• Published on 4 October 2023
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AI investment surging in Singapore with 92% firm adoption

Artificial intelligence (AI) adoption shows no signs of slowing down in Singapore as executives plan to invest heavily in AI and generative AI in the next year, according to new research from FIS®. The study was conducted to understand how corporate executives are investing in new technologies amid uncertainty.

The second edition of FIS’ Global Innovation Report asked c-suite and senior executives in financial services, including banks, insurers, capital markets firms, fintechs, and non-financial businesses such as retail, restaurants, travel, gaming and digital content, and technology providers, globally about their key areas of financial investment over the next 12 months.

Nearly two-thirds (64%) of business leaders in Singapore cited financial risk as the top concern currently, signalling broad concerns about the near-term market. Technology and system innovation have been found to be a top focus for risk mitigation for the year ahead. Meanwhile, firms in Singapore are betting big on AI with 51% and 57% saying they have adopted AI and generative AI, respectively.

Francois Denimal, Asia Pacific managing director of capital markets at FIS said: “While AI and machine learning tools have long been playing a major role in digital transformation within the financial sector, recent advancements in generative AI have further opened the field. It is encouraging and exciting to see that a majority of Singaporean firms surveyed are already using AI and generative AI and plan to up their investments, mirroring the significant support by the government towards AI innovation.”

“There’s still a lot more work to be done to drive adoption in AI and generative AI – both on the regulatory front and also on training the workforce to keep pace with rapid developments in this space. Collaboration between businesses, technology providers and regulators is critical in order to harness the potential of AI as a force for good,” added Denimal.

Key findings and insights

· 64% of business leaders in Singapore cited financial risk as their top concern.

· More than half (51%) of respondents that flagged financial risk as a concern said they are already impacted by it and a further 43% expect to be affected in the next 12 months.

· Many businesses experiencing financial risk say they are adopting new technology (49%), restructuring their business model (51%) or acquiring/partnering with other businesses (51%) in the face of such risk.

· Almost all (92%) Singaporean executives believe innovation is critical for mitigating risk.

· Technology and system innovation is a top focus, with 51% saying they are pursuing or planning to pursue this to mitigate risk, followed by business model innovation (47%).

· With regard to adoption of new technologies, Singapore has the highest percentage of firms using AI (51%) and generative AI (57%) amongst markets such as the US, UK, Australia and Hong Kong featured in this research.

· 67% of firms currently using AI and generative AI said they plan to increase spending in the next year.

· AI has the most growth potential out of all the technologies covered in the research, with 92% of firms seeing adoption within the next 12 months.

FIS’ Global Innovation Report surveyed more than 2,000 business leaders around the world. It reveals executives’ attitudes about today’s risks and their strategies for managing them, as well as how they are turning to innovation and new technologies to protect their business and create a competitive edge.

The Singapore data is based on a sample of 101 executives from the global study, spanning Singapore-based financial institutions, securities and investment firms, insurers, fintechs, retailers, technology providers, energy and utilities firms, and healthcare providers, as well as other sectors. The survey was conducted by Savanta on FIS’ behalf in June 2023.

Re-disseminated by The Asian Banker