Opening Address by SMS Tan Kiat How at Asia TV Forum & Market Singapore on 3 Dec 2025

Good morning. I am happy to be here at this year’s Asia TV Forum and Market, or ATF in short.

A warm welcome to our industry friends, producers, commissioners, and partners from around the world.

ATF is where ideas, talent, and opportunities come together.

It is where we exchange insights and forge new partnerships that shape the future of entertainment across Asia.

At yesterday’s ATF Leaders Dialogue, the focus was on “Re-Framing the Narrative: New Pillars of Success Across Screens”. This theme reflects how quickly our industry is changing.

Audiences today have more choices than ever.

They enjoy stories on every screen — from cinema and TV, to streaming platforms, mobile apps, and short-form vertical formats.

Technology and new formats are reshaping how stories are made, and how they are experienced.

One example is the rise of microdramas.

Across Asia, this format has grown rapidly, driven by mobile-first viewing and younger audiences who enjoy short, compelling stories on the go.

Here in Singapore, we have been studying this trend closely.

Last year, IMDA brought a group of our producers overseas to understand the ecosystem and creative approaches behind these formats. They studied how microdramas are developed and produced at scale. What we learnt there sparked strong interest back home.

Since then, we have seen our industry take clear steps forward. Mediacorp’s “SG60 First Frame” initiative attracted over 130 proposals and several projects are already in release.

The Association of Independent Producers in Singapore, also known as AIPRO, launched “Our Singapore, Our Stories” another SG60 initiative. This project brought independent producers together to create bite-sized stories inspired by everyday Singapore life.

These efforts show how our industry is beginning to experiment and adapt this format in meaningful ways.

We are watching these developments closely, to understand how Singapore creators can harness the opportunities in this fast-growing space.

We are also seeing the impact of technology across the industry.

AI, particularly Generative AI (Gen AI) is helping companies improve workflow, speed up production tasks, and visualise creative concepts.

Many studios tell us that AI tools help them prepare pitch materials more quickly, test creative ideas, and manage routine work that used to take much longer.

But with these changes come real concerns.

I hear anxieties when I speak with companies and creators:

1. Will AI replace jobs?

2. Will certain roles disappear?

3. What does this mean for creative professionals?

These are valid concerns and I appreciate them.

Our approach is simple: In Singapore, our focus is to help workers stay relevant as the landscape changes. This is part of our people-first approach. As a small open economy, we cannot insulate our industry sectors from technological changes.

Instead, we focus on building capabilities, so our workforce can stay competitive and seize new global opportunities.

From our latest nationwide workforce surveys, we are already seeing how widely AI is being used.

1. Under our 2025 drive to build an “AI-fluent workforce”, three in four workers surveyed say they already use AI tools. And 85 per cent say these tools help them save time, lift productivity, and improve work quality.

The Government will do more to support our enterprises and workers.

1. Earlier this year, the Government committed S$400 million under the Enterprise Workforce Transformation Package, together with another S$200 million for the NTUC Company Training Committee Grant.

These efforts help companies transform job roles and enable workers to move into higher-value tasks.

For the media sector, we are likewise aiming to equip both tech and non-tech media professionals, from production crews to writers and editors, to build their skills so they can work confidently with AI.

IMDA is partnering with technology providers such as Microsoft to introduce enterprise tools such as Copilot into content production workflow.

The focus is on practical use — not experiments for their own sake, but tools that solve real production problems.

Here at the Singapore Pavilion this week, we are taking this work further through hands-on Gen AI programmes with our industry.

Later today, Microsoft is running small-group sessions with selected production companies. Each company brings a real business problem — from workflow and budgeting to scheduling and development — and Gen AI tools will be applied live to help them solve these problems.

Tomorrow, we show how Gen AI supports content creation at different stages. One session demonstrates how AI can test audience responses and emotional impact during development.

Another showcases AI-generated films and how creators are using these tools to shape visuals and storytelling.

We also have an AI Pitch Jam, where teams pitch short trailers using Gen AI — from script and image creation, to sound and editing — all within a few hours.

These sessions give our creators hands-on experience on how Gen AI can improve efficiency, sharpen ideas, and support better decisions. They also prepare our creators to compete beyond Singapore.

At the same time, we are also taking steps to protect our creators and their intellectual property.

That is why Singapore has put in place clear guidance on responsible AI use. These include rules on transparency, accountability, and the proper use of training data.

Under Singapore’s National AI Governance Framework and data protection laws, companies using Gen AI must handle data responsibly and protect personal information.

Under our copyright law, creative works are protected when there is meaningful human input. This means a real person must shape the idea, make creative choices, and guide the final outcome. AI can assist in the process, but ownership stays with the creator. This protects original ideas and ensures that rights remain in human hands.

These give creators, studios, and companies assurance that adoption of AI can be safe, fair, and legally sound.

In short, we want to harness AI for our media sector to remain relevant and competitive. But importantly, we want to do so in a way that benefits and strengthens our media professionals.

Even as formats and technological tools evolve, one thing remains constant – strong partnerships enable better stories to be told and for those stories to reach out to a wider audience.

Over the years, with the active involvement of international and local industry partners, Singapore has developed into a trusted co-production hub. Singapore-based companies now work with partners across Asia, Europe, and beyond. This gives our talent access to larger markets, stronger financing, and global distribution — while keeping a strong Singapore element in each project.

We are seeing good, encouraging results.

1. Renoir, co-produced by Akanga Film Asia with partners from Japan, France, the Philippines and Indonesia, was selected for the Cannes Main Competition this year. It is only the second time a Made-with-Singapore film has reached this stage. The first was 17 years ago, with Eric Khoo’s My Magic.

2. A Useful Ghost is another strong example. It was co-produced by Singapore’s Momo Film Co with partners in Thailand, France and Germany. The film won the Grand Prix at Cannes Critics’ Week this year.

These wins reflect the power of co-production in helping our companies reach the world.

Even as we partner globally, our homegrown digital creators are also breaking through — Viddsee’s Viola Isn’t Like Us won Best Short-Form Video at the 30th Asian Television Awards last Friday, showing that Singapore stories now stand shoulder to shoulder with the best in the region.

These successes show what our industry can achieve today. They form a solid foundation for the next phase of our plans to strengthen our talent pipeline and partnerships.

Today, I am pleased to launch the Talent Accelerator Programme, or TAP. TAP is a new initiative that provides end-to-end support for our media professionals, from developing strong ideas, to producing content, and taking it to international markets.

The Government will invest S$200 million in TAP over the next three years. This is a major commitment to grow our creative talent, strengthen co-production partnerships, and build a more resilient media industry.

The focus is clear — to help our talent develop stories with global ambition from the very start.

Under TAP, we take a clear, step-by-step approach to help our talent and companies progress across the full media journey. From idea, to screen, to audience. There are three stages in this programme, and each stage is designed to strengthen both creative craft and commercial strength.

First, the development stage. This is where strong ideas begin. IMDA will match our media professionals and companies with what global buyers and commissioners are looking for. We will provide access to mentorships and masterclasses in story development, pitching, and deal-making.

This helps our teams sharpen their stories and shape ideas that are ready for the international market from the outset. At the same time, they build stronger project foundations — from financing plans and distribution strategies, to clear IP ownership structures.

We will also deepen access to global streamers, platforms, international production houses and showrunners. This allows our talent and companies to engage directly with the global market and increase their chances of success beyond Singapore.

Second, the production stage. IMDA will co-fund regional and global co-productions across film and television — scripted and unscripted — as well as screen adaptations of IP.

This allows our companies to work with strong international partners, share risk, combine strengths, and produce content at scale. Over time, this strengthens Singapore’s position as a coproduction hub in the region.

Third, the distribution stage. We will help Made-with-Singapore content reach the world. IMDA will elevate the profile of our content, talent and companies through a dedicated in-house marketing team. We will also support selected projects with marketing funding to boost visibility and international reach.

We want to support bold, distinctive ideas that can travel, while staying grounded in our voice and identity.

TAP brings all our support for talent and companies into a single, unified programme.

It covers the full value chain — from development, to production, to distribution — so that promising ideas have a clearer pathway to reach global audiences.

It also recognises that film and television have different creative and commercial realities, and it is designed to help our teams capture the best value from both.

With TAP, we aim to build a stronger pipeline of stories with global appeal, strengthen Singapore’s position as a co-production hub, and reinforce our role as a trusted creative partner in the region.

Our industry is built on collaboration. Singapore has always been a place where regional and global creators meet, learn, forge partnerships and co-produce.

ATF and the Singapore Media Festival continue to be an important platform for these partnerships to be forged.

By investing in talent, supporting companies, and nurturing new formats and IP, we can build a resilient, future-ready industry.

One that embraces innovation while keeping creativity at the centre of what we do.

Thank you to our partners, festival organisers, industry leaders, and talents – on screen and off screen – for your strong support over the past years.

Thank you also to the creators, producers, and storytellers who continue to push boundaries across every screen.

I wish all of you a meaningful and inspiring week at ATF.

May you discover new ideas, spark new collaborations, and continue shaping stories that move audiences across Asia and beyond.

Thank you.