Singapore’s new blockchain industry group BAS launches

Written by Ruby Hinchliffe
21st April 2020

The Blockchain Association Singapore (BAS) is a new blockchain industry group that has launched in Singapore.

The group is the result of a merger between two 2018-founded entities: the Singapore Blockchain Association (SBA) and the Blockchain, Enterprise and Scalable Technologies (BEST).

Blockchain technology is set to create more than $176 billion in business value worldwide by 2025

The BAS will be co-chaired by Chia Hock Lai, who is currently the president of the Singapore Fintech Association (SFA), and Tan Bin Ru, who is a chief executive at OneConnect Financial Technology, a blockchain-powered technology-as-a-service provider for Chinese banks.

The association says both chairs will play “a crucial role” in driving blockchain innovations throughout the US, Europe, China and Southeast Asia region.

Intent on becoming a breeding ground for blockchain growth – which it sees as at the “center of scalable technologies” – the association promises to build “a sustainable pipeline” of “blockchain talents” to underpin the digital economy.

“The merger will allow a more effective use of resources and a wider geographical reach in fostering a collaborative and transparent approach to promote best practices within the industry,” the association notes in a statement.

As part of the BAS launch, the newly formed association will also partner with Singapore Polytechnic, offering six-month and six-week courses to mid-career switchers looking to learn blockchain application development.

Blockchain technology is set to create more than $176 billion in business value worldwide by 2025, according to a 2019 Gartner report.

The Monetary Authority of Singapore’s (MAS) managing director Ravi Menon spoke back in 2017 at the Global Blockchain Business Conference in Singapore on his advocacy for the technology.

“Trust underpins all economic transactions. In the absence of direct trust among parties, the alternative is to rely on trusted central parties. The key breakthrough of blockchain technology is its ability to establish trust in a decentralised system.”