Singapore commits $170 million over three years to drive fintech innovation

SINGAPORE, Aug 31 (Reuters) - Singapore ‌will deploy ​S$220 ​million ($172.83 million) over three years to strengthen its fintech ecosystem and boost innovation and the ‌adoption of technology across the financial sector, the city-state's ⁠central bank announced on Monday.

Here are some details:

• The new financial ‌commitment falls under the ‌fourth iteration of Singapore's Financial Sector Technology and Innovation Scheme (FSTI 4.0), which was first launched in 2015 to ​scale innovation in the nation's financial sector.

• Fintech investments in Singapore hit S$2.9 billion last year. The ⁠country is currently home to more than 1,800 fintech firms, employing close to ​10,000 individuals.

• FSTI 4.0 aims to accelerate the development, adoption, and deployment of financial technologies, especially ​frontier technologies, and develop technology ‌infrastructure, nurture talent in the fintech industry and grow innovation activities in Singapore.

• "With AI and ⁠other frontier technologies emerging, we want to capture new growth opportunities," Gan Kim Yong, chairman of the Monetary Authority of ⁠Singapore, told reporters on Monday.

• "(The) financial sector is always very competitive. Singapore ​competes not just with Hong Kong but with the rest of the world too. But I must also say that financial ‌industry is not a zero-sum game. I think as we get better, Hong Kong and ‌other financial centres will also get better. And as ⁠they get better, we want ‌to make sure ​that we get even better," he added.

($1 = 1.2729 Singapore dollars)

(Reporting by Rae Wee; Editing by David ‌Stanway)

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