News
Industry shifts, market moves, and workforce impact.
Four SGX-Listed Companies Riding the Global AI Semiconductor Boom
AEM Holdings, UMS Integration, Frencken Group, and Micro-Mechanics are emerging as Singapore's key beneficiaries of the AI semiconductor boom, supplying critical testing equipment, precision components, and consumable tooling to the global chip supply chain. Unlike US AI stocks, these SGX-listed companies also pay fully tax-free dividends under Singapore's one-tier system.
Tata Communications Invests $152M in AI-Ready India-Singapore Digital Corridor
Tata Communications is investing US$152 million to expand subsea cable capacity along the India-Singapore corridor, adding 98 Tbps of AI-ready capacity to meet surging demand from AI, cloud, and hyperscaler workloads. The investment includes capacity on the MIST cable system and consortium participation in a new Chennai-Singapore subsea cable.
Olivier Crespin Returns to DBS as Chief Analytics Officer
Olivier Crespin has rejoined DBS Bank as Chief Analytics Officer, tasked with leading the bank's data, analytics, and artificial intelligence strategy. His return signals DBS's deepening commitment to embedding AI at the core of its banking operations, building on the digital banking transformation he helped drive during his earlier tenure at the bank.
AI and Hiring Slowdown Push Singapore Graduates Into Lower-Paid Traineeships
More Singapore graduates are turning to government-backed traineeships paying as little as S$1,800 a month — less than half the median starting salary — as AI adoption and cautious hiring reduce entry-level opportunities. Applications to the GRIT programme dropped 90% amid low pay and stigma, even as full-time employment rates fell 10 percentage points across universities.
Koh Boon Hwee: AI Means Engineers Must Think Better, Not Code Better
Tech and investment veteran Koh Boon Hwee tells The Business Times that AI will fundamentally reshape software engineering, with coding shrinking to under 5% of an engineer's role while skills like user-needs testing, judgment, and communication become paramount. He warns AI infrastructure investments remain loss-making for investors.
Singtel Weighs REIT as Long-Term Funding Option for AI Infrastructure
Singtel is evaluating the formation of a publicly listed real estate investment trust (REIT) or similar permanent capital vehicle to finance its transformation from a traditional telecom into a digital infrastructure and AI services powerhouse.
AI Giants Expand Singapore Footprints as CBD Office Rents Rise
Singapore's CBD office market is seeing a rare divide in tenant behaviour: established corporates are staying put to avoid relocation costs, while AI giants are actively expanding their footprints. OpenAI is establishing its first overseas Applied AI Lab here backed by over $300M in.
askST Jobs: Your Industry Is Declining Due to AI—Now What?
Straits Times askST Jobs column explains why feeling secure in an AI-disrupted industry is a dangerous illusion. Experts advise workers to audit their roles, become AI-bilingual, and redesign workflows before disruption arrives.
Singapore's Producer Prices Jump 30.8% in May as AI Demand Surges
Singapore's manufactured products price index surged 30.8% year-on-year in May 2026, driven by sustained AI infrastructure demand. The Economic Strategy Review blueprint outlines plans to position Singapore as a trusted hub for AI development.
80% of Financial Institutions Hit by AI Agent Attacks, BioCatch Survey Finds
A new global survey from BioCatch reveals that 80% of financial institutions have encountered attacks carried out by AI agents, with 84% of professionals believing agentic AI will become the industry's largest exploitable vulnerability within the next year.
'Tokenmaxxing' Threatens to Derail Singapore's AI Adoption Push
A growing phenomenon known as 'tokenmaxxing' is seeing Singapore employees inflate AI usage metrics by running unnecessary tasks through language models, gaming internal dashboards rather than achieving real productivity gains, warns a new commentary.
Apple Hikes Mac and iPad Prices in Singapore Up to S$600 on AI Memory Chip Crunch
Apple has raised prices across Mac and iPad models in Singapore by up to S$600, directly blaming a global memory chip shortage driven by AI data center expansion — the first major consumer electronics price hike tied to the AI infrastructure buildout.