Latest news with #ChiaDerJiun
Malay Mail
16-07-2025
- Business
- Malay Mail
Singapore central bank warns of slowdown in H2 2025 despite strong early gains
SINGAPORE, July 16 — Singapore's economic growth is likely to slow in the second half of the year despite a better-than-expected performance in the first half because of uncertainties over tariffs, the head of its central bank said yesterday. Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) managing director Chia Der Jiun, speaking during the release of the central bank's annual report, said this was in line with the central bank's expectations of slower global economic activity and weaker external demand. Chia said there was considerable uncertainty given the range of potential outcomes. 'There is a range of possibilities around the extent and scope of tariffs, whether trade agreements are concluded and prove to be durable, and whether escalating trade conflicts recur,' he said. On Monday, the city-state reported preliminary growth of 4.3 per cent for the second quarter compared to a year earlier, pegged to the front-loading of exports during a pause in US tariffs. The trade ministry in April downgraded the city-state's GDP forecast for 2025 to a range of 0 per cent to 2 per cent, down from 1 per cent to 3 per cent. 'Consumption and investment will likely soften in the months ahead,' said Chia. US President Donald Trump last week notified more than 20 countries of tariff rates of 20 per cent to 50 per cent that will kick in from August 1, warning that any reprisals would draw a like-for-like response. Singapore has not yet received a letter from the Trump administration this round and its exports are still subject to the 10 per cent baseline tariff announced in April. Chia told the media briefing that the MAS made a net profit of S$19.7 billion (RM66.25 billion) in the 2024/25 financial year. Assets under management in Singapore grew 12.2 per cent year-on-year to exceed S$6 trillion for the first time. 'Singapore continues to be a trusted and attractive wealth management centre underpinned by high standards of regulation,' said Chia. The MAS this month gave penalties of $21.5 million to nine financial institutions, including Citibank, Julius Baer and UBS, for their role in the 2023 S$3 billion money laundering case. 'Our financial eco-system will be tough on suspicious and illegitimate monies, but welcoming and efficient to legitimate wealth,' Chia said. — Reuters
Reuters
15-07-2025
- Business
- Reuters
Singapore c.bank warns of slower growth in second half of 2025
SINGAPORE, July 15 (Reuters) - Singapore's economic growth is likely to slow in the second half of the year despite a better-than-expected performance in the first half because of uncertainties over tariffs, the head of its central bank said on Tuesday. Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) managing director Chia Der Jiun, speaking during the release of the central bank's annual report, said this was in line with the central bank's expectations of slower global economic activity and weaker external demand. Chia said there was considerable uncertainty given the range of potential outcomes. "There is a range of possibilities around the extent and scope of tariffs, whether trade agreements are concluded and prove to be durable, and whether escalating trade conflicts recur," he said. On Monday, the city-state reported preliminary growth of 4.3% for the second quarter compared to a year earlier, pegged to the front-loading of exports during a pause in U.S. tariffs. The trade ministry in April downgraded the city-state's GDP forecast for 2025 to a range of 0% to 2%, down from 1% to 3%. "Consumption and investment will likely soften in the months ahead," said Chia. U.S. President Donald Trump last week notified more than 20 countries of tariff rates of 20% to 50% that will kick in from August 1, warning that any reprisals would draw a like-for-like response. Singapore has not yet received a letter from the Trump administration this round and its exports are still subject to the 10% baseline tariff announced in April. Chia told the media briefing that the MAS made a net profit of S$19.7 billion ($15.38 billion) in the 2024/25 financial year. Assets under management in Singapore grew 12.2% year-on-year to exceed S$6 trillion for the first time. "Singapore continues to be a trusted and attractive wealth management centre underpinned by high standards of regulation," said Chia. The MAS this month gave penalties of $21.5 million to nine financial institutions, including Citibank, Julius Baer and UBS, for their role in the 2023 S$3 billion money laundering case. "Our financial eco-system will be tough on suspicious and illegitimate monies, but welcoming and efficient to legitimate wealth," Chia said. ($1 = 1.2811 Singapore dollars)
Straits Times
15-07-2025
- Business
- Straits Times
MAS records net profit of $19.7 billion, fuelled by investment gains
Find out what's new on ST website and app. MAS had swung back into the black with a net profit of $3.8 billion from a net loss of $30.8 billion the year before. SINGAPORE - A better-than-expected growth in Singapore's financial sector has propelled the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) to generate higher net profits driven by investment gains. The MAS said on July 15 that it recorded a net profit of $19.7 billion in the fiscal year ended March 31, 2025. In the fiscal year ended March 31, 2024, MAS had swung back into the black with a net profit of $3.8 billion from a net loss of $30.8 billion the year before. The central bank's managing director Chia Der Jiun told a media briefing the $19.7 billion net profit was driven by investment gains of $31.4 billion from the management of MAS' foreign investments. This was partially offset by a negative currency translation effect of $3.4 billion. It also took into account the net expense of $8.3 billion, mainly from money market operations to manage banking system liquidity, after offsetting interest income from Reserves Management Government Securities (RMGS). RMGS is a type of non-marketable security issued by the Government to MAS to facilitate the transfer of excess Official Foreign Reserves (OFR) to the Government for longer-term management by GIC. Excess OFR arises when MAS accumulates reserves that are above what is required for conducting monetary policy and supporting financial stability. Mr Chia said the currency impact was due to the Singapore dollar's appreciation against the US dollar. Despite the year-to-year fluctuations, the average annual net profit over the past decade was $14.8 billion, Mr Chia told a media briefing. He warned that the MAS's investment performance may be affected by global economic uncertainties in the coming year.
Business Times
15-07-2025
- Business
- Business Times
Society has to choose security over convenience when dealing with scams: MAS chief
[SINGAPORE] As a society, there is a need to choose more security over convenience especially when dealing with scams, said Chia Der Jiun, managing director of the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS). This comes as measures to fight scams inevitably introduce more friction and delays to users. 'While the industry will do its best to minimise the inconvenience and give time for customers to get used to the new measures, as a society we will have to make the choice for more security and less convenience,' he said at the release of MAS' annual report on Tuesday (Jul 15). Chia noted that MAS has been working with banks and payment service providers to implement stronger safeguards to disrupt scam transactions. For example, banks have phased out SMS one-time passwords for digital token user account logins and authentication of card transactions, while some major retail banks have implemented pre-transaction warnings for large value transfers made via digital banking. MAS has also seen growing take-up of measures to safeguard deposits, such as money lock. BT in your inbox Start and end each day with the latest news stories and analyses delivered straight to your inbox. Sign Up Sign Up As at May 31, 2025, at least 350,000 bank customers have signed up to use money lock and set aside close to S$28 billion of savings, Chia said. Meanwhile, MAS has been looking to further strengthen the user authentication toolkit to defend against phishing. It has been working with banks to use hardware tokens that are compliant with the Fast Identity Online Alliance (Fido) for higher risk Internet banking payments and transfers. To approve a transaction, the token will need to be plugged into the device that an individual uses. This will make it difficult for scammers to remotely perform unauthorised transactions. In the meantime, Chia noted the need to do better collectively as a society to combat all types of scams. 'Vigilance by each of us as consumers remains an important first line of defence,' Chia said.
Business Times
15-07-2025
- Business
- Business Times
New MAS programme to help financial institutions fast-track AI adoption, minimise guesswork
[SINGAPORE] Financial institutions in Singapore can now tap – a new programme that helps them adopt artificial intelligence (AI) more quickly and effectively. The programme features a curated library of AI use cases, industry validated solutions and best practices shared by industry peers, cutting down the time and effort needed to search, select and implement AI solutions. The initiative aims to support financial institutions in the earlier stages of their AI adoption journey, said Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) managing director Chia Der Jiun on Tuesday (Jul 15), at the release of the central bank's annual report. also connects participating firms with established training providers offering skills programmes aligned with their chosen AI tools and platforms. Twenty financial institutions have already joined the programme. These include Green Link Digital Bank, MUFG, Standard Chartered, Trust Bank, Ant International, Liquid Group, BoltTech, FWD, and Funding Societies. 'We welcome more financial institutions to join the programme,' said Chia. As financial institutions expand the scale and scope of AI adoption, they must also strengthen governance and risk management to ensure responsible use, he added. BT in your inbox Start and end each day with the latest news stories and analyses delivered straight to your inbox. Sign Up Sign Up To support this, MAS is developing supervisory guidance for financial institutions. This includes a set of guidelines on managing AI-related risks, which is currently in progress. 'There are key risks around model, data, technology and third-party risks,' said Chia. 'Poor management of these risks can result in wrong or even harmful information used in internal decision-making or advice given to customers and investors.' Completion of QKD sandbox On Tuesday, Chia also announced that MAS has successfully completed its sandbox trial for quantum key distribution (QKD) – a secure method for exchanging cryptographic keys. The sandbox, launched in August 2024, tested how QKD can be used to protect sensitive financial data against future cybersecurity threats posed by quantum computing. A technical report detailing the results and key findings will be published soon. 'The report will also highlight challenges for future work,' said Chia. 'We are confident that further work by the industry can address these challenges and enable wider adoption of QKD in time to come.' MAS has also begun working with financial institutions to prepare for a 'quantum-safe' transition, as future advances in quantum computing could render today's encryption standards obsolete. The central bank will review how financial institutions manage their cryptographic inventory and identify critical assets that should be prioritised for quantum-safe migration, said Chia. They 'should kick-start their preparation early', he added. 'Given the complexity and scale, a full transition is expected to take time and significant effort.'
