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Minister S Iswaran highlights Southeast Asia’s potentials as the region grows on the digital front

Minister S Iswaran highlights Southeast Asia’s potentials as the region grows on the digital front

At the technology
event ConnecTech Asia, Singapore Minister for Communications and
Information S Iswaran delivered
his opening address, highlighting Southeast Asia’s potential as the region
rapidly develops on the digital front.

“This is truly an exciting time to be in Asia, especially
Southeast Asia which remains one of the fastest-growing regions in the world,”
said Minister Iswaran.

Over the last decade, ASEAN has achieved an average annual
growth rate of 6%, higher than the global average of 4%. This trajectory is
expected to continue, with an annual growth forecast of around 5% with ASEAN
predicted to be the fourth-largest economy in the world by 2030.

At the same time, the region has a growing middle class and
a population of 630 million people, more than half of whom are under the age of
30 and actively contributing to the remarkable growth in the region’s internet
economy.

“Today, ASEAN has 330 million internet users, with 70
million new users since 2015. 90% of these users spend almost 4 hours a day on
the mobile internet through their smartphones, the highest average in the world,”
the Minister said.

He then explained that these “young, tech-savvy and
connected citizens” are ready to shift ASEAN’s engine of growth to the next
gear and seize the opportunities that technology and the digital economy have
to offer them.

“We see this for example in e-commerce, where online
shopping in Southeast Asia’s six biggest economies is projected to reach
US$64.8 billion in 2021, compared to US$37.7 billion last year. The
ride-hailing market has also grown four-fold since 2015 and is expected to be
over US$20 billion by 2025. Even more significantly, ASEAN’s digital economy
has the potential to contribute an additional US$1 trillion to our regional GDP
by 2025,” he said.

Minister Iswaran then moved on to talk about what these
tremendous opportunities mean for Singapore.

“Singapore is at the heart of all these developments and
growth, and we are well-positioned to contribute to and benefit from these
significant regional opportunities,” the Minister said.

He iterated
that with Singapore at the epicenter, the Government’s InfoComm
and Media Industry (ITM) Transformation Map
and Digital
Economy Framework for Action
, which were recently launched at the
Singapore Digital (SG:D) Industry Day, will prepare Singapore to be a leading
digital economy.

According to Minsiter Iswaran, these initiatives highlight
some of the country’s efforts to ensure that Singapore deepens its
capabilities, stays competitive and becomes a global node in Asia.

“The ITM for instance aims to grow Singapore’s ICM
industry’s value-add by around 6% annually. It is also expected to not only
employ more than 210,000 workers, but also add more than 13,000 new PMET jobs
by 2020,” he said.

“Together with the Framework for Action, it will prepare
Singapore to be a leading digital economy. All these initiatives that we have
been launching and enhancing over these past years will chart Singapore’s way
forward towards the digital future. With these plans, we aim to remain nimble
and continually adapt ourselves so as to turn challenges into opportunities for
growth and success,” he added.

As reported
earlier
, the Digital Economy Framework for Action introduced
by the Infocomm Media Development
Authority
 (IMDA) comprises three thrusts: (1) accelerate
digitalisation journeys of industries and companies, (2) strengthen Singapore’s
ability to compete internationally, and (3) transform the ICM sector.

At the same time, the Minister pointed out that Singapore
has also been strengthening its economic links and integration with the region
and the world. One of the examples he names is the
Global Innovation Alliance
which was launched last year to broaden
and deepen Singapore’s network of overseas partners in major hubs and demand
markets with a focus on technology and innovation, such as San Francisco, Beijing,
Bangkok and Jakarta.

According to the Minister, the Global Innovation Alliance will
allow Singaporean workers and companies to gain overseas experience, build
international networks and collaborate with their counterparts on innovation
and new products and services.

Given Singapore’s ASEAN Chairmanship this year, the country
has also proposed the establishment of the ASEAN
Smart Cities Network
as a collaborative platform where ASEAN cities
such as Hanoi, Kuala Lumpur, Manila and Yangon, will work together with
Singapore towards the common goal of smart and sustainable urban development.

“These networks extend beyond companies and markets involved
in the technology space. Not only will they synergise innovation,
entrepreneurship and digital technology across these cities and our region,
they will also facilitate and accelerate all other types of business and
investment opportunities across our economies,” said Minister Iswaran.

Held at the Marina Bay Sands and Suntec Singapore, the
three-day technology event ConnecTech Asia is an umbrella event encompassing CommunicAsia,
BroadcastAsia, and the inaugural NXTAsia. The business platform covers the
whole ecosystem of info-communications, broadcasting and emerging technologies.
The event is expected to draw
over 35,000 attendees, 1,800 exhibitors and over 220 thought leaders.

PARTNER

Qlik’s vision is a data-literate world, where everyone can use data and analytics to improve decision-making and solve their most challenging problems. A private company, Qlik offers real-time data integration and analytics solutions, powered by Qlik Cloud, to close the gaps between data, insights and action. By transforming data into Active Intelligence, businesses can drive better decisions, improve revenue and profitability, and optimize customer relationships. Qlik serves more than 38,000 active customers in over 100 countries.

PARTNER

CTC Global Singapore, a premier end-to-end IT solutions provider, is a fully owned subsidiary of ITOCHU Techno-Solutions Corporation (CTC) and ITOCHU Corporation.

Since 1972, CTC has established itself as one of the country’s top IT solutions providers. With 50 years of experience, headed by an experienced management team and staffed by over 200 qualified IT professionals, we support organizations with integrated IT solutions expertise in Autonomous IT, Cyber Security, Digital Transformation, Enterprise Cloud Infrastructure, Workplace Modernization and Professional Services.

Well-known for our strengths in system integration and consultation, CTC Global proves to be the preferred IT outsourcing destination for organizations all over Singapore today.

PARTNER

Planview has one mission: to build the future of connected work. Our solutions enable organizations to connect the business from ideas to impact, empowering companies to accelerate the achievement of what matters most. Planview’s full spectrum of Portfolio Management and Work Management solutions creates an organizational focus on the strategic outcomes that matter and empowers teams to deliver their best work, no matter how they work. The comprehensive Planview platform and enterprise success model enables customers to deliver innovative, competitive products, services, and customer experiences. Headquartered in Austin, Texas, with locations around the world, Planview has more than 1,300 employees supporting 4,500 customers and 2.6 million users worldwide. For more information, visit www.planview.com.

SUPPORTING ORGANISATION

SIRIM is a premier industrial research and technology organisation in Malaysia, wholly-owned by the Minister​ of Finance Incorporated. With over forty years of experience and expertise, SIRIM is mandated as the machinery for research and technology development, and the national champion of quality. SIRIM has always played a major role in the development of the country’s private sector. By tapping into our expertise and knowledge base, we focus on developing new technologies and improvements in the manufacturing, technology and services sectors. We nurture Small Medium Enterprises (SME) growth with solutions for technology penetration and upgrading, making it an ideal technology partner for SMEs.

PARTNER

HashiCorp provides infrastructure automation software for multi-cloud environments, enabling enterprises to unlock a common cloud operating model to provision, secure, connect, and run any application on any infrastructure. HashiCorp tools allow organizations to deliver applications faster by helping enterprises transition from manual processes and ITIL practices to self-service automation and DevOps practices. 

PARTNER

IBM is a leading global hybrid cloud and AI, and business services provider. We help clients in more than 175 countries capitalize on insights from their data, streamline business processes, reduce costs and gain the competitive edge in their industries. Nearly 3,000 government and corporate entities in critical infrastructure areas such as financial services, telecommunications and healthcare rely on IBM’s hybrid cloud platform and Red Hat OpenShift to affect their digital transformations quickly, efficiently and securely. IBM’s breakthrough innovations in AI, quantum computing, industry-specific cloud solutions and business services deliver open and flexible options to our clients. All of this is backed by IBM’s legendary commitment to trust, transparency, responsibility, inclusivity and service.

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