Singapore took an important step forward to build itself up as a trusted digital node with the launch of the virtual Digital Trust Centre of Excellence run by SGTech on October 28.

With the help of the Asian-Oceanian Computing Industry Organisation (Asocio) and Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) Business Advisory Council, SGTech will be driving the centre to build knowledge through education and research, such as through surveys and reports.

The centre will also be fostering a policy hub through roundtable sessions to stimulate discussions on improving policies, standards and emerging issues across 21 economics in the Apec group.

The centre is set up at a time when digital trust is increasingly important to combat the fraud, misinformation and crime that have grown with rise in online interactions.

According to a recent landscape study by SGTech, the digital trust sector is expected to offer a global market-segment opportunity of S$385 billion and an expected growth of S$765 billion over the next five years.

The sector is also expected to add employment in Singapore by another 34,000 people by 2027.

Sectors that will drive this growth include cybersecurity, digital trust consulting, digital identity, certifications, governance, risk and compliance (GRC) solutions, cyber insurance, distributed ledger technology (DLT) and privacy enhancing technologies (PET).

Announcing Digital Trust Centre of Excellence, Senior Minister of State for Communications and Information Tan Kiat How said: “Trust is a complex issue that we need to tackle and all the more in a digital world where we don’t see each other face to face.”

As the rate of change increases with technologies such as DLT and quantum computing, people and companies would want to be doing business at a number of digital trusted nodes in the global digital ecosystem, he said, at the inaugural Digital Trust Forum held at Resorts World Sentosa.

The forum included a day-long discussion with 30 esteemed leaders of industry, such as the dean of global business at The Fletcher School at Tufts University Dr Bhaskar Chakravorti; DBS Group CEO Piyush Gupta; and vice president or public policy for APAC of Meta, Simon Milner.

On the partnership with SGTech, the chair of the digital working group at the APEC Business Advisory Council, Jan De Silva, said the centre for excellence is a welcome resource to build regional knowledge and readiness.

This is especially so, when the pandemic had accelerated the digitalisation of small businesses, supply chains and healthcare delivery, he noted.

“There is urgency to support this rapid digitalisation with an at-scale digital trust environment providing secure, accountable, and frictionless conditions,” he added.

Chairman of Asocio, David Wong added: “With the global economy becoming increasingly digital, the world has also seen a rapid rise in misinformation, consumer scams, cybersecurity attacks and data breaches.”

Ms Sukaa Latch, Transformation Manager, Government Affairs, SGTech (right) explains the day's discussion on Digital Trust Forum to Guest-of-Honour, Tan Kiat How, Senior Minister of State for Communications and Information

“Under such circumstances, digital trust has never been more important as the key ingredient to ensure continued cross-border business transactions and sustaining global trade,” he noted.