Showcasing the opportunities in the tech sector

In June, the UK marked the UK-Singapore Digital Economy Agreement coming into force as high-tech companies from around the world gathered at London Tech Week, with the largest ever delegation from the fast-growing Asia Pacific region in attendance.

Photo: Department for International Trade

The UK tech sector was valued this year at $1trillion (£764bn). According to new research from Tech Nation, the UK is fourth in the world for tech investment at £32.6bn, having achieved a record year in 2021. Tech plays a significant role as a driver of jobs and economic growth up and down the country. Last year, tech vacancies made up 12% of all available jobs in the UK, with just over 50% of these jobs available outside of London and the South East. Two of our business committee chairs (and one former chair) participated in a packed panel session at London Tech Week at the Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre. Energy & Utilities Business Committee Chair, and Managing Director of Energy Strat Asia Pte Ltd, Tim Rockell, was invited by LTW sponsor, the Singapore Economic Development Board (EDB), to run a session on the opening day of the event addressing the developments of technology in infrastructure.

London Tech Week saw an amazing gathering of 20,000 international leaders in technology, with a significant focus on Southeast Asia and opportunities for existing and new UK businesses in Singapore, and vice versa. In a year that UK and Singapore put in place the Digital Economy Agreement, there is unsurpassed government support and focus on enabling businesses from both nations to connect and achieve their goals. The British Chamber is a key enabler in providing connections and sharing knowledge to advance capabilities for all member organisations. Contact our Energy and ICT committee chairs for more details. The panel discussed opportunities in Asia for smart systems, including energy for urban planning, mobility and built environment, the R&D to commercialisation journey for infrastructure tech start-ups, and how project developers can balance leveraging new technologies and ‘playing it safe’ with traditional ways of doing business.

L-R: Derek Murray, Head of Digital at technical consultancy Mott MacDonald and Chair of the ICT Business Committee, Prof Phil Blythe of Newcastle University, Professor of Intelligent Transport Systems. Former Chief Scientific Adviser, Department for Transport, Dr Amy Hochadel, Director of Global Business at Connected Places Catapult, Mark Gainsborough, former EVP New Energies, Shell and Chairman Low Carbon Advisors, former Chair, BritCham Singapore, Energy & Utilities Business Committee, Dennis Poulsen, Chief Growth Officer, and Founder, Valuer.ai, Tim Rockell, Managing Director, Energy Strat Asia Pte Ltd and Chair of the Energy & Utilities Business Committee

Developing Asia will need to invest $1.7 trillion per year in infrastructure until 2030 to maintain its growth momentum, tackle poverty, and respond to climate change. Tech will play a major role in determining how quickly and sustainably, nations and businesses can bridge infrastructure gaps and power green economies.

Topics that were explored on the panel included an examination of the latest innovation in infrastructure including smart systems for urban planning, mobility, and the built environment. The panel examined how project developers could balance accessing new technologies with ‘playing it safe’ by sticking to traditional ways of project development. The discussion also focused on innovation in finance in the Asian region, particularly for early-stage project development and enabling new technology to get established as well as the R&D-to-Commercialisation journey and the opportunities in ASEAN as the region reopens. The session can be found on SG Innovate’s YouTube channel.