Wealthy investors can trust Singapore to manage their assets: Gan Kim Yong

Citing the Covid-19 pandemic and disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz, Gan said that “the cost of disruption may be higher than the cost you are paying for resilience”.

“In time to come, it may not be the Strait of Hormuz, it may not be geopolitics, it may not be (a) pandemic. It could be climate change. It could impact on supplies. We just have to prepare for the new future,” said Gan.

To build supply chain resilience, the Republic is diversifying natural gas supplies and studying nuclear energy as an option, said Gan.

“We are looking at different sources of natural gas, so that we don’t depend on a single source for our supply of natural gas,” he said.

On the feasibility of nuclear energy, Gan said: “We are still studying today. We have not made a decision, but it’s important for us to keep pace with the development of technology, so we know what is available, and we continue to keep our options open. I think this is something that we consider very seriously.”

Asked about the ASEAN Power Grid, he noted that while it is a major challenge for countries to come together to decide and to implement the initiative, there is a need.

The ASEAN Power Grid is a regional energy integration initiative to connect electricity networks across ASEAN member states for cross-border power trading and clean energy security by 2045.

“With the need for green energy, the interest in developing this project is there. It is going to be very complicated because it will involve cross-border electricity trading, and this is something that we need to develop,” said Gan.

Acknowledging that it will be a multi-decade-long project, Gan said the countries “have to look at it from an incremental point of view”.

“First, for example, Singapore will connect ourselves with Malaysia, with Indonesia. Next, Malaysia will connect to Thailand and the rest of ASEAN. It’s going to be a step-by-step, phase-by-phase approach and component by component. It’s also important to upgrade the internal domestic power grid in order to be able to carry that,” he noted.

This comes ahead of Singapore assuming the ASEAN chairmanship in 2027, taking over the role from the Philippines on Jan 1, 2027, and serving through Dec 31, 2027.

Gan said the priorities are implementing regional trade and digital economy agreements such as the Digital Economy Framework Agreement, which ASEAN is expected to formally sign in November under the Philippines’ chairmanship, and the Trade in Goods Agreement.

Gan noted that he is optimistic that the upgraded Trade in Goods Agreement will facilitate further intra-regional trade.

“This will also benefit our trading partners because we are able to trade among ourselves more efficiently. Other countries who are trading with us will find that their goods will be able to move more freely within ASEAN so it’s mutually beneficial for all.”