SINGAPORE, 29 November 2025 — At the Guizhou Moutai–Zhejiang Businessmen Singapore Conference 2025, held on 29 November, Prof David Lee (CFtP®), Chairman of the Global Fintech Institute (GFI), Professor at the Singapore University of Social Sciences, and Vice President of the Singapore Economic Association, delivered a keynote address that placed Zhejiang and Singapore at the centre of the global Real World Asset (RWA) transformation.
Speaking to business leaders, policymakers, and innovators, Prof David Lee (CFtP®) outlined how the convergence of Zhejiang’s industrial digitalisation and Singapore’s financial internationalisation is creating a historic opportunity. His remarks positioned the Zhejiang–Singapore corridor as a potential new benchmark for the Digital Silk Road, with implications extending far beyond bilateral cooperation.
Strategic Synergy: A Digital Economy Powerhouse Meets a Global Financial Hub
Prof David Lee (CFtP®) noted that Zhejiang’s digital economy strength and Singapore’s global financial role are now intersecting in the RWA era. Zhejiang’s comprehensive blockchain ecosystem, real-economy depth, and digital reform capabilities complement Singapore’s internationally recognised regulatory environment, mature capital markets, and extensive financial infrastructure.
According to Prof David Lee (CFtP®), the two economies are “forming a historic convergence,” with shared potential to reshape how industrial assets are digitised, standardised, and globally circulated.
Singapore as the Strategic Gateway for Zhejiang’s RWA Internationalisation
Prof David Lee (CFtP®) highlighted three strategic advantages Singapore provides for Zhejiang enterprises entering global digital finance markets:
1. A platform for compliance alignment and international standards
Singapore’s Project Guardian ecosystem and the GL1 standards framework offer Zhejiang enterprises a compliant bridge into global markets. Technologies such as blockchain traceability and supply chain digitisation can be validated through Singapore’s regulatory sandbox mechanisms, evolving from localised digital solutions into globally recognised financial assets.
2. An amplifier of global capital and institutional networks
Home to leading asset managers, private banks, and cross-border investment institutions, Singapore enables Zhejiang’s industrial assets to access global capital once tokenised. From Yiwu trade assets to Ningbo manufacturing, Prof David Lee (CFtP®) noted that RWA tokenisation “will allow distinctive Zhejiang assets to be repriced and made liquid in global markets.”
3. A strategic base for expansion into Southeast Asia
Singapore’s role as a digital finance hub within ASEAN provides Zhejiang enterprises a natural pathway into Southeast Asia’s fast-growing digital economy. Singapore’s regulatory credibility and market influence create a platform for Zhejiang’s proven digital solutions to scale across the region.
Zhejiang’s Strategic Value to Singapore’s Financial Innovation
Prof David Lee (CFtP®) also emphasised that Zhejiang offers Singapore unique advantages:
A real-economy digital asset repository
With its diverse industrial clusters and the world’s largest small commodity market, Zhejiang provides high-quality, real-economy assets for tokenisation. This asset base enriches Singapore’s financial innovation pipeline with applications grounded in real industry needs.
Deep engineering and technological capability
Hangzhou’s blockchain ecosystem—supported by notable enterprises such as Hyperchain—brings proven engineering strength across finance, public services, and supply chains. These capabilities are essential in transforming financial concepts into scalable, real-world products.
Economies of scale for rapid pilot-to-market cycles
The private-sector dynamism and market maturity of Zhejiang allow RWA applications to be validated and scaled at speed. As Prof David Lee (CFtP®) explained, innovations refined in Singapore can undergo large-scale testing and iteration in Zhejiang’s industrial environment.
Four Strategic Tracks for Zhejiang–Singapore Cooperation
Prof David Lee (CFtP®) proposed a focused blueprint for joint development across four key domains:
1. Global financialisation of industrial assets
Establishment of a Zhejiang Characteristic Industries – RWA Asset Pool using Singapore’s GL1 framework, enabling global circulation of tokenised trade assets, agricultural products, manufacturing capacity, and cultural IP.
2. Digital financial innovation for cross-border trade
Development of a blockchain-based trade finance platform for Zhejiang–ASEAN corridors, addressing credit and settlement challenges through multi-currency capabilities in Singapore.
3. Joint output of technology and standards
Integration of Zhejiang’s blockchain engineering solutions with Singapore’s regulatory frameworks, forming a “technology plus standards” export model for third-country markets.
4. Collaborative talent and ecosystem development
Creation of a Zhejiang–Singapore Digital Finance Joint Laboratory to serve as a hub for technological development, compliance research, and asset management innovation.
A Three-Step Roadmap: From Pilots to a Full Ecosystem
Prof David Lee (CFtP®) outlined a phased pathway for implementation:
Near term (within 1 year): Pilot demonstration projects
Launch RWA tokenisation pilots in 2–3 Zhejiang industries, such as tea, silk, and small commodities, in partnership with Singapore financial institutions.
Mid term (2–3 years): Establish standardised channels
Participate jointly in global standard setting, including GL1, and create structured pathways for integrating Zhejiang’s industrial assets into global capital markets.
Long term (3–5 years): Develop a dual-centre ecosystem
Build a comprehensive ecosystem where Zhejiang’s industrial digitalisation and Singapore’s financial internationalisation reinforce one another, positioning the corridor as a global hub for digital finance.
Conclusion: A New Maritime Silk Road for the Digital Age
Prof David Lee (CFtP®) concluded by noting that Zhejiang once connected China to the world through silk, tea, and porcelain. Today, Zhejiang and Singapore are poised to forge a new Maritime Silk Road, this time circulating digitised assets, interoperable standards, and innovative financial models.
He emphasised that the partnership represents a new paradigm of international cooperation — “a deep integration between digitalising real economies and global financial rule-makers.” This collaboration, he noted, will not only unlock new opportunities for both regions but also contribute an “Eastern solution” to global digital finance innovation.
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