Singapore has committed S$220M, about $173M, to its fintech sector over the next three years. It made the announcement three days after KPMG reported that private investment in Singaporean fintech had fallen to its weakest first half in roughly a decade.
The timing is not a coincidence, and nobody is pretending otherwise. Gan Kim Yong, who is deputy prime minister, trade and industry minister and chairman of the Monetary Authority of Singapore, set out the commitment on Monday.
The money runs through the fourth iteration of the Financial Sector Technology and Innovation scheme, which has existed since 2015 and has backed more than 350 projects. FSTI 4.0 splits into six tracks covering institutional innovation, AI adoption, infrastructure and platforms, and talent.
The talent track has the most concrete commitment attached. At least 1,000 fintech internships will be created over the three years, with the stipends co-funded, which is a direct intervention in a labour market rather than a grant programme.
“These efforts will help our financial institutions, fintech firms, and workers innovate, scale, and build capabilities to seize emerging opportunities,” Gan said. He framed the AI opportunity in terms of capture rather than defence, adding that the financial industry is not a zero-sum game.
