Smart Nation Initiatives in Singapore and ASEAN

Dr Teo Ho Pin asked the Prime Minister whether he can provide an update on the progress of the Smart Nation initiatives in Singapore and ASEAN.

We continue to make steady progress in our use of digital technologies to restructure our economy, generate new jobs, solve real-world problems and improve the quality of life of our citizens.

SingPass Mobile, which was launched just one year ago, has over 600,000 users enjoying secure password-less logins, and a quarter of all SingPass transactions are now conducted on SingPass Mobile. When PayNow was launched in July 2017, there were 150,000 transactions totalling about $24 million in the first month of operations. For the past quarter from July to September, PayNow transaction values have consistently crossed the S$1 billion mark each month, with more than 6 million monthly transactions during the same period.

As for the Moments of Life app, since February this year, the birth registration service has expanded to cover all private hospitals, and the cumulative number of births registered via the app has increased from 2,000 to over 12,000. In September 2019, more than 60% of all eligible births were registered through the app. We have recently expanded the app to support seniors aged 60 and above in their journey to live active and engaged lives. Together, these initiatives bring greater ease and convenience to citizens, helping us to save time and enhancing our daily lives.

Our digitalisation efforts are also benefiting businesses and the economy, and many companies are making use of digitalisation to spur innovation and transform their businesses. Over 450,000 entities make 30 million transactions on CorpPass yearly. More than 7,000 companies have signed up to use MyInfo to improve how they serve their consumers, including the banking sector who are using MyInfo to make the "know-your-customer" process quick, convenient and seamless. Just last week, the GoBusiness Licensing portal became operational. Business owners who wish to set up a food services business now only have to fill in a single form with no more than 90 data fields, as compared to 14 forms with 845 data fields previously. These initiatives help new businesses to hit the ground running, and enable existing businesses to become more customer-centric and efficient, which in turn make them more effective and competitive.

Industry sectors are also benefiting from digitalisation. For example, the construction sector is adopting Integrated Digital Delivery (IDD) which harnesses Building Information Modelling technology to reap time and cost savings across the entire building life-cycle, from planning and construction to facilities management. BCA launched the IDD implementation plan last year, and aims to have more than 40 projects by next year.

Looking externally, Singapore continues to work closely with ASEAN member states to enhance smart city projects through the ASEAN Smart Cities Network (ASCN) initiated in 2018, during Singapore's chairmanship. At the ASCN annual meeting in Bangkok in August 2019, Singapore was appointed Shepherd to advise and support the ASCN Chair, as well as work with the Chair to organise programmes and initiatives – for example, capacity-building workshops – to develop the ASCN further.

ASCN has generated significant interest from ASEAN’s external partners to form project partnerships with the ASCN. So far, 40 project partnerships have been signed. The US, Japan, and the ROK have launched and operationalised targeted initiatives to engage the ASCN. At the ASEAN-Australia Special Summit last year, Australia announced the ASEAN-Australia Smart Cities Initiative worth A$30 million to support the development of smart cities. The long-term success of the ASCN depends on the external partners' continued involvement, and we are heartened to see the growing strength of the ASCN.

Our journey to build a Smart Nation continues. In a recent Smart City Index by IMD Business School that measured how citizens perceived the scope and impact of efforts to make their cities "smart", Singapore was ranked first. This is a heartening outcome. We will strive to do even better and work with citizens and companies to deliver solutions that improve lives and enable business innovation.