Singapore central bank's strategy focuses on tokenisation, DLT, and cross-border payments to drive financial sector expansion.

ITM 2025 Sets Ambitious Growth Targets for Singapore's Financial Sector

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) launched its refreshed Financial Services Industry Transformation Map (ITM) 2025 with value-added growth targets of 4.0%–5.0% per annum over the 2021–2025 period, anchoring the city-state's digital asset strategy as a core driver of financial sector expansion. The plan, unveiled by then-Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance Lawrence Wong, also targets the creation of 3,000–4,000 net jobs per annum on average across the financial services industry.

Singapore's previous ITM, launched in 2017, focused on innovation and technology adoption while developing a world-class workforce. The 2025 iteration sharpens that approach, setting explicit numerical targets that signal the government's intent to maintain the financial sector as a structural growth engine for the economy. The targets come as Singapore competes with Hong Kong, Dubai, and London for positioning in next-generation financial services.

Source: Orionmano Industries

The growth and employment baselines reflect past performance: the 2017 ITM also delivered within comparable ranges, and the current targets are calibrated to maintain that trajectory through the technology-driven transformation already underway in global finance.

Digital Asset Ecosystem at the Core of Financial Network Strategy

MAS's ITM 2025 strategy emphasises building an innovative and responsible digital asset ecosystem to enhance financial infrastructure, with four specific initiatives forming the operational roadmap. The central bank aims to expand cross-border payment linkages with regional economies, including real-time payment linkages that reduce settlement friction. It will explore the potential of distributed ledger technology in three priority use cases: cross-border payments, trade finance, and capital markets.

Tokenisation of both financial and real economy assets is a stated priority, alongside enabling digital currency connectivity. These initiatives sit under the broader strategic pillar "Shape the Future of Financial Networks," one of five key strategies in the ITM 2025 framework. The digital asset ecosystem is not treated as an isolated initiative but as a foundational layer for Singapore's broader ambition to connect global markets and support Asia's development.

Former MAS Managing Director Ravi Menon clearly delineated the regulator's stance: "Yes to Digital Asset Innovation, No to Cryptocurrency Speculation." This framing has been instrumental in creating regulatory predictability, distinguishing Singapore from jurisdictions that either banned digital assets outright or permitted speculative activity without institutional guardrails.

Complementary Strategies: Digital Infrastructure and Skilled Workforce

The digital asset ecosystem strategy is supported by two complementary pillars: digital infrastructure modernisation and workforce development. Under the "Digitalise Financial Infrastructure" strategy, MAS will promote the development of digital infrastructure and platforms that underpin tokenisation and DLT applications. This is not a standalone technology push but an integrated effort to upgrade the plumbing of Singapore's financial system.

Workforce development falls under the "Foster a Skilled and Adaptable Workforce" strategy, with MAS and the Institute of Banking & Finance (IBF) collaborating closely with the financial industry and tripartite partners. The ITM identifies micro-credentials anchored in the SkillsFuture framework as the primary vehicle for modular, stackable certificates targeting in-demand digital asset skills. Public-private partnerships between Institutes of Higher Learning (IHLs) and industry firms are promoted to co-engineer curriculum modules aligned with actual industry demand.

Industry estimates have underscored the magnitude of the talent challenge: a 2021 study by Amazon Web Services estimated that Singapore would need to raise 1.2 million additional digitally-skilled workers by 2025—a 55% increase from the 750,000 skilled workers then—to remain competitive. The focus on micro-credentials reflects a pragmatic recognition that traditional degree programmes alone cannot keep pace with the speed of change in digital assets and DLT.

From Experimentation to Implementation: Regulatory Clarity and Ecosystem Momentum

MAS has moved the digital asset agenda from experimentation toward implementation through a combination of regulatory clarity and industry coordination. The FinTech Regulatory Sandbox remains a cornerstone, encouraging cautious innovation through a tiered licensing regime: smaller startups receive more assistance in meeting compliance standards, while obligations tighten as firms scale based on metrics such as assets under management and user base.

This approach has created a level of institutional confidence critical for adoption. According to Zodia Custody, the ability of financial institutions to operate within clearly defined regulatory frameworks while participating in industry-wide initiatives reduces uncertainty and supports long-term investment in digital asset infrastructure. The emphasis has shifted from why Singapore supports innovation to how that innovation is being realised in practice.

Industry alignment efforts coordinated by MAS ensure that developments are interoperable, scalable, and integrated with existing markets. Across tokenisation, stablecoins, payments, and emerging technologies, the ecosystem is actively building components of a next-generation financial system—with the momentum coming not from the regulator alone but from institutions, technology providers, and market participants working in concert.

Execution risks remain material. The 4.0%–5.0% value-added growth target is ambitious against a backdrop of global regulatory fragmentation for digital assets, competing financial centre strategies from jurisdictions with larger domestic markets, and the inherent technological uncertainty of DLT adoption at institutional scale. The talent pipeline, while receiving targeted investment through micro-credential programmes, must deliver at sufficient volume to meet demand without compromising quality.

Nonetheless, Singapore's sustained regulatory clarity, combined with the execution momentum described by market participants, positions the city-state to solidify its standing as a global digital asset hub—provided the ITM 2025's implementation keeps pace with its ambition.