Opening Address by SMS Janil Puthcheary at Amazon Web Services Asia Pacific Hub Opening

Opening Address by Dr Janil Puthucheary, Senior Minister of State, Ministry of Digital Development and Information, At the Amazon Web Services Asia Pacific Hub Opening (12 February 2025)

Mr Jaime Valles, Vice President, APAC, Amazon Web Services,
Mr Jeff Johnson, Managing Director, ASEAN, AWS,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

Introduction

1. Good morning everybody, and thank you very much for inviting me to join you today. It is my pleasure to be here to celebrate the official opening of Amazon Web Services’ (“AWS”) new Asia Pacific hub.

2. AWS established its office here in 2010. At the time, it was its first expansion outside of the US and Europe. Since then, AWS has invested more than S$12 billion in Singapore and has plans to double this investment into its existing operations and cloud infrastructure, to more than S$23 billion by 2028. It has also grown its team to over 2,500 employees across corporate, retail and technology functions. Thousands of customers have leveraged AWS’ cloud services to power their digital transformation. Our entire business ecosystem has been part of this process.

3. Today marks a significant milestone in AWS’ 15-year journey in Singapore.

4. Looking around this expansive 360,000 square foot space, there’s an energy and sense of opportunity. I’ve also had the opportunity to visit it and have a little bit of a preview. One of your partners organised an event here and it was very exciting. It represents that continued confidence that AWS has in Singapore, and is a testament to the vibrant digital ecosystem that we have collectively built, together with business partners like AWS, the government, and the people of Singapore.

A future that is driven by innovation, powered by technology and fuelled by talent.

5. Singapore has long recognised the transformative power of technology. We understand that in today’s rapidly evolving world, digital adoption is not just an advantage, it is a necessity, it is a critical factor in how we do things.

6. And it has been a significant contributor to Singapore’s economic growth and has created new opportunities for our people. In 2023, Singapore’s digital economy generated a value-add of $113 billion dollars, equivalent to about 17.7% of Singapore’s nominal GDP.

7. With technologies like AI, the boundaries of our productivity can be pushed further, and the competitiveness of our industries can be strengthened.

8. Powering our digital economy through driving AI development and deployment and enabling our enterprises and workers to take full advantage of technologies like AI, all of these are part of our Smart Nation strategies, our Growth pillar ambitions for Singapore.

Digital Enterprise Blueprint

9. We launched the Digital Enterprise Blueprint (“DEB”) last year that charted the next bound of enterprise digitalisation, enabling enterprises to adopt AI, scale faster through integrated digital solutions, raise their cybersecurity posture, and most importantly, equip their workers with digital skills to thrive.

10. We were happy to have AWS come onboard as one of the partners pledging to raise the capabilities of SMEs and ICM solution providers. AWS is working with IMDA to co-host technical workshops with SMEs, with each workshop focusing on a specific industry, such as retail and manufacturing, or an advanced topic, like cybersecurity. Hundreds of Singaporean SMEs have already benefited from these workshops, with more to come this year.

Talent and Jobs

11. We must, and we will continue to invest in our people. We need to equip our workforce with the skills and knowledge necessary to thrive in this digital economy. Upskilling and reskilling are not just buzzwords, we have to take the buzzwords and operationalise it. We have to understand that these are critical imperatives for what we have to do as a society. We’ve been working on this for a while.

12. In 2016, we started IMDA’s Tech Skills Accelerator (TeSA) and have trained and placed more than 17,000 individuals into good and high quality technology jobs. Another 231,000 have been trained in tech skills in emerging areas such as AI, cybersecurity, and data analytics. We have to do this, We have to not just look at our undergraduate pipeline, students coming through, but those people who are mid-career looking to pivot. This is part of our ongoing efforts to strengthen our pipeline of tech talent and workers in these industries.

13. We will continue to do this, working with industry partners to develop these talent pipelines, tapping on your in-depth understanding of the skills and knowledge required and the trends driving change in the tech sector.

14. In line with all this, I am heartened to see that AWS, with the opening of this new regional hub, will be growing its teams in all areas of software engineering, machine learning and AI, data science, solutions architecture and data center engineering, to support its customers and partners’ digital transformation. These types of roles offer our workers to seek out employment opportunities and be at the forefront of technological advancement, driving innovation that will shape industries across our region.

15. Within this office, AWS has set up an Innovation Hub, demonstrating the latest industry technologies including GenAI capabilities, It will provide a collaborative co-innovation space for training programmes, and in doing so, grow the next generation of Singaporean tech leaders. Opportunities for learning and experimentation are being created, but it’s how to turn that alive and make sure that it flourishes. Ideas need to be exchanged, collaborations need to be creative, and then it comes alive. I encourage AWS to continue working closely with our educational institutions and training providers in developing initiatives that equip Singaporeans with the skills needed for the future of work.

Co-creating a vibrant AI ecosystem

16. In addition to training and job opportunities, we have to look at how we can accelerate AI development and deployment in Singapore.

17. The Government is committed to working with stakeholders in cultivating a thriving digital ecosystem. Tech companies like AWS, with cutting-edge technologies and global expertise, are valuable partners in supporting our ambitions for digital transformation here in Singapore.

18. For example, IMDA’s GenAI for Digital Leaders initiative helps local digitally mature enterprises solve real business needs with GenAI. IMDA partners with industry leaders like AWS in supporting our enterprises to deepen their understanding of GenAI technology, providing them with access to expertise and resources, helping them to develop and implement customised solutions powered by GenAI.

19. As of Jan 2025, 120 enterprises have already benefitted, and 1 in 4 of these have started investing in GenAI solutions! We look forward to more of this happening and more enterprises participating in those spaces. For early adopters, people are moving faster and going to find a competitive advantage, so we need to help them get on board by dealing with the skills and personnel gap that they may have, but most importantly, the confidence and comfort that they need within the business processes.

20. Industry-led initiatives are very, very important. We can’t just do everything ourselves from government, we have to talk to industries. One industry-led initiative is AWS’ AI Spring Singapore programme launched last year. It is a multi-faceted collaboration between AWS, the public sector, and private sector enterprises, accelerating the adoption of AI by public sector agencies and enterprises.

21. In partnership with IMDA, AWS made available their products like Amazon Bedrock, Amazon SageMaker, and Amazon Q to local enterprises, allowing us to more easily develop AI solutions for business problems.

22. We welcome other partners to work with us in supporting our enterprises in this next bound of their digitalisation journey.

Conclusion

23. The opening of AWS’ Asia Pacific Hub is a significant milestone, not just for AWS, but for Singapore as well. It represents the next stage of our ambition going forward. It underscores our shared vision of a future powered by technology and driven by innovation. It is a testament to your commitment to Singapore and our region.

24. I look forward to working closely with AWS and our wider ecosystem to continue building a vibrant and inclusive digital economy, society, and people.

25. Thank you very much and congratulations.