The five-year transformation plan, launched in 2022, focuses on five strategic pillars to cement Singapore's role as a leading Asian financial centre.

Growth and Job Targets

The Monetary Authority of Singapore's Financial Services Industry Transformation Map 2025 targets 4.0–5.0% annual value-added growth for the sector and 3,000–4,000 net jobs created per year over the 2021–2025 period, according to the plan launched on 15 September 2022 by then Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong. These quantitative targets anchor the ITM 2025 as a comprehensive roadmap to maintain Singapore's competitive edge amid a period of global uncertainty, rising interest rate volatility, and shifting supply chains across Asia.

The vision articulated by MAS positions Singapore as a leading international financial centre in Asia that connects global markets, supports Asia's development, and serves Singapore's domestic economy. The plan builds on the first Financial Services ITM, launched in 2017, which emphasised innovation, technology adoption, and workforce development as the foundation for Singapore's financial centre strategy. The 2025 iteration reflects a more sophisticated approach, targeting sustained growth across five strategic pillars while maintaining a realistic trajectory for value-added expansion in a maturing financial hub.

Value-Added Growth (%)Source: Orionmano Industries

The job creation target—3,000 to 4,000 net new positions annually—reflects the sector's demand for specialised talent, particularly in technology, risk management, and sustainability. These roles are intended to complement a strong Singaporean core workforce with high-quality global talent, a balance that has historically underpinned the city-state's success as a regional financial centre.

Net Jobs Created (jobs)Source: Orionmano Industries

Enhancing Asset Class Strengths and Digitalising Infrastructure

Under the first strategic pillar, MAS will deepen capabilities in asset classes where Singapore already plays a meaningful regional or global role. These include foreign exchange, wealth management, asset management, private capital markets (including the development of private credit to complement private equity and venture capital), insurance risk advisory and alternative risk transfer solutions for Asia, and FinTech. A particular focus is anchoring promising FinTech start-ups and deepening the electronic FX trading ecosystem, building on Singapore's position as one of the world's largest FX trading centres.

The fund structure environment is receiving specific attention: MAS will enhance the Variable Capital Company regime and other fund structures to attract more asset managers to domicile funds in Singapore. The VCC, introduced in 2020, has already seen strong uptake, and further enhancements are expected to broaden its appeal to private capital managers.

On digital infrastructure, MAS is promoting the development of platforms for bonds, funds settlement, and digital banks, while enabling new models such as Business-sans-Borders—a concept that allows companies to operate across jurisdictions with minimal friction through digital financial services. These infrastructure investments are designed to enhance operational efficiency, reduce settlement times, and enable financial access and inclusion across the region.

Catalysing Net-Zero and Shaping Financial Networks

The sustainable finance pillar is backed by S$100 million in grant funding over 2021–2025, allocated for capability building in green FinTech, climate risk assessment and reinsurance, and the development of sustainable and transition finance solutions. MAS is working with industry to develop an industry-led taxonomy for eight priority sectors to clarify which activities qualify as transition activities, an area of increasing importance as Asian economies seek to decarbonise without compromising growth.

Project GreenPrint, a key initiative under this pillar, aims to enhance sustainability disclosures and build ESG data utilities that facilitate companies' sustainability reporting and investors' access to comparable ESG data. The project addresses a persistent challenge in Asian sustainable finance: the lack of standardised, auditable data.

The financial networks pillar targets payments connectivity and digital asset ecosystem development. MAS is expanding cross-border payment linkages with regional economies, including through real-time payment linkages and Project Nexus—a multilateral initiative that connects domestic instant payment systems across countries. The regulator is also exploring distributed ledger technology applications in cross-border payments, trade finance, and capital markets through Project Guardian, which supports the tokenisation of financial and real economy assets. Project Orchid complements these efforts by enabling digital currency connectivity, positioning Singapore at the forefront of central bank digital currency experimentation in the region.

Fostering a Skilled and Adaptable Workforce

Workforce development is underpinned by S$400 million in grant funding allocated to the Talent and Leaders in Finance programme over the 2021–2025 period. The programme, administered by MAS and the Institute of Banking & Finance in partnership with the financial industry and tripartite partners, aims to attract and retain high-quality global talent while building workforce competencies across the sector.

Three priority areas define the workforce strategy: building foundational competencies across the financial sector; developing specialist talents in Technology and Sustainability; and developing leaders capable of navigating an increasingly complex operating environment. The emphasis on upskilling existing workers, rather than solely hiring externally, reflects a structural shift in how Singapore's financial centre approaches talent development. As AI adoption accelerates and climate finance grows as a distinct asset class, these workforce investments are expected to shape the skills profile of Singapore's financial sector well beyond the ITM 2025 period.

As the ITM 2025 period concludes, MAS's strategic priorities—digitalisation, sustainability, and financial network connectivity—are expected to form the foundation of the next transformation map. Industry participants anticipate increased emphasis on AI adoption across front- and back-office functions, deeper integration of sustainability disclosures into mainstream financial reporting, and further development of Singapore's role as a gateway for capital flows between Asia and global markets.