In 2018, Singapore has emerged as the top destination for AI and robotics investment according to fDi Intelligence, a specialist service from the Financial Times established to provide industry-leading insight into globalisation.
Singapore’s Trade and Industry Minister Chan Chun Sing stated in his speech at the Parliament earlier this month that deep technology industries such as cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, and big data analytics are the “linchpin for the future economy”. He also stressed that Singaporeans have to welcome tech-skilled foreign workforce to remain competitive.
“We have only a small window to build a critical mass of high-end professionals, start-ups, and companies,” he said with emphasis on acting fast.
Sing has emphasized how crucial the Singapore officials’ actions are in pursuit of making the small city-state a deep tech hub. He stressed that with that goal, time is of the essence making it imperative for everyone to move now and fast.
“If Singapore sits back and does nothing, we will almost certainly be left behind,” he stressed.
Considering the current global race in attracting highly skilled technology professionals in the fields of AI and cybersecurity, the Trade Minister cited how Thailand, China, and France have gone into the direction of embracing global integration. France and Thailand have created special visa programmes to make it easier for technology talents to work in their countries.
France has the French Tech Visa, a simplified, fast track procedure for three types of international tech talent to obtain a residence permit known as the “Passeport Talent” (“Talent Passport”). Open to three categories of tech talent namely startup founders, employees, and investors, this type of French visa allows them to live and work in France.
According to Sing, the opportunity to meet the demand for technology professionals can be resolved by complementing Singapore’s growing deep tech talent with skilled foreign workers. Failing to recognize this might affects the country’s competitive edge. He explained:
“In a world where multi-sectoral, cross-discipline and cross-cultural teams are increasingly common, Singaporeans must learn how to work with people from all around the world. This will increase their competitiveness as individual employees and make them more attractive to employers.”
In the same event, Trade Minister Sing also shared the application requirements for Tech@SG, a programme to be launched by end of 2019 giving tech firms more flexibility in employment pass (EP) applications in hiring foreign talents.
Below are the requirements set to guarantee the companies’ commitment to building teams and products in Singapore:
- Must be incorporated in Singapore
- Must have a digital or technology offering or a business model built around proprietary technologies, research or hardware
- Must secure more than US$10 million (S$13.9 million) in venture capital funding and have received in the last three years funding from a venture capitalist that Tech@SG recognizes.
Tech Giants and MNCs Thriving in SG
Alibaba, Grab, SAP, and Taiger are some of the companies with expansion plans in Singapore according to Trade Minister Sing. Complementing their local workforce with global talent will scale up their operations as planned. He commented:
“These are often people that can marry both technical leadership and commercial acumen, manage larger tech teams in the hundreds and thousands, and are highly valued because they are in short supply.”
As innovation and deep tech advocate, SAP had a head start in 2016 when it has chosen Singapore to host its global Innovation Centre for Machine Learning as the company takes AI and Machine Learning into the folds of its customer offerings that would enable and empower businesses of the future. The German software giant has recognized Singapore to have the highest number of people with Machine Learning expertise.
With regards to the issue on the impact of the foreign talents in the society, Sing assured the House saying that:
“We will never stop putting Singaporeans at the heart of everything we do and will continue to develop every Singaporean to their fullest potential so that they can fulfill their aspirations and seize opportunities in Singapore and beyond.”
