Industry News

Singapore is set to host the Space Summit 2026 on 2–3 February at Marina Bay Sands, coinciding with the Singapore Airshow. The event, endorsed by eight Singaporean government agencies, including the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) and the Defence Science and Technology Agency (DSTA), aims to advance dialogue on the global space economy. The summit will bring together policymakers, space agencies, investors, and innovators to discuss responsible and inclusive growth in the sector.

The summit has confirmed participation from international space agencies such as the Brazilian Space Agency (AEB), German Aerospace Centre (DLR), and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), among others. This highlights Singapore’s commitment to fostering cross-sector partnerships and positioning itself as a hub for sustainable innovation.

Leck Chet Lam, Managing Director of Experia Events, stated, “Singapore is the natural convening point for businesses and markets from all over the world. Space Summit 2026 has received a positive response from private and public sector leaders in the global space industry.”

The event will explore how space technology intersects with traditional sectors, enhancing infrastructure, connectivity, and sustainable growth. It will also examine the dual-use potential of commercial space technologies in the defence sector.

Over 40 influential speakers, including Raphael Roettgen of E2MC and Despina Theodosiou of Tototheo Global, are confirmed to speak. The summit aims to facilitate meaningful international collaboration, building an innovative and sustainable space ecosystem globally.

FOMO Pay, a prominent Singapore-based payment institution, has announced a collaboration with JP Morgan Payments to enhance its remittance and multicurrency payment solutions for corporate and institutional clients. This strategic partnership aims to address complex treasury and settlement needs by leveraging JP Morgan Payments’ extensive global direct clearing network and advanced treasury infrastructure.

The collaboration allows FOMO Pay to offer faster and more secure domestic and cross-border transactions across a wide range of currencies. JP Morgan Payments, which processes over 10 trillion payments daily in more than 160 countries and 120 currencies, is a leader in USD payments volume. This partnership will enable FOMO Pay to expand its service offerings, including Payment-on-Behalf-Of (POBO) and Collection-on-Behalf-Of (COBO) capabilities, as well as Virtual Reference tools for improved payer identification and reconciliation.

By integrating JP Morgan Payments’ expertise in clearing, foreign exchange, and multicurrency banking with FOMO Pay’s digital payment infrastructure, the collaboration aims to provide seamless global payment and collection solutions. This will enhance businesses’ ability to manage payments and collections with increased speed, security, and precision in an increasingly digital economy.

Founded in 2015, FOMO Pay is a Major Payment Institution licensed in Singapore, Hong Kong, and the United Arab Emirates. The company offers a comprehensive suite of digital payment, banking, and asset solutions, positioning itself as a key player in connecting traditional and next-generation financial services in Asia.

Singapore Technologies Engineering Ltd (ST Engineering) has announced a robust financial performance for the first nine months of 2025, with group revenue reaching $9.1b, marking a 9% increase year-on-year. This growth was driven by strong performances across its three main business segments: Commercial Aerospace, Defence & Public Security, and Urban Solutions & Satcom.

The company’s order book has reached a record high of $32.6b as of the end of September 2025, with $14b in new contracts secured during the period. This includes $4.9b in contracts from the third quarter alone. ST Engineering expects approximately $2.8b of this order book to be delivered by the end of the year.

Vincent Chong, Group President and CEO, highlighted the company’s strategic focus, stating, “Our nine-month year-to-date performance was underpinned by robust revenue growth whilst our order book reached a new high. These strong underlying results reflect the strength and resilience of our business strategy and fundamentals.”

In addition to its financial results, ST Engineering announced plans to propose a final dividend of 6.0 cents per share and a special dividend of 5.0 cents per share, subject to shareholder approval at the 2026 AGM. These dividends are part of the company’s strategy to share value realisation with shareholders, following recent divestments that generated $594m in cash proceeds.

Despite these dividend payments, the company remains financially strong, with plans to reinvest in growth opportunities or reduce debt. The recent divestments, including the sale of subsidiary LeeBoy and shareholding interests in CityCab and SPTel, have improved the company’s cash position and are part of a continual portfolio review to prioritise strategic growth areas.

OKP Holdings Limited’s subsidiary, Eng Lam Contractors Co (Pte) Ltd, has been awarded a S$22.6m contract by JTC Corporation for infrastructure works at CleanTech Loop, part of the Jurong Innovation District. The 22-month project, which began in October 2025, is expected to conclude by August 2027.

The contract involves constructing a dual-two lane road, sewer line, and drainage system, alongside a 750-square metre elevated connection slab with pedestrian and cycling paths. These enhancements aim to improve connectivity within CleanTech Park, aligning with JTC’s vision for a sustainable and advanced manufacturing hub.

JTC’s adoption of the New Engineering Contract 4 (NEC4) Option C Target Cost Contract signifies a shift towards transparency and collaboration. This model involves setting a target price upfront, with costs tracked openly and shared savings or overruns, fostering a cooperative project environment.

Or Toh Wat, Group Managing Director of OKP, stated, “This contract is a strong affirmation of OKP’s trusted track record in Singapore’s infrastructure landscape.” He emphasised the project’s role in supporting business collaboration and sustainable growth.

This contract follows OKP’s recent success with the Land Transport Authority cycling path network project, contributing to a record high order book of S$615.9m, with projects extending to 2031.

The Institute of Singapore Chartered Accountants (ISCA), in collaboration with the Singapore Exchange Regulation (SGX RegCo), the National Council of Social Service (NCSS), the Singapore Institute of Directors (SID), and PwC Singapore, has launched three significant publications aimed at advancing Singapore’s sustainability reporting ecosystem. These publications were introduced at the ISCA Conference on 12 November 2025, marking a pivotal step in strengthening the credibility of climate and social impact disclosures.

The first publication, a Climate Reporting Roadmap, is designed to assist non-Straits Times Index (non-STI) issuers in meeting the extended climate reporting timelines set by the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority (ACRA) and SGX RegCo. This roadmap provides a structured approach for companies to enhance governance and build internal capabilities, aligning with the wider ecosystem to support non-STI and large non-listed companies.

The second publication, Guidelines for Social Impact Metrics in Corporate Sustainability Reporting, was launched by Minister Indranee Rajah. Developed by NCSS in partnership with ISCA and SID, these guidelines offer practical advice for organisations to measure and communicate their social impact effectively.

Lastly, the ESG Assurance Landscape Study, conducted by PwC, ISCA, and SGX RegCo, assesses the readiness of SGX-listed companies for mandatory sustainability assurance. The study reveals that only 17% of companies have obtained external assurance for their sustainability reports, highlighting a readiness gap.

These initiatives underscore a national effort to enhance sustainability reporting quality and consistency, crucial for Singapore’s transition to a sustainable economy. ISCA remains committed to developing capabilities to meet the growing demand for reliable sustainability disclosures.

Singapore’s retail landscape is seeing a positive shift as the islandwide retail vacancy rate decreased from 7.1% in the second quarter (Q2) to 6.9% in the third quarter (Q3) of this year, according to Savills’ latest report. This decline is attributed to a slight improvement in net demand for retail space, particularly in Orchard Road and the Downtown Core Planning Area, alongside steady demand in suburban areas.

The report highlights that landlords have become more flexible with lease terms, especially for less prime spaces, as core tenants seek early lease terminations. This flexibility has contributed to the improved occupancy rates. Savills estimates that the pipeline supply of retail space will be around 540,000 square feet this year, a decrease from 679,000 square feet completed in 2024. The supply is expected to taper off in 2026 and 2027, with major developments anticipated from 2028 onwards, such as the expansion of Marina Bay Sands.

Despite these positive trends, high operating costs and inconsistent spending patterns continue to challenge retailers, leading to higher tenant turnover. Suburban malls, supported by steady footfall and essential purchases, face limited rental growth due to cost pressures and competition from cross-border shopping.

Singapore remains a top luxury shopping destination in Asia, attracting international brands. Recent openings include Chinese jewellery label Laopu Gold at Marina Bay Sands and Swiss sportswear brand On at Jewel Changi Airport. American fast-food chain Chick-fil-A is set to open its first Asian outlet in December, with other international brands planning to follow suit.

Sulian Tan-Wijaya of Savills Singapore noted, “The influx of overseas brands, particularly from China, continues, although there is some push-back on rents in prime malls.” Alan Cheong, also from Savills, added, “We expect Orchard Road and suburban mall rents to rise by up to 2% in 2025.”

The Life Insurance Association, Singapore (LIA Singapore) has reported a 10.4% increase in total weighted new business premiums for the year-to-date third quarter of 2025, reaching S$4.76b. This growth reflects strong consumer confidence and a proactive approach by Singaporeans towards financial security. Financial Adviser Representatives, both independent and insurer-backed, played a significant role, securing S$50.8b in sum assured, which accounts for 44.3% of the total for the period.

The demand for annual premium policies surged by 19.9% compared to the previous year, totalling S$3.57b. Conversely, single-premium policies saw a decline of 10.8%, amounting to S$1.19b. LIA Singapore President Wong Sze Keed noted, “We are making steady progress in narrowing Singapore’s protection gap. Singaporeans are not just getting more financially savvy, they are also taking steps to become more adequately insured.”

Investment-linked policies maintained their popularity, comprising 43% of the total weighted new business premiums. Meanwhile, Integrated Shield Plans (IPs) continue to be a cornerstone of health insurance, with nearly 113,000 new IPs taken up in the first nine months of 2025. This brings the total number of lives covered by IPs to approximately 3 million, or 71% of Singapore residents.

Looking ahead, the industry remains optimistic, despite anticipated healthcare cost increases in 2026. The life insurance sector is committed to evolving its products to meet the community’s needs, ensuring sustainable and accessible healthcare for all.

Nium, a global leader in real-time cross-border payments, has announced its participation in Visa’s stablecoin settlement pilot. This initiative allows Nium to settle transactions using stablecoins, including Circle’s USDC, across supported blockchains. The collaboration aims to modernise Nium’s payment operations by offering faster, more secure, and programmable settlement capabilities.

The integration of stablecoin settlement is set to transform Nium’s cross-border money movement by shifting from traditional batch-based systems to blockchain-based stablecoin flows. This transition is expected to reduce friction, costs, and delays, addressing common issues such as weekend cutoffs and time zone discrepancies. Alex Johnson, Chief Payments Officer at Nium, stated, “By settling with Visa via stablecoins, we’re aligning payments to the speed of the internet, not the speed of traditional rails.”

Visa’s Head of Digital Currencies Asia Pacific, Nischint Sanghavi, highlighted the importance of stablecoins in modern money movement, noting that the pilot offers predictable settlement capabilities up to seven days a week. “We’re excited to expand our collaboration with Nium to bring these new capabilities to more participants in the ecosystem,” Sanghavi added.

Nium’s participation in the pilot leverages its existing real-time cross-border infrastructure, enabling customers and fintechs to access faster digital settlement rails without developing their own stablecoin infrastructure. This effort builds on Visa and Nium’s longstanding collaboration to enhance global money movement for enterprises worldwide. As stablecoins become increasingly integral to financial transactions, this partnership signifies a pivotal shift towards more efficient and adaptable payment solutions.

Thunes, a global payment network, has unveiled its Account Top Up and Withdrawal solutions, designed to streamline transactions for major digital asset platforms. These new offerings enable seamless integration with traditional finance, allowing digital asset companies to facilitate onramp and offramp transactions efficiently. The solutions are supported by Thunes’ Fortress Compliance Platform and SmartX Treasury System, ensuring regulatory compliance and improved liquidity management.

The Account Top Up solution offers direct local payment methods for onramp transactions, whilst the Account Withdrawal solution provides fast and transparent fiat payouts across 40 markets. This development is part of Thunes’ broader strategy to enhance its services, following innovations like stablecoin prefunding for 24/7 treasury operations and the Pay-to-Stablecoin-Wallets solution, which allows instant stablecoin payouts in over 130 countries.

Chloe Mayenobe, President and COO of Thunes, stated, “Thunes is connecting fiat and digital finance through one trusted Direct Global Network. Our new Account Top Up and Withdrawal solutions give digital asset platforms the infrastructure they need to operate globally with speed, compliance, and interoperability.”

Elie Bertha, Chief Product Officer at Thunes, added, “Digital asset companies are growing rapidly but are held back by fragmented payment systems and compliance barriers. By enabling stablecoin prefunding and global fiat access for account top-up and withdrawals in one unified solution, we’re delivering the flexibility and reach that leading digital asset companies need to operate and scale confidently across borders.”

These solutions are expected to help digital asset companies capitalise on the projected $10b growth in the digital assets market over the next year, offering a single integration to speed up time to market and reduce operational friction.

SGX Mainboard-listed Food Empire Holdings Limited has announced a significant 23.9% increase in revenue for the first nine months of 2025, reaching $426.7m. This marks the company’s fifth consecutive year of record-breaking financial performance. The growth was propelled by robust double-digit increases across all core segments, particularly in Russia and Ukraine, Kazakhstan and CIS, where revenue rose by 30.7% and 26.2%, respectively.

The company’s quarterly revenue also saw a notable rise, with a 28.3% increase to $152.6m in Q3 2025. This growth was largely attributed to consumer promotions and increased demand in key markets. The Southeast Asia segment, led by Vietnam, contributed significantly with a 20.8% increase to $114.5m, driven by consumer acquisition and brand investments.

Sudeep Nair, Food Empire’s CEO, stated, “Our outstanding performance in 3Q2025 and year-to-date 9M2025 is an outcome of brand investments and the ability to strategically allocate resources to markets where conditions are more favourable.”

In recent developments, Food Empire has invested $37m in expanding its coffee manufacturing facility in India, expected to boost capacity by 60% by 2027. Additionally, the company raised S$42.8m through a share placement to support growth opportunities and strengthen its balance sheet. With these strategic moves, Food Empire is optimistic about maintaining its growth trajectory and achieving another record financial year.