Daily Debrief: What Happened Today (Oct 5)

Stories you might have missed

Singapore’s tech workforce grows 4% as 2025 digital economy hits S$144.1 billion: IMDA

[SINGAPORE] Singapore’s tech workforce grew 3.8 per cent to 222,200 in 2025, driven by an increasing demand for tech talents in the non-tech sector, an Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) report on Monday (Oct 5) showed.

Singapore sets aside S$118 million for research into bio-based chemicals

[SINGAPORE] Some S$118 million in public funding has been set aside for research into producing chemicals from biological materials – the single largest such commitment to date.

Singapore retail sales growth slows to 0.7% in August, misses forecasts

[SINGAPORE] Retail sales rose 0.7 per cent in August, down from July’s 1.3 per cent growth and well below private-sector economists’ expectations, data from the Singapore Department of Statistics showed on Monday (Oct 5). 

House to discuss claims that civil servants disproportionately bought homes near unannounced MRT stops

[SINGAPORE] Claims that civil servants and their families disproportionately purchased property near planned but unannounced train stations are up for discussion in Parliament when the House meets on Oct 6.

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Singapore’s tech workforce grows 4% as 2025 digital economy hits S$144.1 billion: IMDA

Singapore a high-value market for ChatGPT ads, but Indonesia, Vietnam offer scale: analysts

[SINGAPORE] Singapore may offer OpenAI some of South-east Asia’s most valuable users for its nascent advertising business, but larger markets such as Indonesia and Vietnam could ultimately offer greater scale as the ChatGPT maker looks to monetise its large free-user base

Case calls for law on prepayments as True group’s consumer losses soar to S$3.78 million

[SINGAPORE] Amid a wave of abrupt business closures in the fitness and wellness sectors, the Consumers Association of Singapore (Case) is urging the government to introduce mandatory safeguards to protect consumers against prepayment losses, which have surged to nearly S$6.7 million in the first nine months of the year.