SINGAPORE (June 24): Facebook is launching a digital currency that can be used seamlessly on mobile phones at near-zero fees. The social networking giant will also build its own mobile wallet, Calibra, which will act almost like a bank, hosting accounts, giving out loans and even having Calibra-branded ATMs.
SINGAPORE (June 13): Three government agencies are pooling resources to organise a mega multi-day event this November for an global audience tied by the common purpose of pushing innovation and entrepreneurship.
The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), Enterprise Singapore and the National Research Foundation (NRF) on Thursday announced that the Singapore FinTech Festival (SFF) and the Singapore Week of Innovation and TeCHnology (SWITCH) will be merged as an event called SFF x SWITCH.
SINGAPORE (June 12): Concerns about escalating global trade protectionism continue to dominate the list of potential downside risks, reflecting recent developments in US-China relations.
The proportion of respondents who expect an escalation in trade frictions to present a downside risk also rose to 94.1%.
This according to the June survey of professional forecasters by the economic policy group of the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) which was published on Wednesday.
(June 12): Grab, Southeast Asia’s most valuable startup, is exploring a move into Singapore banking as regulators in the Southeast Asian city-state consider allowing online-only banks, four people with knowledge of the process said.
Grab is close to hiring a consultancy to advise it on its banking potential and is gearing up to apply for a digital-only bank license in Singapore if the banking regulator decides to open up the sector, said the people, who declined to be identified as they were not authorised to speak to the media.
SINGAPORE (June 10): One of the last things we used to do before closing each issue of The Edge Singapore in our early days was hammer out a little column called “Behind the Stories”. As its name suggests, its purpose was to explain why we had pursued the key stories in our pages in any given week, and provide some additional context and insight for which there might not have been room in the stories themselves.
SINGAPORE (June 3): In these times, Financial Institutions (FIs) like banks and brokerages need to be a positive force for good and merely being safer or doing no harm is not enough.
But for FIs to be a force for good, they must be trusted, inclusive and sustainable, says Ravi Menon, Managing Director, Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS).
SINGAPORE (June 3): “MAS does not and cannot use the exchange rate to gain an export advantage or achieve a current account surplus.” — The Monetary Authority of Singapore, responding to the US’ inclusion of Singapore on a watch list for exchange rate and macroeconomic policies.
(June 3): June 7 will mark the end of Theresa May’s tenure as British Prime Minister, after a three-year leadership fraught with bad mistakes, resignations, controversy and widely panned policies. Her time as PM will be defined by her inability to deliver Brexit. Even as she broke down in tears after her farewell speech outside Downing Street, there is little sympathy for the “Maybot”.
SINGAPORE (May 29): The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has said it does not manipulate its currency for export advantage, in response to media queries on the US Treasury Report on Macroeconomic and Foreign Exchange Policies released today.
The US Treasury on May 29 added Singapore, Malaysia and Vietnam to a watchlist for exchange rate and macroeconomic policy.
SINGAPORE (May 22): In 2015, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) announced the “Smart Financial Centre” plan as part of the Smart Nation vision for Singapore, designating the financial sector to lead innovation and the implementation of new technology.
Since then we have witnessed many developments including progress towards a conducive regulatory environment, which has resulted in Singapore’s flourishing fintech ecosystem.
For the plan to be effective, the MAS devised several initiatives, including:
