TO REINFORCE Singapore’s global competitive lead, the government will put an additional S$2 billion into developing the financial sector, and another S$3 billion towards research and development (R&D).

The Republic will also invest S$1 billion over five years to further improve artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities, said Finance Minister Lawrence Wong in his Budget speech on Friday (Feb 16).

Financial Sector Development Fund

To support a continued inflow of investments, capital and talent in Singapore’s financial sector, the government will inject S$2 billion more into the Financial Sector Development Fund (FSDF).

Administered by the Monetary Authority of Singapore, the FSDF provides grants to firms and individuals in the financial services sector.

RIE2025

A further S$3 billion will also be invested into the Research, Innovation and Enterprise 2025 (RIE2025) plan. Launched in 2020, the RIE2025 plan had an initial commitment of S$25 billion.

With the latest injection, Singapore’s investment in research, innovation and enterprise will be sustained at about 1 per cent of gross domestic product, Wong said.

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The additional resources will go towards research and related investments in national priorities, which include advanced manufacturing, sustainability, the digital economy, and healthcare, he added.

AI computing

Wong also announced plans to invest more than S$1 billion over the next five years in AI computing capacity, talent and industry development. This will support Singapore’s National AI Strategy 2.0, which was launched in December last year.

Part of the investment will be used to ensure that the Republic can secure access to the advanced chips that are “so crucial to AI development and deployment”, Wong said.

For more of BT’s Budget 2024 coverage, go to bt.sg/budget24