Nearly 3,000 global industry leaders, regulators and policymakers will gather at the Insights Forum to discuss pressing issues such as the responsible development and use of artificial intelligence.

First launched in 2022, the Insights Forum is an invitation-only event hosted by the Global Finance and Technology Network (GFTN). GFTN was established by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) last week to leverage technology and foster innovation through global partnerships. GFTN replaces and builds on Elevandi, a non-profit organization founded by MAS in 2021.

The forum will be held at the Sands Expo and Convention Center between 4-5 November. Beyond artificial intelligence, it will also focus on fundamental issues such as policies and regulations surrounding tokenized assets and money, the risks and use of quantum computing, and advancing digital inclusion for underserved and underserved communities.

encouraging collaboration

While the forum includes various workshops and co-located summits, its cornerstone continues to be public-private roundtable discussions. GFTN Strategic Projects head Jael Tan said the aim of the forum was to foster deeper collaboration between the public and private sectors to deliver tangible, actionable results.

Tan said it was “a space where senior executives can engage in deeper, more focused discussions at the intersection of policy, finance and technology.” These conversations will also help shape the discussions that emerge at the Singapore FinTech Festival later in the week. It will be held at the SFF Singapore Fair.

Forum participants include the Bank of Japan and the World Bank Group, as well as private players such as Google and Amazon. Participation is limited to senior leaders and there is limited representation per organization to ensure diverse perspectives.

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The Forum operates under Chatham House rules. Participants may discuss and share information collected in these forums with the broader financial community, but it must not be attributed and sources must remain anonymous.

Tamara Singh, sherpa of the Insights Forum, said this allowed participants to talk openly about sensitive topics, so others could benefit from their experiences and avoid potentially costly experiments.

The forum’s sessions are structured around expert-level participation, with participants receiving detailed reference materials to facilitate advanced discussions. Sessions are documented to ensure continuity and evolution of initiatives, Singh added.

Driving results

Previous editions of the Insights Forum have focused on supporting open and interoperable digital infrastructure and sustainable financial systems. It has catalyzed many initiatives, including:

Project Port: A Bank for International Settlements (BIS) Innovation Center initiative that aims to improve cross-border payments by connecting multiple local instant payment systems (IPS) globally. As the special observer of the Bank of Indonesia, BIS will facilitate the work of central banks and IPS operators in India, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand towards live implementation.

Project Guardian: A collaborative initiative between policymakers and the financial industry to increase the liquidity and efficiency of financial markets through asset tokenization. Participants include corporate finance giants such as HSBC, JPMorgan Chase and Moody’s.

Project Green Edition: A series of initiatives undertaken by MAS to leverage technology and create a data-centric ecosystem, supporting the sustainability goals of the financial sector. Digital platform Gprint (pronounced greenprint) was launched by MAS in November 2023 to partner with industry to facilitate the collection, access and use of climate and sustainability data.

Reports of the Insights Forum’s open-door sessions are also published at: GFTN’s information centermaking important insights accessible to the broader financial community.

It was produced in partnership with the Monetary Authority of Singapore and the Global Finance and Technology Network.

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