---
title: Ships, Chips, and a Little Pragmatism
description: Discover how Chengdu's electrified economy, driven by affordable power and new-energy vehicles, contrasts with the U.S.'s growing electricity demand and challenges.
---

[City Different Investments Blog](https://blog.citydifferentinvestments.com)

# [Ships, Chips, and a Little Pragmatism](https://blog.citydifferentinvestments.com/ships-chips-and-a-little-pragmatism)

 Written by [Jong Lim](https://blog.citydifferentinvestments.com/author/jong-lim) | Nov 3, 2026, 6:06:54 PM

### An Investor's View From Singapore

Our Director of Marketing, Sarah Rogala, caught up with Senior Analyst Jong Lim after his recent trip to Singapore. They talked about Singapore’s pragmatism and how it connects to AI, shipping, energy, and our recent research focus.

\[Note: transcript has been edited, with additional notes, for clarity\]

### Of all places, what brought you to Singapore?

My mother and sisters live in Singapore, so we bring the little ones to visit them about once a year.

### You’re based in the U.S. and were recently in China. In your view, what makes Singapore different from the two superpowers?

“Neutrality,” because that’s how Singapore stays relevant to the world. It has positioned itself as a place where both East and West feel comfortable doing business.

Dyson relocated its global headquarters there. One of TikTok’s two global headquarters is in Singapore, too. Sea Ltd., an e-commerce powerhouse, and Grab Holdings, a ride-hailing giant, are based there as well. Even Flex, one of our SMID holdings, is incorporated in Singapore and has important manufacturing facilities there.

### AI is top of mind for everyone, and American and Chinese frontier models grab most of the headlines. What’s Singapore’s approach to AI?

Singapore is a small country without the talent density of its larger peers. It’s not going to build the next frontier AI models, and it doesn’t want to pick sides, either. In fact, Singapore built its Southeast Asian language AI model using both Google’s Gemma (customizable, open-weight version of Gemini) and Alibaba’s Qwen models. The country is attracting OpenAI and Anthropic to establish a presence, and multiple Chinese AI startups are there, too.

Singaporeans are a pragmatic bunch. They believe they don’t have to build the fanciest models themselves to be leaders in putting the best available AI models to work.

*Jong and his little one looking out at ships from Sentosa Island, Singapore.*

### Tell me about this photo

Mostly, we were enjoying the great view and the reminder that geography still matters.

Singapore sits at the southern end of the [Strait of Malacca](https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/hormuz-crisis-throws-spotlight-worlds-largest-chokepoint-malacca-strait-2026-04-23/), which carries more oil than any other maritime chokepoint on Earth, despite the Strait of Hormuz grabbing most of our attention. And amidst all the Iran war headlines, Singapore’s port is quietly the world’s largest ship-refueling hub.

A lot of what’s out on that water is energy, and that’s where our portfolio comes in.

### It seems you’re always thinking about our investments…

Yes! Keppel Shipyard, based in Singapore, converted [two old LNG carriers into floating LNG vessels for Golar LNG](https://worldoil.com/news/2014/12/31/keppel-secures-705-million-flng-contract-from-golar/), one of our former holdings. The second one, Gimi, [started producing gas off the African coast last year](https://lngprime.com/asia/golars-flng-leaves-singapore-to-start-tortue-job/98116/). It's a good win-win story: a 1970s ship, rebuilt in Singapore, now helping African countries export gas.

*Marine engineering at Seatrium's Tuas Boulevard Shipyard in Singapore*

Transocean, which we bought this year, operates two of the world’s latest eighth-generation drillships. Both were built in Singapore, too. This is our bet that offshore energy will continue to strengthen as the world tries to reduce its reliance on the Middle East.

Power is the other piece. Almost all of Singapore's electricity comes from imported gas, and data centers consume roughly [7% of the nation's electricity supply](https://www.datacentres.com/news/singapore-lifts-data-centre-moratorium). That has forced the government to ration new data center capacity.

Power is scarce in the U.S., too, and that is why we own Talen Energy. Its Susquehanna nuclear plant has a long-term contract to supply Amazon Web Services. That said, we see Talen as an electrification story, encompassing electric vehicles, manufacturing reshoring, and more, rather than just an AI trade. Political interference and power-price regulation could still make this a bumpy investment, though.

### Let’s look forward. What is on your research list these days?

Singapore is a small island where land is a real constraint, so it has to plan carefully and build efficiently. The result is a [homeownership rate of around 90%](https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-08-18/singapore-homeownership-sock-yong-phang-henry-george/104237980), with most families living in affordable public housing apartments they own.

The U.S. is obviously very different. Many U.S.-based housing stocks have taken a beating as mortgage rates climbed back above 7%, putting pressure on housing demand as homes become increasingly unaffordable for millennials and first-time buyers.

But we know homeownership is part of the American Dream, and that’s unlikely to change anytime soon. That’s why we’re researching quality homebuilders and other housing-related companies that could weather these rough patches and emerge stronger.

### Okay... so what is the main takeaway for investors?

Singapore might seem random and irrelevant to our investment process at first glance. But dig a little deeper, then a little deeper still, and you’ll find that Singapore matters to us far more than it might seem on the surface.

If there is one lesson from my time in Singapore, it’s their pragmatism and open-minded approach to life. They do not rush into picking sides (among the political powers) because it doesn’t benefit them. They ration land and power, when those are the constraints, and when doing so benefit the average Singaporean over the long-term. I hope we continue this open-minded approach to investing, despite sticking to our time-tested investment framework, which we think is in the best interest of City Different clients over the long-term.

**IMPORTANT DISCLOSURES**

*This post is for informational purposes only and should not be viewed as a recommendation to buy or sell any security or personalized investment advice. Do not assume any securities identified were or will be profitable. Neither the information nor any opinion expressed herein constitutes a solicitation for the purchase or sale of any securities and should not be relied on as financial advice. The information and statistics contained herein have been obtained from sources we believe to be reliable but cannot be guaranteed.  Any projections, market outlooks, or estimates are forward-looking statements and are based upon certain assumptions. Other events that were not taken into account may occur and may significantly affect the returns or performance of these investments.  Any projections, outlooks, or assumptions are subject to change without notice, and should not be construed to be indicative of the actual events which will occur. Past performance is not indicative of future results. There can be no guarantee that any strategy will be successful. All investing involves risk, including the potential loss of principal. To the extent that a reader has any questions regarding the applicability above to his/her individual situation or any specific issue discussed, he/she is encouraged to consult with the professional advisor of his/her choosing.*

##### Visitors to the City Different Investments web and social media sites are asked to read these [terms](https://citydifferentinvestments.com/terms-privacy/).

[View full post](https://blog.citydifferentinvestments.com/ships-chips-and-a-little-pragmatism)

```json
{
  "@context" : "http://schema.org",
  "@type" : "BlogPosting",
  "author" : {
    "@type" : "Person",
    "name" : "Jong Lim"
  },
  "dateModified" : "2026-11-03T18:06:54.528Z",
  "datePublished" : "2026-11-03T18:06:54Z",
  "headline" : "Ships, Chips, and a Little Pragmatism",
  "image" : {
    "@type" : "ImageObject",
    "height" : 1080,
    "url" : "https://19807137.fs1.hubspotusercontent-na1.net/hubfs/19807137/Copy%20of%20farmer%20browne.png",
    "width" : 1920
  },
  "mainEntityOfPage" : "https://blog.citydifferentinvestments.com/ships-chips-and-a-little-pragmatism",
  "publisher" : {
    "@type" : "Organization",
    "logo" : {
      "@type" : "ImageObject",
      "height" : 60,
      "url" : "/hs/hsstatic/content_shared_assets/static-1.4092/img/default-amp-logo.png",
      "width" : 60
    },
    "name" : "Insights Blog"
  }
}
```