Industry News

The National Volunteer and Philanthropy Centre (NVPC) has welcomed 74 new Companies of Good at the inaugural Company of Good – 1 Heart Conferment, with 62 of these being small and medium enterprises (SMEs). This event marks a significant step in the lead-up to the 10th anniversary of the Company of Good (COG) initiative in 2026, highlighting the growing commitment of SMEs to integrate Corporate Purpose into their business models.

Since the refresh of the Company of Good Recognition System in 2023, 720 organisations have been acknowledged for their dedication to societal impact, with 495, or 69%, being SMEs. This trend underscores the increasing emphasis smaller businesses are placing on societal impact as a core business priority.

Among the newly conferred companies is By Invite Only, a local jewellery brand that prioritises sustainability and ethical practices. The brand uses waste-minimising packaging and ensures its products are manufactured in factories compliant with the Business Social Compliance Initiative. “Purpose has always guided our decisions,” said Trixie Khong, CEO and Founder of By Invite Only. “We hope to connect with other organisations and discover new ways to contribute across other areas of impact.”

QXY Resources Pte Ltd, a construction company, has also been recognised for its community contributions, including fundraising for local hospitals and supporting migrant workers during the COVID-19 pandemic. CEO Lynn Koh stated, “This recognition affirms our belief that businesses can be, and should be, a force for good.”

The Company of Good – 1 Heart Conferment uses a Simplified Questionnaire to track companies’ progress across five impact areas, providing an accessible entry point for businesses to join the Profit with Purpose movement. This initiative aims to foster a community of purpose-driven companies, encouraging them to deepen their societal impact.

Frasers Property Limited has reported a 17.8% increase in attributable profit, reaching S$243.1m for the financial year ending 30 September 2025. The rise in earnings was primarily driven by net fair value changes and the reversal of tax provisions, which helped offset lower residential contributions due to project timing.

The company has proposed a dividend of 4.5 Singapore cents per share, reflecting its commitment to delivering shareholder value. Frasers Property continues to focus on three strategic pillars for sustainable value creation: increasing development exposure, driving recurring income through active portfolio and asset management, and enhancing capital efficiency.

Group CEO Panote Sirivadhanabhakdi highlighted the company’s resilience amidst macroeconomic challenges, stating, “Our long-term priorities—portfolio rebalancing and capital efficiency—continue to shape a future-ready business that aims to deliver enduring value for all stakeholders.” He acknowledged the challenges ahead but emphasised the company’s disciplined approach to strengthening performance and protecting value.

In addition to financial results, Frasers Property announced several strategic initiatives, including a partnership with CIMB Singapore to provide preferential financing for SMEs and an expanded capital partnership with Morgan Stanley Real Estate Investing in Australia. These moves are part of the company’s broader strategy to enhance its market position and drive growth.

Looking forward, Frasers Property remains focused on delivering near-term outcomes whilst staying committed to its long-term goals, ensuring it remains well-positioned to navigate future market conditions.

The Bank of England, Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), and Bank of Thailand have announced a joint initiative to explore the technical and policy implications of synchronised foreign exchange (FX) settlements across borders. This collaboration aims to test the interoperability of central banks’ Real Time Gross Settlement systems and Distributed Ledger Technology-based environments.

Building on insights from Project Meridian FX, the central banks will conduct experiments to enable atomic, real-time FX transactions that are secure and interoperable. The project will explore the potential of synchronisation to support Payment versus Payment FX settlement across jurisdictions with varying infrastructures, time zones, and regulatory frameworks.

Tom Mutton, Director of Fintech at the Bank of England, stated, “This project explores, in more realistic conditions, how synchronisation solutions might support an open and effective global financial system by providing a new, innovative FX settlement channel.”

Kenneth Gay, Chief FinTech Officer at MAS, highlighted the importance of international cooperation in fostering open and interoperable networks. He said, “We look forward to exploring how synchronised settlement can enhance interoperability across different jurisdictions and infrastructures.”

Thammarak Moenjak, Senior Director at the Bank of Thailand, noted that the initiative could enhance the efficiency of FX Payment versus Payment transactions and support cross-border Delivery versus Payment use cases.

This collaboration underscores the central banks’ commitment to developing financial infrastructure that enhances cross-border interoperability of tokenised transactions, potentially transforming the global FX settlement landscape.

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has released a consultation paper proposing new guidelines for artificial intelligence (AI) risk management within the financial sector. These guidelines aim to ensure the responsible use of AI by financial institutions (FIs) and cover oversight, risk management systems, and AI life cycle controls.

The guidelines are designed to apply to all FIs and set out MAS’s supervisory expectations. They emphasise the importance of board and senior management in governing AI risk management, including establishing frameworks and fostering a risk-aware culture. The guidelines also require FIs to maintain accurate AI inventories and conduct risk materiality assessments.

MAS recognises the diverse applications of AI and the varying risks associated with different use cases. The guidelines are intended to be proportionate, taking into account the size, nature, and risk profiles of FIs’ activities. They cover a range of AI technologies, including Generative AI and AI agents.

Key areas of focus include data management, fairness, transparency, human oversight, and third-party risks. FIs are expected to implement robust controls throughout the AI lifecycle, ensuring their capabilities and capacities align with their AI usage.

Deputy Managing Director Ho Hern Shin stated, “The proposed Guidelines on AI Risk Management provide financial institutions with clear supervisory expectations to support them in leveraging AI in their operations.” The guidelines are based on MAS’s 2024 review of key banks’ AI use and discussions with FIs.

The consultation paper is available on the MAS website, and interested parties are invited to submit comments by 31 January 2026.

Edwards Lifesciences celebrated its 20th anniversary in Singapore on 12 November 2025, highlighting its significant contributions to heart valve therapies in the Asia-Pacific region. The event, held at the company’s Changi facility, underscored Edwards’ commitment to innovation and talent development in collaboration with Singapore’s medical technology ecosystem.

Since its establishment in 2005, Edwards’ Singapore operations have been pivotal in addressing the growing demand for heart valve treatments, crucial in a region where cardiovascular disease accounts for over half of global deaths. Joseph Nuzzolese, Corporate Vice President of Edwards Lifesciences, praised Singapore’s partnership, stating, “The expertise and dedication of our local team, together with Singapore’s strong innovation and talent ecosystem, have been central to our success.”

The celebration also featured remarks from Goh Wan Yee, Senior Vice President and Head of Healthcare at the Singapore Economic Development Board, who acknowledged Edwards’ ongoing commitment to talent and innovation. “Edwards Lifesciences’ continued commitment to deepen talent development and innovation partnerships here is a testament to the global competitiveness of Singapore’s MedTech ecosystem,” she said.

The anniversary marks a milestone in Edwards’ journey of improving patient access to life-saving heart valve treatments across the region. As the company looks to the future, it aims to continue its collaboration with Singapore to advance heart valve innovation, further strengthening its position as a leader in structural heart innovation.

Singaporean travellers visiting Japan can now access round-the-clock multilingual online doctor consultations, thanks to M3 Career’s HOTEL de DOCTOR 24 service. Officially introduced to the Singapore market, this service aims to provide peace of mind for tourists facing unexpected illnesses whilst abroad.

HOTEL de DOCTOR 24, operational in Japan since April 2025, addresses the challenges international visitors often face in obtaining medical care. The service offers seamless access to healthcare professionals, ensuring that language barriers do not hinder medical consultations. This initiative is particularly beneficial for Singaporeans, who have already been utilising the service since its inception.

The service is designed to cater to the needs of international travellers, providing them with reliable medical support at any time of day. M3 Career, Inc., the company behind HOTEL de DOCTOR 24, emphasises the importance of accessible healthcare for tourists.

By introducing this service to the Singapore market, M3 Career aims to enhance the travel experience for Singaporeans visiting Japan, offering them reassurance and support in times of medical need. As the service gains traction, it could set a precedent for similar initiatives in other popular travel destinations, further integrating healthcare accessibility into the travel industry.

MetaComp, the digital payment arm of Alpha Ladder Group, has unveiled the StableX Network at the Singapore FinTech Festival 2025. This innovative network aims to revolutionise cross-border settlements by embedding real-time risk intelligence into payments, offering a regulated and interoperable platform that bridges traditional finance with Web3 technologies.

The StableX Network is powered by two proprietary engines: the StableX Engine and the VisionX Engine. The StableX Engine facilitates instant, low-cost liquidity movement across various conversion types, including fiat and stablecoin transactions. It utilises smart programming to select the most efficient pathway, whether through traditional SWIFT rails or regulated stablecoin networks. Meanwhile, the VisionX Engine provides real-time risk intelligence, ensuring compliance by continuously screening and validating transactions.

MetaComp’s Co-President, Tin Pei Ling, highlighted the network’s transformative potential: “We’re reshaping the foundation of financial connectivity where real-time, regulated, and risk-intelligent transactions become the new global standard.”

The launch of StableX Network addresses the inefficiencies in global trade payments, which are projected to exceed $33t by 2025. By offering instant settlement and integrated compliance, the network aims to reduce the high costs and delays that currently burden payment service providers and SMEs.

As MetaComp expands its reach across Asia-Pacific, the Middle East, and Latin America, it remains committed to enabling enterprises to participate in a smarter, faster, and more trusted financial network. The StableX Network not only enhances payment services but also lays the groundwork for future financial services, such as treasury management and liquidity optimisation.

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has announced the successful completion of a live trial for settling interbank overnight lending transactions using wholesale Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC). Conducted on the Singapore Dollar Test Network (SGD Testnet), the trial involved major financial institutions DBS, OCBC, and UOB, marking the first live issuance of Singapore dollar wholesale CBDC with transactions recorded in the banks’ official books and regulatory filings.

The SGD Testnet offers three core functionalities for participating financial institutions: a common settlement asset, programmability, and multi-asset support. The common settlement asset functionality allows for the issuance, transfer, and redemption of Singapore dollar wholesale CBDC, reducing settlement risk and market fragmentation. Programmability enables the development of conditional logic for real-time execution of contractual terms. The multi-asset support facilitates atomic settlement of both cash and securities components, eliminating risks associated with different settlement times or systems.

MAS plans to build on this pilot by issuing tokenised MAS Bills to Primary Dealers in a future trial, which will also be settled using CBDC. Further details of this upcoming trial are expected to be shared in 2026. This initiative is part of MAS’s broader strategy to advance asset tokenisation through commercial networks, market infrastructure development, and industry frameworks.

DBS and Ant International have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to strengthen their strategic partnership, focusing on innovative payment solutions and digitalisation to support regional businesses and consumers. Announced at the Singapore Fintech Festival 2025, the collaboration aims to enhance cross-border payment connectivity and foster fintech innovation.

Under the new agreement, DBS PayLah! will integrate with the Alipay+ payments ecosystem, allowing over three million users to make QR code payments at more than 150 million merchants across 100 markets. This move is expected to significantly boost payment accessibility for consumers and businesses alike.

The partnership also explores a bank-to-wallet solution for near-instant remittances, connecting DBS customers with 1.8 billion user accounts on the Alipay+ platform. Utilising ISO 20022 messaging standards and the SWIFT network, this initiative aims to streamline and simplify international money transfers.

Additionally, DBS will collaborate with Antom, Ant International’s merchant payment and digitisation services provider, to support small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in their digital transformation. This includes exploring the Model Context Protocol-based Antom Agentic Payment solution, which leverages AI technologies for enhanced payment capabilities.

Peng Yang, CEO of Ant International, expressed enthusiasm for the partnership, stating, “We are proud to deepen our partnership with DBS, whom we have already been working closely with since 2013, on various initiatives including SME payment solutions and most recently, tokenised deposits.”

“Together, we’ll make a difference to the region by driving inclusive and sustainable growth,” he added.

Tan Su Shan, CEO of DBS, added, “By synergising our strengths, we can unlock new avenues for growth.”

This collaboration marks a significant step in advancing digital payment solutions and fostering innovation within the regional fintech ecosystem.

Wee Hur Holdings Ltd, a company listed on the SGX Mainboard, has successfully raised S$357,838 through its inaugural Charity Golf Tournament held at Tanah Merah Country Club. The event, marking the company’s 45th anniversary, aimed to support three children-focused charities: Arc Children’s Centre, Catch Them Young, and Campus Impact. The funds were distributed via the Community Foundation of Singapore, ensuring transparency and accountability.

The Wee Hur Foundation, established in 2024, organised the event to reinforce the company’s commitment to nurturing Singapore’s next generation. Arc Children’s Centre provides day care for children battling cancer and other serious illnesses, Catch Them Young offers educational opportunities to students from low-income households, and Campus Impact provides mentorship and a safe space for youth.

Executive Chairman and Managing Director of Wee Hur Holdings, Goh Yeow Lian, expressed gratitude for the support from donors and sponsors, highlighting the event’s success in commemorating the company’s anniversary. “We trust that the proceeds will contribute meaningfully towards enabling the selected charities to advance their missions and create a positive impact in the community,” he said.

Paul Tan, CEO of the Community Foundation of Singapore, praised the initiative, stating, “Wee Hur’s anniversary initiative illustrates how values-driven corporate philanthropy can uplift communities.” This event underscores Wee Hur’s long-standing values of perseverance and mutual support, focusing on children’s welfare as a foundation for strong communities.