Singapore’s digital economy reaches 19.3pc of GDP
Singapore’s Digital Economy grew to S$144.1 billion ($113 billion) in 2025, or 19.3 percent of the country’s GDP, up from 18.8 percent in 2024.
Singapore’s Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA), the regulator and development agency for the technology and media sectors in the country, released the figure in a statement on Monday.
Most of the growth came from outside the technology sector, according to the IMDA’s annual digital-economy report. Non-tech sectors contributed more than two-thirds of the total, worth S$97 billion, up 3.6 percent, while the infocomm and media sector grew 6.1 percent to S$47.1 billion.
Technology employment rose 3.8 percent to 222,200 jobs, with faster growth outside the tech industry than within it and demand strongest for AI, data and cybersecurity roles.
The median monthly wage for resident tech workers was S$8,000 ($6,250), 60 percent above the overall resident median, the agency said.
AI adoption broadened sharply. Among small and medium-sized enterprises it rose to 23.4 percent from 14.5 percent a year earlier, and among large local firms to 70.4 percent from 62.5 percent. The share of non-adopters planning to take up AI within a year more than doubled from 2023, to 12.1 percent.
Most AI-using firms rely on off-the-shelf tools, and about two in five are expanding or fully integrating AI, the report said.
Among AI-adopting firms, 87.6 percent cited gains in productivity and processes and 44 percent cited cost savings. Small firms adopting approved digital tools under a government grant reported average cost savings of 49.5 percent, the agency said.
AI use among workers rose to 86 percent in 2026 from 78 percent a year earlier.Users reported gains in productivity, quality, and problem-solving, and most of those saved up to an hour a day. Content creation was the most common use.
A gap remains between demand and training. About 68 percent of workers saw a need to build AI skills, but only 37 percent had attended AI training in the past year. To narrow it, the agency said it would expand training to upskill 40,000 technology professionals over three years and 100,000 non-tech workers in AI by 2029.
IMDA’s chief executive, Ng Cher Pong, said the digital economy’s growth reflected strong momentum among both firms and workers, and that the agency would keep investing in practical, domain-specific AI skills.
China: most G20 trade ministers reject US call
Most trade ministers from the world’s largest economies disagreed with calls to curb excess industrial capacity at a Group of 20 (G20) trade meeting that ended on Thursday, according to China’s commerce ministry, a view that contrasts with a US statement that a “handful” of countries objected.
“The issues related to excess industrial capacity and forced labour have been highly controversial,” a Ministry of Commerce spokesperson said in a statement on Sunday about the two-day G20 Trade Ministerial Conference in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Because most member states held differing views, the meeting failed to produce an outcome document on the relevant issues, the spokesperson added. A statement from US trade representatives on Friday said that a “handful” of trade ministers rejected to creating a “pathway towards cooperative action” on excess capacity and “non-market” policies such as forced labour, without naming the involved countries.
The differing viewpoints from the US-chaired meeting mean that industrial supply will be the focal point of the second round of China-EU trade talks set for Thursday and Friday in Beijing.
In addition to overcapacity and forced labour, trade representatives at last week’s meeting – where the US set the agenda – also did not agree on a proposal to adjust the principles behind most-favoured-nation (MFN) status in world trade. They did make a joint statement denouncing the weaponisation of food through coercive measures.
For years, the US and European Union (EU) have been highlighting what they see as excess supply of some Chinese exports and have imposed various tariffs on the goods, varying from solar panels to electric vehicles.
China consistently pushes back on the claims. In late July, the commerce ministry said in an official statement that China’s industrial subsidies and insufficient domestic demand did not necessarily lead to overcapacity, warning that protectionism would only disrupt global trade and supply chains and risk the long-term growth of the global economy.
In a separate statement on Friday, China’s top international trade representative Li Chenggang said the country firmly objected to the issues of overcapacity and forced labour being used as pretexts for unilateralism and protectionism.
Five reasons India’s stock market is sinking
India’s economy is growing at an enviable rate of over 7 percent despite global energy shocks, rising interest rates, tariff uncertainties and weather-related disruptions.
But the world’s fastest growing major economy also has one of the worst performing major equity markets in 2026. The correction in Indian stocks has, in fact, only intensified in recent weeks.
The benchmark Sensex and Nifty indices, which represent the country’s largest companies, have inched up slightly since Monday after posting losses for eight straight weeks – the longest losing streak in 25 years, according to Reuters.
Indian mom-and-pop investors who put their money into the Nifty have seen their wealth erode by about 15 percent this year. In comparison, they would have made 62 percent returns on Korea’s Kospi index since January or 170 percent in the last two years.
On aggregate, the money foreign investors have put into Indian markets in the past decade – after subtracting what they sold or withdrew – is nearing zero. In the past two years alone, foreign institutional investors have withdrawn a staggering $40bn, according to data from Bernstein Research.
It is the large pool of domestic institutional and retail money, flowing into instruments like mutual funds, that have helped the markets avoid a sharper fall.
Domestic assets under management of mutual funds have grown from about $125bn in 2016 to some $900bn this year, with the number of Indians parking money in stocks and mutual funds more than tripling to 150 million individuals.
This makes the recent fall in the markets more worrying – since households, already struggling from a weak job market, high inflation and faltering consumption, are now seeing their equity savings take a beating too.
WB flags ai correction risk
The World Bank (WB) has flagged the risk of a slowdown from a correction in global artificial intelligence (AI)-related activity, even as it raised Malaysia’s 2026 growth outlook to 5.1 percent from 4.4 percent previously, driven by surging AI-related spending.
Chief economist for Asia Franziska Ohnsorge said a large portion of export growth came from AI-enabling goods, with similar trends lifting forecasts for Vietnam, Thailand, and other regional supply chain participants.
“The influence of AI on the region’s industry is unmistakable. Its dependence on AI has been a source of strength,” Ohnsorge said during a briefing on the October 2026 Malaysia Economic Monitor report.
Indonesia’s economy lags behind Vietnam?
Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Airlangga Hartarto highlighted Vietnam’s rapid economic growth, which has reached 9 percent. He outlined several factors driving Vietnam’s swift pace compared to Indonesia, whose economic growth remains hovering around 5 percent.
Airlangga noted that Vietnam’s industrial sector has already advanced into full digitalization. “If we want to catch up with Vietnam that can reach 9 percent growth, we must accelerate our push into digitalization, semiconductors, and artificial intelligence,” he said at the Big Downstream Insights event in Jakarta on Tuesday, October 6, 2026.
Furthermore, Airlangga pointed out that Vietnam has expansive Special Economic Zones (SEZs) spanning 2 million hectares, far outstripping Indonesia’s footprint of just 24,000 hectares. He added that Vietnam offers investors superior services and greater regulatory certainty.
Moreover, Vietnam secured a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) with the European Union long before Indonesia. According to Airlangga, Vietnam also enjoys more favorable tariff and non-tariff arrangements with the United States. He noted that these trade advantages have allowed Vietnam’s export performance to outpace Indonesia’s.
Another difference lies in Vietnam’s lack of a large domestic consumer market. “So, anyone investing in Vietnam must push towards exports,” Airlangga said.
During his presentation, Airlangga underscored that Vietnam’s export volume is double that of Indonesia, which currently stands at roughly US$500 billion. The Indonesian government has set a target for total investment to reach US$618.1 billion by 2040. Thus, Airlangga stated that Indonesia’s exports are projected to hit US$857.6 billion within the next four years.
World bank: Sri Lanka output back to 2018 levels
Sri Lanka’s economy has reached pre-crisis levels, with real gross domestic product (GDP) projected to grow by 4.4 percent this year, exceeding earlier forecasts, but the recovery remains uneven and incomplete, the World Bank has said.
Growth is driven by strong industrial performance and steady service sector activity, the multilateral lender said in its latest Sri Lanka Development Update October 2026, titled “From Recovery to Transformation”.
Real GDP expanded by 4.7 percent in the first half of 2026 following twelve consecutive quarters of growth, returning output to 2018 levels. The primary budget surplus also rose sharply.
However, the recovery remains uneven and incomplete, as household incomes and employment continue to lag. Poverty remains high at 16.9 percent, and inflation has picked up in recent months due to higher food and energy prices.
“Reaching this milestone marks a beginning, not the end — the country needs to seize this momentum to transform its economy and create jobs,” said Gevorg Sargsyan, World Bank Group Country Manager for Sri Lanka.
Growth is projected to slow to 4.2 percent in 2027 as the initial post-crisis rebound fades and productivity remains weak.
The report warned of key downside risks, including global energy market volatility and the impact of El Niño on food security.
To move from recovery to transformation, the bank emphasized shifting growth drivers away from state spending toward private investment and exports, highlighting agribusiness as a key sector that accounts for over 40 percent of jobs and nearly 30 percent of goods exports.
Maldives, Malaysia deepen defense, economic ties
The Maldives and Malaysia agreed on Tuesday to deepen defense and economic cooperation, while Kuala Lumpur agreed in principle to support a $100 million financial facility requested by the Maldives, the countries’ leaders said.
Speaking at a joint press conference with Malaysia’s Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim in the Malaysian capital, Male, Maldivian President Mohamed Muizzu said the two countries had expanded cooperation to include defense and Islamic affairs.
Muizzu invited the Malaysian government and businesses to explore investment opportunities in the Maldives, particularly in renewable energy, digital infrastructure, construction and Islamic finance.
Anwar said Malaysia had agreed in principle to support a $100 million facility that the Maldives Monetary Authority requested from Bank Negara Malaysia, the Malaysian central bank.
“We have agreed in principle to support this,” Anwar said, adding that the two central banks would work on the mechanism and process to settle the arrangement “in the fastest time possible.”
Anwar also highlighted mineral exploration as an area in which the two countries could expand economic cooperation.
The two sides agreed to work toward greater visa facilitation, more scholarship opportunities and joint research initiatives.
On Gaza, Muizzu said the Maldives and Malaysia reiterated their “unequivocal and steadfast solidarity” with the Palestinian people and their right to self-determination.
He reaffirmed his support for an independent and sovereign Palestinian state based on pre-1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital.