data centers. Our advantage lies elsewhere. We can become one of the best places in the world to develop, test, and deploy AI solutions that solve real world problems at scale. Our AI strategy must be grounded in real use cases, especially in advanced manufacturing, finance, healthcare, logistics, and connectivity where Singapore already has strengths.

[00:07:18]We will work with leading Singapore-based companies to become pathfinders and helpmemes to benefit from AI through shared platforms, sector level solutions, and stronger support ecosystems.

[00:07:33]We must diffuse AI across the whole economy to lift productivity, strengthen enterprises, create better jobs, and provide more opportunities for Singaporeans.

[00:07:46]This is how Singapore stays relevant by building capabilities, trust and innovation that the world values.

[00:07:56]The second imperative is to become more agile and adaptable. In a world of rapid change, competitiveness will depend not only on the strengths we have today, but on how quickly we can respond, renew, and redeploy.

[00:08:13]Firms must be able to seize new opportunities.

[00:08:17]Workers must be able to acquire new skills. Capital and talent must move to more productive areas. Institutions must adapt quickly and effectively.

[00:08:30]Agility must therefore become a core capability for our economy.

[00:08:36]This starts with our enterprise ecosystem.

[00:08:40]Singapore has built a strong startup ecosystem over the past decade, but we need more firms to make the leap from startup to scale up and from local enterprise to regional or global players. This requires better access to growth capital, deeper management capabilities, stronger market connections, and more pathways for companies to expand beyond Singapore.

[00:09:08]Intern internationalization will be especially important. Our domestic market is small for many Singapore based firms. Growth must come from overseas, not just by exporting to foreign markets, but also by investing in these economies to benefit from their growth. But internationalization has become more complex and fragmented.

[00:09:35]Companies must navigate geopolitical tensions, everchanging regulations and shifting supply chains.

[00:09:43]We need to help firms identify opportunities, manage risks, build partnerships, and compete internationally with confidence.

[00:09:52]Agility also means accepting that renewal is part of a healthy economy.

[00:09:58]Besides, business models cannot be static. A an agile economy is one that renews itself continuously and redeploys capital and talent to where they create the most value.

[00:10:12]For workers, agility must mean more than coping with disruption. It means access to better and broader opportunities.

[00:10:22]Our economic strategies must translate into meaningful opportunities for Singaporeans. But good jobs will not emerge automatically. We must design for them deliberately.

[00:10:35]As firms adopt AI and automation, we must ensure that technology complements workers, improves job quality, and supports career progression.

[00:10:46]We will be able to we will not be able to protect every job, but we aim to protect every worker. As enterprises transform, we should also be mindful of workforce outcomes. how firms redesign jobs, upgrade workers and create stronger career pathways. We must also broaden the range of good jobs. Domestic facing and essential sectors such as healthcare, early childhood education, social services and skilled traits will will continue to provide important employment opportunities.

[00:11:23]Many of these roles rely on judgment, empathy, trust and human interaction.

[00:11:29]They can be augmented by AI but not easily replaced by it. We must make these jobs better through productivity improvements, stronger skills recognition, clearer career and wage progression. We must also be prepared that career transitions will become more common.

[00:11:52]Our support for workers must therefore become more integrated and more anticipatory.

[00:11:59]We should build career bridges before disruption hits. We should intervene and help retrain workers early to better prepare them for the next step. We should provide workers with effective career guidance, skills assessment, training and job matching support.

[00:12:19]Finally, we must make lifelong learning more effective and regular. This means more modular pathways, closer alignment between training and employer needs, and more opportunities for workers to reskill and upgrade throughout their careers.

[00:12:36]A more agile Singapore is one where enterprises renew themselves before disruption becomes decline and where workers are supported not only to adapt to change but to progress through it.

[00:12:51]The third imperative is to build resilience while driving competitiveness.

[00:12:58]For Singapore, resilience cannot mean turning inwards. Our resilience must come from being competitive and connected, but connected in a more trusted, reliable, and diversified way.

[00:13:13]This is why Singapore's role as a hub remains so important. But that role must also evolve.

[00:13:21]In the past, Singapore succeeded by being a place through which goods, capital, people and ideas move efficiently.

[00:13:30]In the next phase, we must do more. We must become a reliable and trusted partner. A place where flows are orchestrated, financed, governed and translated into a higher income, higher value activities for goods. This means strengthening our sea and air hubs not just through more capacity, but through greater reliability, digitalization, specialization, integration, and coordination.

[00:14:01]for capital. Singapore must go beyond being a destination for funds. We must be a place where capital is raised, structured, deployed, and managed across the region and beyond.

[00:14:16]For data, Singapore must become a trusted node for digital flows. In an AIdriven economy, crossborder data flows will become critical infrastructure. We must strengthen governance, facilitate secure sharing, and help shape international standards.

[00:14:36]For energy, we must reinforce Singapore's role as a reliable energy hub even as the energy system changes over time. This means strengthening our role in existing energy flows where while building capabilities in emerging areas such as LG, hydrogen, ammonia, sustainable aviation fuels and lowcarbon technologies.

[00:15:02]At the same time, resilience must be built into our economic system.

[00:15:08]Energy security is one of Singapore's critical challenges.

[00:15:13]We must continue diversifying res our sources, strengthening buffers and planning ahead for disruptions.

[00:15:22]Supply chain resilience will also become more important. We need to understand where our key dependencies lie and work with industries on practical responses whether through diversification, substitution, stockpiling or trusted partnerships.

[00:15:42]Climate resilience will matter more as well. Singapore must prepare for heat, coastal and other climate risks while balancing decarbonization with energy security and competitiveness.

[00:15:56]We must also deepen partnerships with like-minded economies on supply chain resilience so that essential flows can continue even during disruptions.

[00:16:09]Allow me to say a few words in Mandarin.

[00:16:32]Yes.

[00:16:53]for dear Let me continue in English. Ladies and gentlemen, the global environment will become more contested, fragmented, and fastm moving. Growth will be harder to achieve. Jobs will change more quickly.

[00:18:10]Shocks will happen more frequently.

[00:18:14]But Singapore is starting from a position of strength. We are trusted. We are connected. We have capable institutions, competitive industries, and strong partnerships between government, businesses, and workers. The ESR has outlined our strategy for this new phase. In a changed world, Singapore cannot assume that yesterday's strengths will automatically become tomorrow's place.

[00:18:44]We must keep renewing our economy by building capabilities that matter and bring value to the world by developing enterprises and workers that are nimble and adaptable and by strengthening trusted connections that make us reliable and resilient. This is how Singapore can continue to grow, create good jobs, and provide strong opportunities for our people. And this is how we can look to the future with confidence. Thank you.