Minister Chee Hong Tat on Singapore’s tech-driven future at Granite Asia’s NextGen Tech 30 event

SINGAPORE, 30 SEPTEMBER 2026 —

1. Good morning. I am very pleased to join everyone today as we recognise this year’s NextGen Tech 30 founders. Congratulations to all the 30 companies, and to the founders and to the teams behind them. 2. The 30 companies recognised today illustrate the growing breadth and depth of Asia’s innovation base.

They span a wide range of markets and frontier areas from AI in Industry, Agentic AI to Core Technologies, with the potential to reshape business models and transform industries. But recognition is only the beginning. For this year’s companies, the question is what’s next. What will it take for these very promising companies to make the next leap in growth? Scaling Promising Startups to the Global Stage 3.

Scaling up is not simply about doing more of what has worked in the past. A startup has to prove that an idea can work, but a scale-up has to make it work repeatedly, across different markets beyond domestic shores, and at much greater scale. This requires capital that can grow with the company, the organisational capabilities that can keep pace, and the ability to adapt to different customers and markets. 4.

The significance of this goes beyond the companies themselves. When high-growth companies deepen their presence in Singapore, they create good jobs, they attract investments, they strengthen our enterprise ecosystem, and they connect Singapore more closely to regional and global opportunities. a. This year’s NGT30 cohort provides a useful indication of Singapore’s role as a base for growth.

The share of nominees headquartered here increased from 18% in 2024 to 42% this year, suggesting that Singapore is increasingly serving as a base, including for those looking to grow beyond our shores. Half of the final honorees this year are headquartered in Singapore. 5. We want to further strengthen and reinforce this position.

Our aim is to create an enabling environment where companies can build from Singapore, progress from startup to scale-up, and become regional and even global leaders. Achieving this requires, as Mr Goh puts it, a strong ecosystem that provides companies with the right support at each stage of your growth journey. Strengthening Capital and Market Pathways for the Next Stage of Growth 6. One important part of this is access to capital.

The amount and type of capital that a company needs will change as it grows. A young company may rely on early-stage investors. As it expands across markets, it may need larger pools of growth capital and investors who understand its longer-term potential. At a later stage, some companies may also look to public markets. 7.

This is why we are working to strengthen Singapore’s growth capital ecosystem and connect promising companies with the pools of capital that they need as they scale. a. Earlier this year, MAS and MTI convened the Growth Capital Workgroup. Yesterday, I shared three opportunities that build on our strengths and what we want to focus on.

These include supporting companies at different stages of their growth, broadening exits and capital recycling options, and deepening capabilities across the financing chain. b. The next phase of the Workgroup’s work will focus on developing concrete measures in each of these three areas, and we will continue to engage the industry as we develop our ideas further. 8.

Beyond private growth capital, the public markets can also play an important role in supporting companies as they mature. Where a public listing is the right next step for a company, we want Singapore to offer a compelling proposition for such companies to list, raise capital and continue your growth. 9.

The Equities Market Review Group has taken a holistic approach to increase investor interest and trading liquidity, attract more quality listings, and adopt a more pro-enterprise regulatory stance while strengthening investor confidence. a. We are seeing encouraging signs. IPO activity has picked up, trading liquidity has strengthened, and investor participation has broadened. b.

In Financial Year 2026, SGX has seen 21 new listings so far, raising a total of $4.1 billion, which is 160 times the $25.7 million that was raised on SGX the year before. Yes, you heard me correctly, the increase is 160 times, not just 160%. And I understand there are more listings in the pipeline, so this number can grow. c.

We have also just announced the appointment of five more managers under the Equities Market Development Programme, with regional strategies to attract more global and regional investors to our equities market. 10. At the same time, Singapore’s strength as an international financial centre comes from being open and connected. We want to continue attracting global capital into our markets and connect companies here with investors from around the world.

The Global Listing Board, developed in partnership with Nasdaq, is one example. It provides eligible companies with a pathway to access investors and capital in both Singapore and the US. 11. Building a vibrant equities market is a long-term effort. We will continue to work closely with the industry to build on this momentum and strengthen Singapore's proposition for companies and investors. Building a Strong Ecosystem Requires Collective Effort 12.

Capital however is only one part of the equation. Companies also need a wider ecosystem to support their growth. 13. This is why initiatives like NGT30 are valuable. Granite Asia and SGX have brought together sovereign funds, global tech companies, institutional investors, and public sector agencies to give promising growth companies greater visibility and support and I am very heartened to see this partnership deepening. a.

83% of this year’s nominees were sourced directly by NGT30’s nominating partners. This shows that the NGT30’s partners are not only lending support to the initiative, but they are actively using their networks and judgement to identify promising companies from across the region. b. This is complemented by the newly introduced Momentum Awards, which recognise companies from past editions of NGT30 that have gone on to demonstrate growth in revenue or market expansion.

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