The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), the city-state’s central bank and financial regulatory body, has made further efforts towards growing the country’s fintech space.
In an announcement today, MAS has created the Global Finance and Technology Network (GFTN), with the goal of further strengthening Singapore as a global fintech hub.
The body will be tasked with building on industry cooperation and enhancing connectivity to develop Singapore’s fintech scene. GFNT and MAS aim to collaborate on areas such as industry and policy dialogues in payments, asset tokenisation, Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Quantum Technology.
Sopnendu Mohant has stepped down from his role as Chief Fintech Officer at MAS to head up the new body as CEO. He will be joined by Ravi Menon, Singapore’s Ambassador for Climate Action and Senior Advisor at the National Climate Change Secretariat, who also was the former Managing Director of MAS, as well as Chairman of its Board of Directors.
Chia Der Jiun, Managing Director of MAS, said, “The establishment of GFTN, with Ravi as the Chairman of GFTN’s Board, marks a new phase in scaling up and enhancing the impact of our fintech strategies.
“MAS is grateful to Sopnendu for leading the Fintech & Innovation Group since its formation in 2015. Ravi and Sopnendu have been instrumental in the growth of Singapore’s fintech ecosystem.
“I wish Sopnendu every success in his new role and look forward to Kenneth driving MAS’ fintech initiatives in payments innovation, asset tokenisation, AI and quantum applications.”
Singapore is one Asia’s largest financial and technology markets, hosting the second largest stock market in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). Like other nations, it has been seeking to grow the role fintech plays in its economy.
This is a goal shared by various nations across the globe. In the UK, for example, fostering innovation in financial services has been a goal of successive Conservative and Labour governments.
Middle Eastern nations such as the UAE and Saudi Arabia are also targeting fintech growth as a means to further diversify their economies. In the former, this has seen the creation of a special zone of the city dedicated to financial services.
In Singapore’s case, MAS wants to build on previous phases and experimentation efforts, such as the launch of a regulatory sandbox framework – something also done in the UK where the digital security sandbox was launched earlier this year.
Additional efforts include promotion of AI, piloting of digital assets and tokenisation, and creation of better cross-border payments linkages.
One of MAS’ major highlights has been the creation of the Singapore Fintech Festival (SFF), an initiative aimed at elevating the nation’s profile in the global fintech landscape.
