Held at Marina Bay Sands Expo & Convention Centre on 03 December 2025, this year's summit convened more than 1,000 local and foreign business owners, founders, innovators, and ecosystem partners, reaffirming Singapore's commitment to strengthening its enterprise sector and supporting businesses in scaling beyond domestic borders.

Graced and officially opened by Guest of Honour, Mr Zhulkarnian Abdul Rahim, the SME Summit centred on the theme "From Local Strength to Global Impact."

In his opening address, Mr Zhulkarnian highlighted the importance of building strong business fundamentals, deepening enterprise capabilities, and accelerating innovation so that Singapore SMEs remain resilient and competitive in a rapidly globalising economy. He encouraged businesses to seize opportunities abroad while staying rooted in strong local values, industry collaboration, and community support.

A National Platform Advancing Enterprise Capability, Innovation, and Internationalisation

The SME Summit featured a full day of high-level discussions, keynote presentations, fireside chats, and thematic sessions designed to address the most pressing challenges and opportunities facing Singapore enterprises.

The full day summit's agenda covered key business topics and placed strong emphasis on:

1. Enterprise Capability Development

Sessions focused on practical frameworks for strengthening internal processes, financial resilience, leadership development, and future-ready talent strategies. Speakers emphasised that long-term competitiveness begins with strong core capabilities at home.

2. Digital Transformation & Innovation

Industry experts showcased the importance of cybersecurity adoption and implementation with SMEs and how advancements in digital tools, automation, data analytics, and artificial intelligence can boost operational efficiency and unlock new business models. Real-world case studies illustrated how SMEs can adopt scalable technologies without heavy upfront cost.

3. Global Expansion & Cross-Border Opportunities

The SME Summit brought regional and global market experts together to discuss emerging opportunities in Southeast Asia, the Middle East, and beyond. Several sessions explored international market entry strategies, global branding, cross-border partnerships, and the pivotal role of intellectual property in supporting overseas expansion.

4. Strengthening the Singapore Enterprise Brand

Panel discussions highlighted how the Singapore brand known for trust, reliability, and quality continues to give local enterprises an edge globally. Speakers shared how businesses can position themselves to ride on Singapore's reputation while differentiating their value proposition internationally.

One of the key highlights of the SME Summit was the fireside chat, titled "Scaling Beyond Singapore – SMEs for Global Expansion".

The fireside chat brought together business leaders and industry experts who shared insights on navigating new markets, building cross-border partnerships, leveraging digital tools and protecting intellectual property in global expansion efforts. The discussion emphasised the importance of capability building, innovation and strategic readiness as SMEs take bold steps toward internationalisation.

5. Recognising Committed Singapore SMEs for Business Excellence under the Singapore SME 500 Award

The SME Summit also provided a platform to acknowledge the commitment and perseverance of Singapore's SMEs that continue to uphold high standards of business excellence, capabilities and forward momentum.

As part of the SME Summit's agenda, outstanding and high performing local SMEs were recognised under the Singapore SME 500 Award (https://sme500.atc.sg) - one of Singapore's long running and highly regarded business award that celebrates enterprises strong business fundamentals, consistent fiscal performance, commitment to business excellence and the capability to scale.

These enterprises represent the resilience, adaptability and leadership that defines Singapore's enterprise community. Their achievements served as a testament to the importance of continues capability development and innovation, reinforcing the critical role SMEs play in driving economic growth and elevating the standards of the enterprise community.

The Singapore SME 500 Award also underscored ATC's commitment to honouring committed enterprises that embody the spirit of progress and business excellence, and are well positioned to scale further in the years ahead.

Showcasing Industry Solutions, Support for SMEs and Strengthening Partnerships

Alongside the conference programme, a dedicated exhibition segment brought together solutions providers, innovators, supporting agencies for local SMEs and ecosystem partners who showcased practical tools and resources that are designed to support SMEs in all stages their business development journey.

These included digital transformation solutions, cyber security providers, financial services, productivity solutions and foreign partners of ATC whom are ready to support Singapore SMEs' expansion across the border.

ATC expressed appreciation to all supporting partners, noting that strong and multi-stakeholder collaboration is essential to developing an enterprise ecosystem that is resilient, future ready and globally competitive. The SME Summit served as a meaningful platform for partners to meet business owners, exchange insights and explore new collaborations.

Growing Regional Recognition and Influence

Since the inaugural launch of the SME Summit, the summit has grown into a prominent regional platform for Singapore SMEs to congregate, network and collaborate.

Bringing Singapore SMEs and business leaders together from more than 15 industries and trade sectors, the SME Summit attracts increasing interest from ASEAN and Asia-Pacific markets. This year's turnout reflects the strong momentum and determination within Singapore's SME sector to elevate capability and pursue new frontiers of growth.

ATC also noted that with shifting global economic dynamics, supply chain realignment and rising digital adoption with the use of AI, the next decade presents one of the most significant windows of opportunities for Singapore's businesses to expand globally.

"The SMESummit 2025 underscores the readiness of Singapore enterprises to embrace innovation, scale their operations, and take their brands global.

This year's theme - 'From Local Strength to Global Impact' represents a clear ambition: to nurture strong business foundations locally while equipping SMEs with the capability, confidence and connectivity to grow internationally.

We extend our deepest appreciation to our Guest of Honour, partners, speakers and delegates for making this year's Summit a powerful and forward-looking platform for our enterprise community."

Dato Seri Ashraf Bakar, Council Member,
Association of Trade and Commerce (ATC)

About the Singapore SMESummit

The SMESummit, organised by the Association of Trade and Commerce (ATC), is an annual highly anticipated business event that brings together local Small-Medium Enterprises (SMEs), innovators, entrepreneurs, industry experts and thought leaders to explore the dynamic and ever-evolving landscape of our local SMEs.

ATC and partners of the SMESummit brings a wealth of experience and expertise, and with a keen understanding of the challenges and opportunities that SMEs face, the SMESummit agenda provides attendees with relevant insights, cutting-edge strategies, and unparalleled networking opportunities.

The SMESummit plays a pivotal role in connecting businesses, facilitating knowledge exchange, and ultimately contributing to the overall advancement of Singapore's SME sector.

Source: Straits Times, 10/12/2025 (Singapore SME Summit 2025 Drives the Theme "From Local Strength to Global Impact" as Singapore Enterprises Chart Their Next Chapter of Growth | The Straits Times)

A survey by Milieu Insight indicates that the rapidly growing Thai e-commerce market, which sees $87\%$ of consumers shopping online monthly or weekly, has undergone a fundamental shift from being purely price-driven to value-driven. While price factors like discounts and free shipping remain important, consumers are now increasingly prioritizing factors that build trust and reliability, such as wide product selection and credible customer reviews, and are unwilling to trade confidence for lower prices. This shift means the new "battleground is confidence," with 84% of consumers willing to pay more for reliable delivery, and 45% having switched platforms due to perceived unfair treatment. To close this satisfaction gap, the top platforms—led by Shopee, TikTok Shop, and Lazada—must focus on five key missions: making delivery reliability non-negotiable (as 79% reported issues), eliminating hidden costs, strengthening buyer protection to address consumer feeling that platforms favor sellers, investing in convenience innovations like Buy Now, Pay Later, and rewarding good service over mere sales volume to build buyer confidence for sustainable growth.

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Thai consumer confidence reached a six-month high in November, rising for the third consecutive month to $53.2$, fueled primarily by the government's economic stimulus policies, including a $44$ billion baht consumer subsidy program, and support for domestic tourism. Consumers expressed hope that these measures would lead to a short-term economic recovery. Despite this optimism, consumers generally felt that the overall economic recovery was slow and that the cost of living remained high. Furthermore, risks such as severe flooding in the South, ongoing trade tensions, and political tensions between Thailand and Cambodia continue to pose threats that could undermine confidence in the near future. A joint business group projected that the recent Southern flooding would trim economic growth both this year and next.

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STEPPING into the business after her grandfather passed, Claire Ariela Shen knew Dona Manis Cake Shop would be faced with a major challenge.

The traditional bakery, founded in 1992 in the basement of Katong Shopping Centre, would need to keep up with the times.

A previous partner had also exited the bakery, leaving Shen in charge of a business which had often operated along trust-based systems and personal relationships – neither of which she had been deeply involved in building.

“There was no proper cash register, transactions were largely cash-based, and records were kept in a handwritten booklet my grandfather maintained,” said Shen, chief heritage officer of Dona Manis. She saw that a digital transformation would be needed to keep the business sustainable.

These challenges are not unique to Shen’s case; many small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in South-east Asia face similar obstacles when seeking to scale.

The relevant digital tools are difficult to identify; furthermore, SMEs with tight budgets and limited time are unable to experiment freely with such instruments.

UOB FinLab, the innovation accelerator launched in 2015, has spent the last decade helping businesses across the region bridge these gaps.

“UOB FinLab came at a time when we needed both structure and guidance – practical tools paired with a supportive ecosystem that understood the realities of small, heritage-rooted businesses,” said Shen, who participated in the Womanpreneur digitalisation innovation programme run by FinLab.

Structure came in the form of providing strategic frameworks to better understand her vision for the business, she said.

Meanwhile, guidance in the form of social media and communication modules proved to be enlightening for Shen, while access to resources such as preferential financing options and Web-hosting support enabled her to take tangible steps towards growing the business.

“Equally meaningful was the community itself,” noted Shen. “It reminded me that entrepreneurship does not have to be a solitary journey.”

Shannon Lung, head of UOB FinLab, explained that the accelerator was founded in 2015 with the mandate to support emerging technology innovators, mainly among fintech startups.

Ten years later, FinLab’s mandate has evolved to support SMEs – in all industries and across South-east Asia – to leverage its ecosystem and programmes to achieve growth.

This includes connecting businesses to UOB’s regional network, providing commercial validation pathways and running transformation programmes tailored to each market’s needs, Lung told The Business Times.

Nearly two years after Shen first participated in FinLab’s programme, she noted that Dona Manis has taken crucial steps to modernise.

“We now operate with a point-of-sale system and have expanded into online ordering and delivery platforms,” she said.

Shen added that much of the bakery’s internal documentation has moved to cloud-based systems, such as accounting and human resources software.

“While we still remain a relatively small team, these tools have helped us grow in a more sustainable and manageable way,” she said.

But for businesses across South-east Asia, FinLab’s support goes beyond its ability to drive local transformation.

“Our Asean footprint is our differentiating factor,” said Lung. “It transforms us from a traditional accelerator into a regional growth catalyst.”

UOB FinLab’s presence within South-east Asia spans Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam.

By connecting SMEs and startups with UOB’s regional network, FinLab enables these enterprises to ecosystem access to government agencies, solution providers, institutes of higher learning, Lung told BT.

This ecosystem also enables FinLab to connect companies with each other – through corporate partnerships, industry associations and even matching businesses with potential customers.

Such regional connections are critical to the expansion hopes of AltoTech Global, a Bangkok-based energy management solutions company which participated in FinLab’s GreenTech Accelerator programme in 2024.

This was a six-month programme spanning Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand, where SMEs were challenged to tackle real-world sustainability problems and create solutions.

Dr Warodom Khamphanchai, chief executive officer of AltoTech, said that the programme helped the company, which leverages artificial intelligence (AI) and Internet of Things technology to optimise heating, ventilation and air-conditioning operations, to refine its product for expansion beyond Thailand.

“Throughout the programme, we provided AltoTech with the strategic support essential for scaling, from deep-dive mentorship and industry matching to access to our strong regional ecosystem,” said Lung.

Through the Greentech Accelerator, the Thai company participated in the Singapore Fintech Festival, and even ran a pilot project within a UOB building.

Dr Warodom told BT that AltoTech intends to establish a stronger presence in Singapore over the next year, viewing UOB as a strategic partner in this endeavour.

He noted that not every market can be won over by technology alone; a potential entrant needs to build trust among local partners, while the capability to execute in foreign markets is never guaranteed.

“UOB’s ecosystem helps us connect with relevant stakeholders,” he added. “This reduces time (taken) to the first project and helps us adapt our delivery and commercial approach to each market’s expectations.”

Lung explained that cultural norms in different countries could influence business priorities and adoption rates unevenly.

“Each Asean market has distinct digital maturity, regulatory frameworks, and business culture expectations, which shape how we design and deliver our programmes,” he said.

Through FinLab, more specific support solutions can be tailored to different countries’ contexts, Lung noted.

For example, the Jom Transform programme for Malaysian SMEs was designed to aid businesses looking to enter markets for halal goods and services through obtaining the proper certifications and enhancing their digital capabilities to achieve growth.

Aligning with the growth trajectories of regional economies has also been a crucial element of FinLab’s mission to support innovation-driven transformation.

As regional economies and businesses sought to find their footing during the Covid-19 pandemic, FinLab chose to expand into markets including Vietnam and Indonesia, where initiatives related to sustainability and AI were launched to align with regional growth priorities.

“Ultimately, our ambition is to continue being a future-ready innovation partner,” said Lung.

“We help SMEs anticipate change, seize new opportunities and build the resilience they need for the decade ahead.”

 Source: Business Times, 29 Dec 2025 (Across digital gaps and borders, UOB’s FinLab helps businesses build bridges - The Business Times)

Thailand, Southeast Asia’s automotive hub, is undergoing a major transformation as it shifts from internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles to electric vehicles (EVs). The government’s “30@30” vision aims for 30% of domestic vehicle production to be EVs by 2030, supported by two key incentive packages: EV 3.0 (2022-2023), which introduced subsidies and local production requirements, and EV 3.5 (2024-2027), which tightens local production ratios and expands support to commercial EVs. While the shift has attracted foreign investment and positioned Thailand as a rising EV production base, it has also created challenges, particularly for traditional auto-parts SMEs specializing in ICE components. Economic disruptions, such as job displacement and supply chain disruption, are significant in the short term. However, with coordinated policies, Thailand has an opportunity to turn its automotive sector into a new engine of productivity, innovation, and sustainable growth.

Read more: Cllck!

Massive BOI Investment Approval for Data Centers and Clean Energy In a significant boost to Thailand's digital and green economy, the Board of Investment (BOI) approved 15 major project applications in early December 2025 with a combined investment value of over 240 billion baht (approx. US$7 billion). This approval wave is heavily concentrated in the data center sector, involving 11 projects worth nearly 185 billion baht from key players like STT GDC and others, signaling Thailand's rapid emergence as a regional digital hub. The board also fast-tracked 16 other projects under the "Thailand FastPass" initiative to expedite investments in clean energy and industrial estates, directly supporting the country's strategic shift toward high-tech and sustainable industries.

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