Minister of National Development and Vice Chairman of the Monetary Authority of Singapore Xu Fangda pointed out that the financial field is the main driving force for my country's economic development. Governments and enterprises can promote economic transformation and resilience by consolidating Singapore's position as a trusted financial hub, strengthening connectivity between ASEAN and other regions, improving competitiveness and exploring new growth areas, and promoting economic transformation and resilience.
He gave an example that Singapore, Thailand and Malaysia have achieved cross-border real-time electronic transfers. In the following, the five ASEAN countries (Singapore, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand and Indonesia) will cooperate with India to launch the instant payment system Nexus. This means businesses can expect faster and safer cross-border payments activities.
The tariff war brings many uncertainties to the global business environment, but financial companies and investment institutions can turn crises into business opportunities, accelerate corporate transformation, and seek more trade and investment opportunities between regions.
Xu Fangda is also a member of the Economic Resilience Group. This group, chaired by Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Trade and Industry, aims to help Singaporean companies and employees cope with the current uncertainty of global trade through working with tripartite partners.
Xu Fangda said in a keynote speech at the Nomura Investment Forum on Wednesday (June 4): "The tariffs and various uncertainties caused by US trade policy will inevitably have an impact on Singapore, but this does not mean that we will not be able to seek business opportunities and further expand trade and investment cooperation opportunities with other countries and regions."
Xu Fangda said at the forum's fireside dialogue that compared with the government's focus on resisting the current challenges when responding to the COVID-19 epidemic, the Economic Resilience Group will not only focus on the current challenges, but also focus on the "second round" of the tariff war (part 2), that is, to deal with the future trade and investment environment.
He revealed that the group is still reviewing my country's future economic development, but one thing is certain that Singapore will continue to deepen regional trade ties such as ASEAN, the EU and maybe even Latin America.