Press Release
09 February 2026
- Investments committed in 2025 affirm Singapore’s continued relevance as a critical global node for advanced manufacturing, a trusted hub for Southeast Asia and a conducive base for value creation through innovation.
- In a challenging global environment, EDB will strengthen existing growth sectors, build new growth engines and prepare Singapore’s workforce to seize emerging opportunities.
OVERVIEW
1. In 2025, EDB secured investment commitments that were on a par with recent years, despite a volatile global environment marked by increasing economic fragmentation, unpredictable geopolitics and rapid technological changes.
2. As companies sought a trusted, stable, and well-connected hub to navigate disruptions and create value for the long-term, EDB, working with other government agencies, doubled down on enhancing Singapore’s value proposition to businesses in terms of speed to market, availability of talent, and innovation partners.
3. These efforts were bolstered by the global economy turning out to be more resilient than anticipated, resulting in stronger-than-expected economic growth for Singapore. EDB attracted investments in key sectors where we have built up competitive ecosystems, and newer areas offering growth opportunities. Fixed Asset Investment (FAI) amounted to S$14.2 billion, with Total Business Expenditure at S$8.9 billion. Investment commitments, when realised over the next five years, are expected to create 15,700 jobs and contribute S$18 billion in Value-Added (VA).
4. Manufacturers expanded their range of production and innovation activities, leveraging Singapore’s infrastructure and skilled talent pool to strengthen global business resilience, and serve Southeast Asia’s fast-growing markets. Established and new companies set up headquarters (HQs) and hub functions, and made Singapore their launchpad for regional expansion. There was also strong momentum in R&D and innovation projects across industries.
2025 YEAR-IN-REVIEW
5. Of the S$14.2 billion in FAI commitments, about S$12.1 billion came from manufacturing-related projects. Semiconductor manufacturers set up greenfield plants and expanded existing facilities to serve strong global demand for AI-related chip, server and server-related products — with these investments having positive spillover effects on the precision engineering sector. There were also projects responding to increased demand for electric vehicles, and the diversification of supply chains for semiconductor equipment. Biomedical manufacturers expanded capacity to capture demand for high-value biopharmaceutical and medtech products, while chemicals manufacturers embarked on specialty chemicals and sustainable materials projects to support fast-growing sectors across the region. Aerospace companies continued to invest in higher-value maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) capabilities given the strong demand for air travel.
6. For TBE commitments of S$8.9 billion, the majority came from investments in HQs, Professional Services, and R&D. Companies from China, the US and Europe continued to anchor HQs with global mandates and to drive international expansion outside of their home markets. Tech companies were the largest contributor to HQ investments, reflecting the strong demand for digital solutions and services in the region. This was followed by Consumer and Professional Services companies. R&D investments came from companies launching new Centres of Excellence, deepening innovation control in Singapore with product roadmap and commercialisation functions, and partnering Singapore’s R&D ecosystem to strengthen industry capabilities in sectors ranging from semiconductors to pharmaceuticals, materials and biofuels and digital.
| Indicator* | 2024 Actual |
2025 Actual |
| Fixed Asset Investment (S$ billion) |
13.5 |
14.2 |
| Total Business Expenditure per annum (S$ billion) |
8.4 |
8.9 |
| Job Creation |
18,700 | 15,700 |
| Value-Added per annum (S$ billion) |
23.5 | 18.0 |
*Investment commitments will take place over the next five years
7. Job creation came from Services (40%), Manufacturing (37%), and R&D and Innovation (23%), with the majority being Professional, Manager, Executive, and Technician (PMET) roles. These roles include opportunities for both fresh graduates and mid-career hires. About two-thirds of jobs committed are expected to have a gross monthly wage above S$5,000.
a. Services jobs are being shaped by broader trends such as automation, AI and sustainability, with these capabilities in demand across industries. New jobs being created include Product Manager, Data Scientist and Sustainability Specialist, along with roles such as Strategic Planning & Operations Manager and Business Analyst.
b. Manufacturing continues to offer good opportunities and pathways for career progression. With Singapore attracting and developing best-in-class advanced manufacturing facilities that produce high-value products across industries, job roles coming onstream include Manufacturing Technician, Test Engineer, Process Engineer, Production Supervisor, and Quality Assurance Manager.
c. R&D and Innovation roles range from cutting-edge research to product development and commercialisation. Job roles include AI Research Scientist, Robotics Engineer, UI/UX Designer, and Process Innovation Consultant.
8. EDB continued to work with companies, training partners and industry associations to strengthen the competitiveness of the Singaporean workforce. This included:
a. Advancing training initiatives to equip workers with in-demand skills, such as digital upskilling efforts by leading tech firms in areas like practical AI application, cybersecurity, and cloud computing. There were also partnerships with IHLs to nurture local talent for R&D roles through EDB’s Industrial Postgraduate Programme (IPP).
b. Nurturing a strong bench of Singaporeans to take on leadership positions in global companies. In 2025, 65 fellows were part of the second cohort of the Singapore Leaders Network (SGLN) Fellowship1, with SGLN also launching the Overseas Transition Support (OTS) programme and SGLN Industry Interest Groups (SIIG)2 to enhance support to those with corporate leadership potential. As part of the Global Business Leaders Programme (GBLP)3, EDB partnered multinational companies across industries such as Aerospace, Energy & Chemicals, Precision Engineering, Logistics and Consumer Goods, with GBLP participants posted to countries such as China, Indonesia, Latvia, the Netherlands, and the US in 2025.
9. EDB made further progress in growth areas, attracting investments in:
a. Artificial Intelligence (AI) – Digital Industry Singapore (DISG4) has secured over 60 AI Centres of Excellence (CoE) from both digital native and industrial companies to research and build proprietary GenAI solutions since 2024. DISG also launched the Enterprise Compute Initiative with tech giants Google, Amazon Web Services, Microsoft, and Oracle to support up to 1,200 companies here accelerate AI adoption.
b. Precision Medicine – EDB secured new precision medicine projects, including manufacturing and R&D projects that built multiomics, robotics and AI capabilities. Four companies were onboarded to the National Precision Medicine Pharma Pre-competitive consortium to leverage Singapore’s unique dataset to support the development of novel diagnostics and treatments optimised for Asian populations. The collaboration partners will also contribute to research activities, create employment opportunities, facilitate knowledge transfer, and strengthen Singapore’s biomedical research data infrastructure.
c. Green and Bio-Based Economy – EDB continued building carbon services and trading capabilities5. This spanned working with partners to launch a $20 million fund to support carbon development projects6, introducing the Blue Carbon Support Programme to accelerate blue carbon innovation and solutions, and rolling out the Carbon Services and Trading Skills framework7. EDB has also been seizing growth opportunities in areas such as biofuels and specialty chemicals, in response to corporate sustainability priorities and rising consumer demand for higher quality products and materials.
d. Next-Generation Hardware and Mobility – EDB secured new projects in data centre hardware and infrastructure, and nascent areas like quantum hardware-related testing. These investments will help to grow Singapore’s presence in AI data centre global supply chains and position Singapore to capture opportunities in emerging areas. In Mobility, new projects in autonomous vehicles and electrification technologies created new jobs in automation, software, and hardware development.
10. As part of building deep and competitive ecosystems to anchor leading businesses:
a. EDB further strengthened partnerships between MNCs and local enterprises to foster co-innovation and capability development. Working alongside Enterprise Singapore, EDB generated 19 MNC-local enterprise partnership projects in 2025, helping these companies build greater operational efficiency and resilience, and capture new business opportunities.
b. EDB’s Global Founder Programme (GFP) was launched in April 2025, to attract experienced founders to build new global ventures headquartered in Singapore. GFP is supporting over 40 ventures, especially in AI, green economy and deep tech hardware, reflecting the confidence that these founders have in Singapore’s innovation ecosystem and access to high-growth markets. Collectively, these ventures have raised S$1.7 billion in funding. About a quarter of this funding is projected to go towards expanding the ventures’ Singapore operations and partnerships, contributing to the local ecosystem.
c. Progress was made in the Johor-Singapore Special Economic Zone (JS-SEZ). Enabled by greater cross-border connectivity and harnessing the complementary strengths of Singapore and Johor, the JS-SEZ has attracted new global investments into the region. As Singapore steps up cooperation with like-minded partners to facilitate global trade and investment flows, EDB will continue deepening win-win partnerships with our neighbours, including with Indonesia in Batam, Bintan and Karimun (BBK). These efforts will help Singapore compete more effectively for new global investments, and lead to deeper regional economic integration.
OUTLOOK AND PRIORITIES
11. The risks to the global order — from fractured trade to geopolitical contestation — continue to evolve. We expect continued intense global competition for investments, with climate risks and technological advancements further disrupting industries. These structural shifts to the global business landscape mean job creation will become more challenging.
12. To continue attracting investments that create good jobs and opportunities for Singaporeans, EDB will work on the following areas, which are aligned with the focus of the Economic Strategy Review (ESR) Committees:
a. Strengthen Singapore’s leadership in growth sectors: We will partner companies to accelerate transformation of manufacturing plants into best-in-class operations while implementing sustainability initiatives. To support companies in navigating heightened business uncertainty, we will grow corporate functions and professional services in areas such as trade and geopolitical risk management. We will continue attracting AI providers and establishing enterprise AI CoEs with leading companies in key sectors, to position Singapore as a leading AI hub and an AI-empowered economy.
b. Pursue emerging opportunities to create new growth engines: This includes capitalising on existing strengths to develop new modern services, such as trust-based services, while supporting the development of emerging technologies that could fuel industries of the future. This will broaden the range of opportunities for Singaporeans.
c. Anchor and grow a new generation of leading enterprises with a global footprint: EDB will identify, attract and anchor high-growth companies with potential to become future industry leaders. We will work with government agencies to ensure greater ecosystem support to scale up high-potential and fast-growing startups to regional and global markets.
d. Develop Singaporeans to capture opportunities in our evolving economy: EDB will continue working with companies and government partners to equip Singaporeans at different life stages with industry-relevant skills to stay competitive in the workforce, through upskilling and reskilling, apprenticeships and overseas training pathways.
