Economic Strategy Review aims to give mid-term update, ‘get some funding’ for early ideas

[SINGAPORE] The Economic Strategy Review (ESR) committees aim to release a mid-term update around next year’s Budget season and get funding for early ideas, said Acting Transport Minister and Senior Minister of State for Finance Jeffrey Siow on Wednesday (Nov 19).

This will provide a chance to discuss early proposals with stakeholders and “hopefully get some funding support”, he said.

The committees will then consolidate these ideas and put up final recommendations by mid-2026.

“(But) between now and the middle of next year, it doesn’t mean that we’re waiting for the report before we implement these ideas,” he added. “As we go along, when the ideas make sense, we will roll them out and start to execute it.”

He was speaking to the media at an engagement session where three ESR committees – on global competitiveness; technology and innovation; and entrepreneurship – met more than 70 business leaders in a dialogue organised with the Singapore Business Federation (SBF).

Topics discussed ranged from how Singapore can refresh its value proposition as a premium investment hub, to helping firms harness artificial intelligence (AI) and emerging technologies, and strengthening the startup ecosystem to support founders looking to scale overseas.

Since the ESR’s launch on Aug 4, its five committees have held more than 50 consultations with businesses, unions and workers, including company visits and overseas engagements. On Nov 17, the other two ESR committees – on human capital and managing the impact of restructuring – engaged nearly 50 members of the Singapore National Employers Federation on how to build an AI-ready and global-ready workforce, and help workers and firms adapt.

What companies are asking for

Siow, who co-chairs the ESR committee on global competitiveness with Senior Minister of State Low Yen Ling, said he has heard from companies on how to strengthen Singapore’s value proposition.

For instance, high-growth companies – including those in robotics, AI, precision medicine and advanced manufacturing – are looking for “access to quality workforce, access to growth capital, and a place where it is easy to do business”. 

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Another area is how to help Singapore-based companies go abroad, beyond entering the traditional way. Firms are now seeking help to undertake new projects in overseas markets, including developing new products abroad.

SBF vice-chairman Andrew Kwan said the business community is contending with two very different categories of pressures. 

The first are “gradual, cumulative” structural challenges that have long shaped Singapore’s operating environment. This includes rising cost pressures, which he described as “here for time eternal”, and chronic human-capital constraints. 

Firms must find ways to attract, retain and retrain talent even as competition for skilled workers intensifies, he said.

The second category comprises “tectonic” shocks reshaping industries at a far faster pace.

Geopolitical realignments are forcing companies to adjust their supply chains and market assumptions. AI’s rapid rise offers major productivity gains, but also the risk of displacing businesses that fail to adapt.

Given these pressures, Kwan said it was “critical” for candid conversations between industry and government, to ensure policies are grounded in what firms are experiencing on the ground.

Why now?

Asked how this ESR differs from previous economic reviews, Siow said the “conditions for Singapore’s success” over the past two to three decades have fundamentally changed.

“There is less free trade now... competition between cities and economies is real,” he noted.

Singapore must thus reassess which strategies remain relevant, which should be doubled down on, and which require recalibration for the next five to 10 years, he said.

Employment concerns have also shaped the review’s work. 

The ESR’s objective, he said, is ultimately to “create good jobs for Singaporeans”, including preparing workers for emerging roles, and helping firms manage job and skills transitions.