Singapore government-backed entities such as the National Research Foundation (NRF) and Enterprise Singapore (ESG) are said to be under increasing pressure to manage costs and justify the financial returns on their investments, according to sources aware of the matter.
These include schemes which draw funds from the Research, Innovation and Enterprise 2025 Plan (RIE 2025) — a $25-billion project — aimed at catalysing investments strategic to Singapore’s long-term national security objectives, such as in deeptech, artificial intelligence and robotics, manufacturing, and others, the sources said.