Conference

IPS-SBF Conference Global-City Singapore: SG60 and Beyond

Synopsis

What is the outlook for the global economy over the next decade in this era of radical uncertainty?

How will the wavering faith in globalisation, rising geostrategic rivalry, the Intelligence Revolution, the climate crisis, and the cry for inclusive growth for all, affect the fortunes of developed and emerging economies, especially those in the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region? How will global cities, including Singapore, remain relevant in the new international and regional value chains?

The SG60 IPS-SBF Conference provides a platform for global thought-leaders, policymakers, business leaders and academics to analyse the interaction of complex trends. These include the fragmentation of the liberal multilateral order towards more mercantilist orientations in economic strategy; the shifting policy accent from multilateralism to “minilateralism” resulting in a realignment of global value chains, which are themselves responses to changes in international tax regimes on goods and digital services; and the mainstreaming of environmental sustainability, digitalisation and artificial intelligence, among other trends.

The questions we will address include:

What are the likely scenarios for global economic and business development from 2025 to 2035?
What are likely to be the most significant changes in the global economic order and international value chains as we knew them?
What platforms should government, business and civil society leaders participate in or create to support an open, prosperous and inclusive global economy?
What specific resets in national and corporate strategies are needed for “Global-City Singapore” to prosper beyond its 60th year of independence as a node in new global and regional value chains?

The conference comprises three plenary sessions, each featuring three speakers and a moderator. Prime Minister and Minister for Finance Lawrence Wong will start off with opening remarks and a dialogue with IPS Director Janadas Devan. Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Trade and Industry Gan Kim Yong will participate in the closing dialogue at the conference. A special keynote address will be delivered by Mr John Denton, Secretary General of the International Chamber of Commerce – the session will be moderated by Ambassador-at-Large with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Chan Heng Chee.

A curtain-raiser to the conference is a half-day forum featuring the release of new academic research on how Singapore companies are responding to important economic and technological trends. This forum, which will be held a week before the conference, will feature panel discussions with Singapore-based business leaders of both local and foreign firms.

There will also be a specially curated list of site visits called “Future-Ready Businesses Spotlight” to companies that are resetting their corporate strategies to address the global and regional megatrends which we will be discussing during the conference.

Click here to view the programme.

Click here to view the executive summary and here to view the full report.

Pre-Conference Forum
Introductory Remarks by Mr Kok Ping Soon