One of the highlights from the 2017 National Day Rally was Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong's call for Singaporeans to embrace cash-less living.

Right off the bat, potential billionaire and one-time-Sumiko-lunch-buddy Tan Min-Liang, better known as the CEO of Singapore gaming technology company Razer, tweeted this to PM Lee:

That was two weeks ago.

Loudly announced

On Sept. 7, Tan announced that, as promised, Razer has delivered a 36-page proposal to the Prime Minister's Office (PMO), the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), and the Smart Nation and Digital Government Office (SNDGO).

Proposal summary online

While the whole proposal is not available to the public for reading, a six-page executive summary can be found here.

The summary gives a broad idea of Razer's proposal, namely:

1. To develop a Common E-payment Framework (CEF) which (ideally) would be managed by MAS. This CEF would be able to accommodate works all other e-payment solutions.
2. Support existing E-payment solution (such as TenPay, Alipay etc) or develop RazerPay -- any of which must be compliant with the above CEF.

In line with Tan's vision that this e-payment system will be set up for the "public good", the proposal also noted that Razer will cease RazerPay and focus on supporting another e-payment solution if the alternative achieves widespread adoption in Singapore.

Additionally, Tan mentioned that Razer will be committing S$10 million as seed funding, and listed a number of jobs for Singaporeans to fill.

Why the bombast?

If you are questioning why the Razer CEO has suddenly appeared out of nowhere to become part of the cashless e-payment system and national conversation, there are two things you need to note:

1. Tan is a business show man:

2. Razer IPO

Razer is launching its initial public offering soon, possibly in October 2017.

The company hasn’t disclosed the amount it plans to raise from the public offering, but it is reportedly over US$600 million.

Razer is betting big on the notion that 2 billion people, or some one-third of the entire world's population, would become gamers. This data was included in a draft prospectus Razer lodged with the Hong Kong stock exchange on June 29 in preparation for a flotation.

Currently, Razer’s private market valuation stands at US$2 billion.

According to Reuters on July 12, Razer is considering a valuation range of between US$3 billion to US$5 billion, with a final decision on the size of IPO and its overall value depending on market conditions at the time of the deal.

Publicity ups Razer's valuation

And any high-profile publicity in the lead-up to the Razer IPO would stand the company in good stead. For example, a banter with PM Lee and the hijacking of the national conversation.

The core business of selling gaming mice and other hardware is suddenly potentially supplemented with being tasked to build the e-payments system for an entire country.

Potential billionaire

Going back to Razer's IPO, the biggest beneficiary of the flotation will be Tan Min-Liang and his family.

They control more than 41 percent of the shares through a vehicle called Chen Family (Hivemind) Holdings, worth US$794 million, based on the last round of private financing in May 2017.

If the shares continue to trade upward, the stake will be worth significantly more.

Razer's new fortunes will see Tan join the super-rich in Southeast Asia and around the world.

Response from the ground

Tan's proposal naturally received a number of comments, some trumpeting Tan's nationalistic slogan, "For Singaporeans, By Singaporeans".

Others had more critical responses, especially calling out the need for an open framework when such platforms already exist, and even suggestions to promote wide-pread adoption of e-payment solutions.

But last of all, our favourite comment was:

So, now you see why there is no need to low key submit the proposal to the PMO.

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Top photo via Rise on Flickr