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Singapore Government increases spending for tech sector

Research firm IDC has projected that the Singapore government’s spending for information and communication technology (ICT) is set to grow by 3.5 per cent annually to US$1.5 billion (S$2.1 billion) in 2003.

The Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore (IDA) added that it has plans to invest S$1.1 billion in about 350 ICT tenders for this financial year (FY) which ends on 31 March 2011.

IDC senior market analyst Gerald Wang said this increase in spending is certainly good news for the industry.

Mr Wang said that he expects 50 per cent of the new tenders released in 2010 to multiply business opportunities for a wide range of vendors, as these small projects are less than S$500,000 each.

Mr James Nuben of Rikvin Corporate Services says that the number of foreign individuals incorporating a Singapore company to run ICT-focused businesses such as building and releasing online micro-transaction games for social networks, or provide cloud-computing services, has also been steadily increasing.

"The growth potential for foreign investors setting up companies to expand the ICT industry is very huge and Singapore is a great place to incorporate a company because it provides a very safe environment for businesses to grow," said Mr Nuben.

Rikvin Corporate Services specialises in Singapore company formation and staff relocation services, including work visa applications for foreigners.

Even though the Government appears to be spending less by awarding S$1.6 billion and S$1.12 billion worth of ICT contracts in FY2008 and FY2009 respectively, the figures do not reflect the actual increment.

Instead, the figures appear to drop because they included huge one-time projects that include the Standard ICT Operating Environment (SOEasy) and the Next-Generation National Broadband Network (NGNBN). The regular ICT expenditure has actually been increasing consistently when the huge projects are not included in the spending numbers.

"After deducting the NGNBN project’s sum of S$250,000, the S$1.1 billion projected spending for this year is significantly more than last year’s S$870 million. I expect future government projects in Singapore to focus on building upon what has already been built before," said Mr Wang.

ICT spending with a focus on cloud computing, social networking, business analytics and technology will help the Government strengthen their collaboration with citizens and reach out to citizens.

"Proposals that will allow the government agencies to reduce huge upfront capital expenditures and manage operational expenses will be the most well-received," said Mr Wang.

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