Singapore topped the list on the Economist Intelligence Unit’s business environment ranking.
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Singapore launched a slew of schemes to harness artificial intelligence, including tax breaks for companies and support for workers to learn AI skills.
Presenting the country’s Budget on Thursday, Prime Minister Lawrence Wong announced that Singapore will launch a “national AI council,” which he will chair.
“AI is a powerful tool — but it is still a tool. It must serve our national interests and our people,” he said.
Singapore will also define clear rules for how AI is developed and used to ensure it benefits society safely and responsibly, Wong added.
In terms of measures, Singapore will launch a new “Champions of AI” program to support firms who want to use AI to transform their business. Support will be tailored to each company, and will include enterprise transformation and workforce training.
“As these companies succeed, they will set benchmarks for their industries and inspire others to follow,” Wong said.
The country will also expand its Enterprise Innovation Scheme, which provides businesses with a 400% tax deduction on qualifying expenditures. Such expenditures will be expanded to include AI expenditures, capped at 50,000 Singapore dollars ($39,654) per year for 2027 and 2028.
Wong said that “every Singaporean can take the initiative to learn and pick up AI-related skills,” adding that the country will redesign its Skillsfuture website to make AI learning pathways clearer and easier to access, so that Singaporeans can quickly find courses that match their work needs and proficiency levels.
The Skillsfuture website provides learning opportunities and training support for Singaporeans, who are given credits to sign up for Skillsfuture courses when they turn 25.
Singapore’s Prime Minister Lawrence Wong attends the 28th ASEAN Plus Three (APT) Summit during the 47th Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit in Kuala Lumpur on October 27, 2025. (Photo by Vincent Thian / POOL / AFP) (Photo by VINCENT THIAN/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)
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But Wong noted that while most AI tools are free at the basic level, access to more advanced models require a paid subscription.
Singapore will then provide Singaporeans who take up selected AI training courses six months of free access to premium AI tools. “This will allow them to practise, experiment, and apply what they have learnt,” he pointed out.
More funds to boost continue stock market
Separately, Wong also announced that the city-state will inject another 1.5 billion Singapore dollars ($1.18 billion) to boost its stock market.
This top-up to the Financial Sector Development Fund will also help to develop Singapore’s fund management industry, Wong announced.
The FSDF, set up in 1999, provides grants to firms and individuals in the financial services sector to promote Singapore as a financial center.
This comes as Singapore had announced a $5 billion Singapore dollars injection in 2025, known as the equity market development program, or EQDP, to boost the vibrancy of the local stock market.
The EQDP has been one of the factors behind the Straits Times Index’s rise in 2025. The STI climbed 22.67% in 2025, its largest gain since 2009.
SG$4 billion has already been placed with nine asset managers, and the remainder is expected to be deployed in the second quarter of 2026.
Wong also said that the government will look to implement other measures to boost the market, such as streamlining listing rules and requirements to make it easier for high-growth companies to go public and establishing a dual-listing bridge connecting the SGX and Nasdaq.
“These measures will enhance the depth and vibrancy of our public equities market and provide more pathways for enterprises to grow and scale from Singapore,” Wong said.
