Happy to host the Future Economy Conference 2026, the Singapore Business Federation’s flagship platform for public-private engagement.
This year’s edition moved beyond theory to action, focusing on how AI drives tangible impact, how sustainability fuels growth, and how Singapore builds a workforce ready for tomorrow.
The conference was graced by distinguished political leaders across both days:
• Mr Gan Kim Yong, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Trade and Industry, was the Guest of Honour and Opening Keynote speaker on Day 1
• Mr Jeffrey Siow, Acting Minister for Transport and Senior Minister of State for Finance who joined the Ministerial Dialogue panel
• Mr David Neo, Acting Minister for Culture, Community and Youth and Senior Minister of State for Education, Guest of Honour and Keynote speaker on Day 2
• Ms Low Yen Ling, Senior Minister of State for Culture, Community and Youth and for Trade and Industry, who joined the panel on enterprises preparing for prolonged uncertainty
• Dr Poh-Koon Koh (Dr), Senior Minister of State for Health and for Manpower, who joined the Human Capital panel on workforce skills and resilience
• Mr Alvin Tan, Minister of State for National Development and for Trade and Industry, who joined the Entrepreneurship panel on scaling in the new economy
• Mr Desmond Choo, Minister of State for Defence, who joined the closing panel on how companies navigate prolonged uncertainty
• Mr Dinesh Vasu Dash, Minister of State for Culture, Community and Youth and for Manpower, who joined the Social Impact panel on creating business value through social impact
• Ms Hanyan Goh, Senior Parliamentary Secretary for Culture, Community and Youth and for Sustainability and the Environment, who joined the Business Leader Fireside Chat on AI
Across the first day, a Welcome Address and Opening Keynote opened the programme, before a Ministerial Dialogue, “Navigating the Future Economy with Confidence and Agility,” on moving ahead amid global uncertainty.
The conversations then turned to scaling AI for real enterprise impact, entrepreneurship in the new economy, and a Leaders’ Lens series on internationalisation, reinvention, and cyber resilience.
Day 1 also marked the release of the Economic Strategy Review Final Report.
On the second day, a Keynote opened the programme, before the launch of VolunteerInc., SBF’s corporate volunteering initiative with the Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth and the SBF Foundation.
The conversations moved through social impact, sustainability, workforce advantage, and preparing for prolonged uncertainty.
Over two days, the conference reflected the spirit of public-private partnership at the heart of Singapore’s economic story, anchored on technology, talent, and trust.
Emcee Lester Leo is the emcee for SBF Future Economy Conference.