Singapore launches first space agency, joining a Southeast Asian race to tap a fast-growing space sector

Singapore will launch its first national space agency in April to provide “decisive leadership” for the Southeast Asian country to tap an “expanding space economy,” the nation’s government announced on Feb. 2. Tan See Leng, Singapore’s Minister-in-charge of Energy and Science & Technology, noted the new National Space Agency of Singapore (NSAS) will target the “new possibilities posed by democratized access to outer space.”

The agency will be led by Ngiam Le Na, a veteran public servant who previously served as deputy CEO of Singapore’s Defence Science and Technology Agency and at DSO National Laboratories, the country’s defense R&D organization.

According to Tan, NSAS will focus on five key areas: research and development, growing the space industry, global partnerships, expanding national capability in space, and legislation for safety and sustainability in space.

The World Economic Forum predicts the global space economy to exceed $1.8 trillion by 2035, up from $613 billion in 2024. 

Singapore is currently home to 70 space companies employing about 2,000 professionals. Its government has also inked partnerships with global space agencies including the European Space Agency, the Indian National Space Promotion and Authorization Centre, and the UAE Space Agency.

“Singapore’s strengths in advanced manufacturing, aerospace, micro-electronics, precision engineering and artificial intelligence position us well to capture new opportunities in the space technology sector,” reads a Feb. 2 press release by the country’s Ministry of Trade and Industry.

Executives Fortune spoke with also expressed excitement about the burgeoning space scene in Singapore and the larger APAC region.

“(Singapore) is a very important R&D hub, and as we heard this morning, it’s growing in the space sector,” says Massimo Claudio Comparini, the managing director of Italian firm Leonardo’s Space Division. “Asia is a growing region, and it’s one where space infrastructure, connectivity and geospatial technology are very important.”

An inaugural space summit

Singapore’s government made the announcement at the Space Summit, the city’s first show focused on the space industry. Global aerospace giants like Airbus, Thales and Leonardo, as well as smaller startups like India’s Pixxel, Japan’s Synspective and South Korea’s Pedigree Aerospace were present in the Sands Expo and Convention Center.

“We hope that companies can use the Space Summit as a platform to springboard into opportunities in the Asia-Pacific and globally,” says Leck Chet Lam, who helms Experia Events, the organizer of the Space Summit. The summit, which drew over 330 participating organizations in its first year, has already been renewed for a second iteration.

This story was originally featured on Fortune.com