In Focus

Budget 2026: 57% of firms demand AI grants to offset rising costs

Budget 2026: 57% of firms demand AI grants to offset rising costs

Nearly 60% of companies are calling for a significant injection of capital into digital adoption and skills credit programmes.

CEO confidence index hits 80 as GDP growth forecast cools

Nearly 90% of local leaders remain upbeat about the economy over the next 12 months.

Card payments to grow 7.2% CAGR to $209.2b by 2029

Contactless use and merchant expansion underpin growth.

Budget 2026 to target reflation risks as MAS hikes inflation forecasts: analysts

Financial analysts warn that core inflation will climb back to one point five percent despite the previous years cooling period.

Economic growth tethered to ‘AI boom’ as output gap narrows to 0.7%

A sharp decline in global AI valuations could force a faster easing of growth.

Late-stage funding surges to $1.99b as startup market defies freeze

Investment value quintupled since the record lows seen in the second half of 2024.

Onboarding, dispute gaps constrain Singapore’s $17b remittance growth

Lack of standardisation for refunds and disputes hampers cross-border scaling.

AI pre-screening swarms 70% of Singapore recruitment

Four in 10 recruiters now face intense pressure to fill open roles faster than in previous years.

Fintech crosses $1b mark as Singapore edtech and software funding lags

Princeton Digital Group closed the largest individual funding at $1.3b.

Singapore to slash CDC vouchers in Budget 2026: analysts

Only 22% of the SINGA bond borrowing cap has been utilised for new national projects.

Mega-event pipeline to drive record $32.5b tourism spend in 2026

Approximately 18 million visitors are expected as BTS, Disney, and F1 anchor the yearly calendar.

Singapore equity funding surges 100% to hit $3.0b in H2 2025

Total deal count rose slightly to 154 transactions compared to 148 in the previous year.

Singapore targets capital-intensive growth as small market limits scale

Strategic footholds are being sought in frontier sectors including space innovation and deep tech.

'Lower debt costs' drive 2026 investor intentions: survey

The living and hospitality sectors are seeing multiple hotel-to-student-housing conversions.

Singapore 2025 arrivals reach 16.9 million as Japan surge leads mix

Total international visitor arrivals grew by 2.3% to reach the 16.9 million milestone.

Budget 2026 to surge tech funding as ageing workforce squeezes growth: analysts

Binding land and workforce shortages now force a radical productivity-led growth strategy.

Service optimism thins to 4% as shipping slump drags

Wholesale trade anticipates a major boost from the ongoing Windows 11 refresh and hardware renewals.