This was agreed at a meeting in Singapore between George Osborne, the UK’s chancellor of the exchequer, and Tharman Shanmugaratnam, Singapore’s deputy prime minister, minister for finance and chairman of the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS).
The ‘UK-Singapore Financial Dialogue’ will form the basis for a regular and structured exchange of views on domestic and international financial issues, according to a statement on the MAS website.
Shanmugaratnam said:“The UK-Singapore Financial Dialogue reflects our common interests in promoting a stable and vibrant international financial system, and will help strengthen what is already a solid base of economic and financial cooperation.”
“The new private sector forum will also help advance cooperation as we each play our role in developing the offshore RMB market. Outside of China and Hong Kong, London and Singapore are the leading centres for RMB trading and financing, and serve different investor bases and business communities. The two centres can cooperate to promote fungibility of the RMB globally, encourage innovation in RMB products and services and meet the growing appetite for RMB investment instruments.”
The private sector forum, aimed at boosting the offshore renminbi market, will be led by the private sector and focus on increasing cooperation between the UK and Singapore markets.
Making his first trip to Singapore, Osborne said: “I am delighted to be able to announce the new UK-Singapore Financial Dialogue. The UK and Singapore are both leading financial centres.”
“Sharing our knowledge and expertise will open up new opportunities for both of our economies and help the UK succeed in the global race. London and Singapore are integral players in renminbi markets outside of Greater China. Our financial firms and institutions are leading the way in promoting the use of Renminbi and I am pleased to support work to help develop it further.”
