by mncs operating in singapore. • gross national income ( gni ) per capita became the more relevant measure of singapore ’ s income and standard of living than just gdp per capita. the 2020s and 2030s saw the proliferation and convergence of several technological trends that transformed economies and societies globally. • rapid progress in digital and mobile technologies, coupled with advanced biometrics and global wi - fi access, made payments virtually costless and highly secure, precipitating an explosion in the growth of digital commerce and digital finance. • advances in cloud computing, big data analytics, smart sensors and learning machines transformed the provision of consumer and business services, including financial, legal, auditing, consultancy, and logistics. • they also spurred a transformation in the provision of social and public services such as telemedicine, online learning, and congestion control, substantially enhancing efficiency and consumer welfare. singapore was well - positioned for the pervasive digitisation of the global economy that occurred in the 2020s and 2030s, mainly due to two key initiatives that it embarked on in 2015 in the drive towards productivity - led growth : • the first was the concerted national effort to build and deepen skills at all levels through extensive worker retraining programmes and subsequent introduction of the teaching of digital technology across the education system. • the second was the drive to create a smart nation – building critical infrastructure and capabilities in digital and sensor technologies. by 2040, a thriving ideas economy had taken root in singapore, with value - added embedded in ideas rather than physical form. • the creation of economic value was associated increasingly with “ dematerialised products ” such as telecommunications, algorithms, software, design, testing and research. • at the same time, singapore built on its traditional strengths in the ideas economy, namely marketing, branding, and global supply chain management. advances in robotics and 3 - d printing helped to spawn new activities in singapore ’ s offshore facilities in the afez : • production of space vehicles and supersonic jet engines ; • additive manufacturing of components for electric cars and autonomous vehicles. technological advances also transformed the structure of the territorial economy. • cutting - edge biologics to produce drugs for cancer, auto - immune diseases, congenital disorders and dementia emerged as the largest component of manufacturing. • real - time genome sequencing for disease control started from scratch to become one of the fastest growing segments within the territorial economy. • infrastructure financing became the largest contributor to modern services, with singapore - based

to investments. mdbs have actively supported countries on this front, in efforts to formalise project selection and approval processes, revenue models and concessions, and to encourage harmonisation of ppp standards in the region. at our inaugural summit in 2009, we announced that the world bank - singapore urban hub partnership has been established to leverage singapore ’ s experiences to help developing bis central bankers ’ speeches countries structure commercially viable infrastructure projects. this was followed by the setup of the infrastructure finance centre of excellence ( ifcoe ), which carries out capacity building and technical assistance to increase the success of ppp in the region. last month, ie singapore and the asian development bank jointly launched a ppp initiative that will work with regional governments to structure infrastructure projects, and also explore using capital markets to finance these projects. enhancing project development expertise besides improving ppp processes and public sector expertise, we also need to enhance the human capital in the private sector. there is already a growing base of professional services in singapore with practices in infrastructure development, financing and public - private partnerships in asia. singapore could explore whether there is a need to help companies develop their project development talent pool, so they can harness opportunities in the regional infrastructure space. this could be done by supporting on - the - job training to accelerate talent development through more project experience, and creating specialised programmes to train talent to be equipped with knowledge across the project development process – from business development, to ppp structuring, to financing. conclusion ladies and gentlemen, let me conclude by outlining again three key priorities in increasing and broadening private sector participation in infrastructure development – first, to catalyse private sector involvement in project financing ; second, to enhance delivery of projects for better financial viability ; third, to build up capabilities in both public and private sectors. these are necessary to help countries achieve their economic growth targets in an equitable manner, resulting in job creation and other positive social outcomes. the real economy, financial sector and public sector players all have complementary roles to play. conferences such as this are an excellent opportunity to bring together stakeholders in order to foster the exchange of ideas. on that note, i wish you all fruitful discussions today. thank you very much. bis central bankers ’ speeches