Singapore Secures S$14.2 Billion in Investment Commitments as Job Forecast Falls to 15,700

More Capital, Fewer Expected Jobs

Singapore secured S$14.2 billion in fixed asset investment commitments in 2025, including S$12.1 billion from manufacturing projects, yet the expected employment gains fell to their lowest level since at least 2005. The Economic Development Board (EDB) said the commitments should create 15,700 jobs over the next five years, down from 18,700 associated with investments secured in 2024.

The figures, published on 9 February 2026 in EDB's 2025 annual review, show investment holding up despite trade uncertainty, geopolitical tensions and rapid technological change. Fixed asset commitments increased from S$13.5 billion in 2024, while annual business expenditure commitments rose from S$8.4 billion to S$8.9 billion.

The weaker employment forecast tells a different story from the increase in capital spending. Companies are making more cautious projections for demand, revenue and profits while using more automation and artificial intelligence. Expected annual value added, the direct contribution these projects would make to Singapore's economy, fell from S$23.5 billion to S$18 billion.

China also overtook the United States as a source of new fixed asset commitments for the first time. Its share rose to 20.6%, compared with 17.3% for the US, marking a sharp change in the origins of investments secured during the year.

These are commitments and forecasts, not completed investments or jobs already filled. Their economic contribution depends on companies carrying out the projects over the next five years. EDB warned that securing new jobs will become more challenging as global competition for investment intensifies.

What the Investment Figures Actually Measure

Fixed asset investment covers capital spending on facilities, equipment and machinery. Total business expenditure measures additional operating spending, including wages and rent. EDB lists the latter as an annual figure, so the S$8.9 billion should not be read as a cumulative spending total for the entire five year implementation period.

Value added measures a company's direct contribution to gross domestic product, excluding wider effects on suppliers and other businesses. The S$18 billion forecast is also an annual measure expected when the investments are realised, rather than an immediate addition to economic output.

Using the published totals, fixed asset commitments increased by S$700 million and annual business expenditure by S$500 million. Expected job creation fell by 3,000, or about 16%, while projected annual value added dropped by S$5.5 billion, or about 23%. Capital spending, employment and economic contribution therefore moved in different directions.

The sequence of commitments and announcements helps distinguish the investment year from the period in which the benefits are expected:

• 2024: EDB secured S$13.5 billion in fixed asset commitments, associated with 18,700 expected jobs.
• April 2025: EDB launched the Global Founder Programme to attract experienced founders establishing global ventures in Singapore.
• 2025: Fixed asset commitments reached S$14.2 billion, with 15,700 jobs projected.
• 9 February 2026: EDB published its annual review, setting out results expected as the 2025 commitments are realised over the next five years.

Where the Jobs Will Be

Services account for 40% of expected jobs, manufacturing for 37%, and research and development and innovation for 23%. Applied to the total of 15,700, those rounded shares suggest approximately 6,280 services jobs, 5,810 manufacturing jobs and 3,610 research and innovation jobs.

Most are expected to be roles for professionals, managers, executives and technicians. Services positions include product managers, data scientists, sustainability specialists and business analysts. Manufacturing roles include technicians, test and process engineers, production supervisors and quality assurance managers.

Research and innovation positions range from AI research scientists and robotics engineers to interface designers and process innovation consultants. These examples show that the employment pipeline extends beyond factory production, even though manufacturing dominates capital investment.

The precise description of the salary share differs slightly. EDB's published review says about two thirds of committed jobs are expected to pay gross monthly wages above S$5,000. Chairman Png Cheong Boon said at the briefing that over two thirds would exceed that threshold. Both descriptions indicate that a large majority of the projected jobs fall above S$5,000, but neither is a guarantee for every position.

EDB managing director Jermaine Loy said changing industries require workers to develop digital capabilities and, in some cases, new specialist skills. Explaining the lower employment forecast, he pointed to cautious company estimates as well as automation and digitalisation.

"Given the uncertain environment, companies were naturally more conservative in their projections," said Loy.

Manufacturing Dominates, With a Broader Sector Mix

Manufacturing projects contributed about S$12.1 billion of the S$14.2 billion in fixed asset commitments, roughly 85% of the total. Electronics was the largest individual sector at 33%, followed closely by biomedical manufacturing at 30.8%. Chemicals accounted for another 9.1%.

The mix was less concentrated in electronics than in 2024, when that sector supplied 57% of fixed asset commitments. Electronics and biomedical manufacturing together represented 63.8% of the 2025 total, showing how strongly the investment pipeline depends on advanced production industries.

Semiconductor projects included new plants and expansions serving demand for AI chips, servers and related products. EDB said these investments also benefited precision engineering activities. Other projects responded to electric vehicle demand and efforts to diversify semiconductor equipment supply chains.

Biomedical manufacturers expanded capacity for biopharmaceutical and medical technology products. Chemicals investments targeted specialty chemicals and sustainable materials, while aerospace companies invested in more advanced maintenance, repair and overhaul capabilities as air travel demand remained strong.

Loy cited expectations that the global semiconductor market could reach US$1 trillion by 2030, supported by AI and digitalisation. That is an industry growth projection, not a forecast of Singapore's future investment receipts, but it helps explain why semiconductor production and supporting equipment remained prominent.

China's Share Rises as the US Share Falls

China's share of fixed asset commitments increased from 2.5% in 2024 to 20.6% in 2025. The US share fell from 55.5% to 17.3%. Europe, China and the US supplied the bulk of commitments, although no precise European share is given in these figures.

The change was even larger in operating expenditure. China accounted for 50.7% of annual business expenditure commitments, up from 15% in 2024. Investments from China were also expected to generate 57.1% of projected value added, compared with 12.6% for the previous year's commitments.

These percentages describe new commitments secured in each year. They do not show that China has overtaken the US in the total stock of investment accumulated in Singapore, nor do they establish that existing American businesses are withdrawing.

Png said Chinese companies were seeking international growth as their domestic market slowed. Examples of companies that have expanded their Singapore presence in recent years include Bytedance, Mihoyo, Envision Energy, Wuxi and Hai Robotics. Those examples describe a broader trend, rather than a disclosed allocation of the 2025 investment total.

EDB chairman Png Cheong Boon said Singapore would continue welcoming foreign businesses conducting substantive activities within its laws and regulations. He also stressed the continued importance of established investment partners.

"We continue to look towards the US and Europe to be key sources of investment commitments in terms of stock and flow," said Png.

AI Creates Demand While Changing Hiring

Artificial intelligence appears on both sides of the investment story. It supports demand for semiconductor manufacturing, servers and specialist research, while allowing companies to automate work and operate with fewer people than earlier business models might have required.

Digital Industry Singapore, a joint office of EDB, Enterprise Singapore and the Infocomm Media Development Authority, has secured more than 60 AI Centres of Excellence since 2024. These centres bring together research and development capabilities to build companies' own generative AI solutions.

The office also launched the Enterprise Compute Initiative with Google, Amazon Web Services, Microsoft and Oracle. It is intended to support up to 1,200 companies in adopting AI. That figure describes the programme's intended reach, not a count of businesses that have already completed adoption.

The employment challenge connects with earlier concerns about AI reshaping middle roles, including fewer stable positions for experienced workers and weaker routes into professional careers. The new investment figures do not measure displacement, but they show that more capital investment does not automatically produce more vacancies.

EDB is also pursuing projects in data centre hardware and infrastructure, quantum hardware testing, autonomous vehicles and electrification. These activities create opportunities in automation, software and hardware development, although the review does not give separate investment or employment totals for them.

New Growth in Medicine and Carbon Services

Precision medicine was another area of new investment. It uses molecular and health information to make diagnosis and treatment more specific to a patient or group. EDB secured manufacturing and research projects involving multiple types of biological data, robotics and AI.

Four companies joined the National Precision Medicine Pharma Pre-competitive consortium, a collaboration using Singapore's dataset to support diagnostics and treatments suited to Asian populations. EDB said the partnerships would also support research, knowledge transfer, employment and biomedical data infrastructure.

In the green economy, Singapore now has more than 160 carbon services and trading firms, more than twice the number in 2020. EDB and TT Foundation Advisors launched a S$20 million fund in 2025 to support carbon development projects.

Other initiatives included the Blue Carbon Support Programme and a skills framework for carbon services and trading. Blue carbon refers to carbon stored in coastal and marine ecosystems. These programmes sit alongside investments in biofuels, specialty chemicals and sustainable materials, extending the investment strategy beyond established electronics and biomedical manufacturing.

Founders, Local Partnerships and Regional Expansion

The Global Founder Programme is supporting more than 40 ventures, particularly in AI, the green economy and advanced technology hardware. Together, the ventures have raised S$1.7 billion. About a quarter of that funding is projected to support their Singapore operations and partnerships, equivalent to roughly S$425 million.

That projected local spending should be kept separate from the S$14.2 billion fixed asset headline. EDB does not provide a reconciliation showing how the ventures' funding relates to its investment indicators, so adding the figures together would risk counting some activity twice.

EDB and Enterprise Singapore also generated 19 partnership projects between multinational corporations and local enterprises in 2025. The projects were intended to support joint innovation, improve capabilities and help businesses capture new opportunities.

Regional cooperation forms another part of the strategy. EDB said the Johor-Singapore Special Economic Zone had attracted new global investment by combining better connectivity with the complementary strengths of Singapore and Johor. It also identified deeper partnerships with Indonesia's Batam, Bintan and Karimun.

The review does not assign investment amounts or job totals to these regional arrangements. Their stated purpose is to help Singapore compete for global projects while supporting business expansion into Southeast Asia.

Training Workers for a Tougher Investment Market

EDB's workforce programmes focus on both technical skills and leadership. Training partnerships cover practical AI use, cybersecurity and cloud computing, while the Industrial Postgraduate Programme supports local talent development for research roles.

The second Singapore Leaders Network Fellowship cohort included 65 participants in 2025, compared with 60 in its first cohort in 2024. New support programmes addressed overseas assignments and industry specific leadership needs. Participants in the Global Business Leaders Programme received overseas exposure in countries including China, Indonesia, Latvia, the Netherlands and the US.

For future investment attraction, EDB identified four priorities: strengthening existing growth sectors, developing new growth engines, attracting companies capable of becoming global leaders, and preparing Singaporeans for changing work. Proposed areas of expansion include corporate functions dealing with trade and geopolitical risk, enterprise AI centres and new services built around trust.

Png said business leaders expected uncertainty to continue in 2026 but were more prepared to make calculated decisions about growth and transformation. The central unresolved issue is how many commitments will become operating projects, when hiring will occur and whether realised jobs and value added will match forecasts. EDB's review provides a five year implementation horizon, but no project specific hiring timetable.

Key Points

• Singapore secured S$14.2 billion in fixed asset commitments in 2025, up from S$13.5 billion in 2024.
• The commitments are expected to create 15,700 jobs over five years, about 16% fewer than the previous year's projected total.
• Expected annual value added fell to S$18 billion from S$23.5 billion.
• Manufacturing contributed about S$12.1 billion, roughly 85% of fixed asset commitments.
• China's share of new fixed asset commitments reached 20.6%, exceeding the US share of 17.3% for the first time.
• About two thirds of projected jobs are expected to pay gross monthly wages above S$5,000, according to EDB's published review.
• AI, cautious forecasts and global competition are making job creation harder even as investment continues.