Lawrence Wong, Singapore’s finance minister and deputy prime minister in September 2021.
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The Monetary Authority of Singapore, the city-state’s central bank and financial regulator, has appointed Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong as chairman of the board effective July 8.
Wong, the country’s finance minister, will replace Tharman Shanmugaratnam, who has held the role for 12 years since May 2011. the release said.
Shanmugaratnam announced last month that he will run for president in Singapore, which must be held in mid-September. The presidential role is largely symbolic and ceremonial.
Wong, vice president of MAS since June 2021, will serve as chairman until May 31, 2026, according to the press release. He previously served as a member of the MAS Board of Directors from June 2011 to August 2016.
Singapore’s Minister of Trade and Industry Gan Kim Yong will be appointed Vice Chairman of the MAS Council for the same period, from 8 July to 31 May 2026.
Speaking to CNBC in February, he said Singapore faces a the challenge of a “subtle balancing act” when setting government budgets for the year as the economy grapples with a global recession and weakening demand.
Market watchers are closely watching whether Singapore could slip into a technical recession after its economy contracted in the first quarter.
“Our tracking estimates suggest a 0.3% quarter-on-quarter decline in Q2, extending Q1’s 0.4% decline,” said Brian Tan, senior regional economist at Barclays. — implying a shallow technical recession.”
Singapore’s industrial production fell for a second month in May rose 3.9% month-on-month after falling 1.6% in April.
The economist said in a June 26 report that despite the slowdown, Barclays does not expect the central bank to change its monetary policy anytime soon.
“Our long-term view remains that the Monetary Authority of Singapore is unlikely to further tighten its FX policy settings this year – including through ad hoc adjustments between meetings in the coming year. next time,” Tan wrote.
Singapore Straits Times Index saw a bounce shortly after the announcement, paring previous losses and trading 0.33% higher in the end.
