26 May 2022 6pm
Fairmont Hotel Ballroom
Ladies and gentlemen,
Good evening!
1. It’s my great pleasure to join you at this evening’s gathering. I would like to thank Raymond for inviting me.
2. First let me say a few words about Business China, the board of which I chair. Founded in 2007, Business China is a non-profit organization dedicated to promote bilingualism and biculturalism amongst Singaporeans. Business China first patron, Lee Kuan Yew believed the rise of China to be unstoppable. And Singaporeans being bilingual and bicultural will have great advantage.
3. As a keen student of China’s economic transformation, we follow developments in China closely. The recent supply chain disruptions arising from the lock down in major Chinese cities only underscore how intertwined our economies have become. Adding to the gloomy picture is the prospect of the Russia-Ukraine war. “Will we end up in a global recession” is a common question many of us asked.
4. Immediate crisis notwithstanding, we have to keep an eye on building a new future. Relevant to this gathering specifically is how the development of Web 3.0 will impact our lives, economy and the future of human race, just like how Web 1.0 and 2.0 have profoundly changed the world.
5. Singapore welcomes and wants to participate in these opportunities. In a recent interview, Mr Ravi Menon, Managing Director of the Monetary Authority Singapore (MAS) outlined Singapore’s approach to the Crypto Ecosystem which emphasizes two key points:
- Singapore wants to grow digital asset capabilities. [It does so by clarifying tax treatment, encouraging talent development, supporting innovation and real-value experiments].
- MAS wants to manage the risks. [It wants to ensure the crypto system is not used for money-laundering and terrorism financing, while looking out for cyber-attacks and consumer protection].
6. In short, MAS expects Crypto service providers to have the organizational abilities to manage the above risks.
7. The recent debacle of stable coin Terra USD is a case in point. How crypto-assets can remain stable, functional and retain the trust of the user-, investor-community will be a subject for deliberations and re-thinking. Crypto-ecosystem will have to evolve, improve and strengthen by working in partnership with all stakeholders including regulators. Discussion forums like this will also provide useful input for new policy formulation.
8. Of course, Web 3.0 is more than the crypto-assets ecosystem. Besides MAS, economic agencies such as The Economic Development Board (EDB) and the InfoComm & Media Development Authority (IMDA) also support Web 3.0 development with their respective capability development programs.
9. Currently, Singapore is home to more than 50 global and regional innovation labs and over 1,400 fintech firms. Singapore continues to welcome international tech companies and tech talents to capitalize on the new opportunities emerging from Web 3.0 developments.
10. As new companies like yourselves settle into Singapore, you will find opportunities to good corporate citizens in your local communities. There are many areas to contribute: to raise the tech-literacy of the population, to help workers acquire new skills, to empower young children from needy families the right IT tools for learning etc. I will be happy to speak on these opportunities for empowerment and change on another occasion.
11. Meanwhile, I would like to express my heartfelt thanks to our host, CTH Group for taking the lead to set aside generous resources to support our local charity sector. Raymond, thanks for your personal leadership in this excellent initiative.
Have a great evening!