APRILASIA BUSINESS OUTLOOK9NEWSROOMSINGAPORE'S $150M AI FUND TO BOOST AUTOMATION ACROSS KEY INDUSTRIESChina announced a strategy to enhance financial services for tech-driven businesses, aiming to support integrated progress in technological and industrial innovation.The strategy, collaboratively released by the National Financial Regulatory Administration, the Ministry of Science and Technology, and the National Development and Reform Commission, details initiatives to enhance financial services such as establishing service mechanisms, providing product offerings, delivering specialized services, and improving risk control capabilities.The initiative seeks to encourage the creation of a financial service framework, assisting entities like government at various levels, tech companies, financial organizations, venture capital funds, and intermediary service providers in developing a multi-tiered technology financial service ecosystem.The guidelines highlight the importance of initial funding for tech startups and sustained financial assistance for small and micro businesses, Zhou Rong, a senior researcher at the Chongyang Institute for Financial Studies at Renmin University of China, informed the Global Times on Tuesday. Zhou stated that this approach fosters the growth of tech companies by allowing them room for trial and error.Financial institutions are urged to utilize cutting-edge technologies such as cloud computing, big data, and artificial intelligence to create digital business solutions that improve operational efficiency and risk management abilities.The plan will strengthen financing guarantee services for tech-oriented businesses by creating a specialized assessment and evaluation system. Analysts stated that a $150 million state fund aimed at accelerating artificial intelligence (AI) adoption in Singaporean companies is set to generate additional automation tools for finance, healthcare, supply chains, and energy management.The enterprise compute initiative highlighted in the 2025 budget may also drive AI tools for enhancing customer experience and advancing environmental, social, and governance (ESG) efforts, Lyon Poh, a partner and head of corporate transformation at KPMG International Ltd. in Singapore, informed Singapore Business Review."We could see AI-driven micro-personalisation for customer engagement in retail, hyperlocal demand forecasting for food businesses and AI-optimised energy management for small businesses," he said in an emailed reply to questions.Gerard Seng, the executive director for digital advisory at BDO Singapore, anticipates that the government's AI initiative will positively influence the hardware advancements required for implementing AI solutions, especially AI chips.Manik Bhandari, EY Asean Data and Artificial Intelligence Leader, provided an alternative viewpoint, stating that although the initiative could increase the demand for AI chips, the overall effect will not be substantial.For instance, sectors such as healthcare, logistics, and manufacturing could implement computer vision and image recognition technologies."AI can enhance fraud detection, risk management, and personalised finance; improve diagnostics, treatment, and automation in healthcare; and optimize supply chains, route planning, and inventory in logistics," Poh said. CHINA PLANS FINANCIAL SUPPORT TO DRIVE TECH AND INDUSTRIAL INNOVATION
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