#mof sg

[cheongcalista]

Minister for Finance Heng Swee Keat delivered the welcome speech at the Opening Ceremony this morning of the ASEAN+3 Macroeconomic Research Office (AMRO), the first international organisation established by the ASEAN+3 member states.

In his speech, Minister Heng highlighted AMRO’s role against the backdrop of the current volatile financial market as well as uncertainties in global and regional economic outlook. He also spoke on the three areas that AMRO should focus in becoming a world-class surveillance organisation. The areas include: • Having a team of capable, highly qualified professional staff, recruited based on merit;   • Deepening expertise in the core areas of economic monitoring and financial surveillance; and • Enhancing cooperation with other international organisations so to complement existing efforts in identifying and assessing global and regional risks and vulnerabilities.

[cheongcalista]

The Ministry of Finance Singapore supports Singapore’s growth towards a value-creating economy, a thriving city, and an inclusive society anchored on shared values. We aim to sustain this through sound public finance policies and management, and an effective and efficient government that seeks to innovate and deliver value for money.

[cheongcalista]

1. Singapore deposited its instrument of ratification for the Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters (“the Convention”) on 20 January 2016. This is a multilateral agreement that Singapore signed on 29 May 2013 to enhance Singapore’s international tax cooperation framework.

2. 92 jurisdictions, including all G20 countries, most OECD countries and major financial centres such as Singapore, Switzerland and Luxembourg, have signed the Convention.

3. Ratifying the Convention will expand Singapore’s network of partners for exchange of information on request by 34 jurisdictions. This is part of a series of changes that Singapore has made in recent years to combat cross-border tax evasion, following Singapore’s adoption of the internationally agreed standard for exchange of information on request (“the Standard”) in 2009.

[cheongcalista]

Governor of Singapore, Mr Heng Swee Keat delivered a statement at the AIIB Inaugural Board of Governors’ Meeting Session 2 this afternoon. In his statement, he made four suggestions. Firstly, the AIIB could help to strengthen the capabilities of policymakers in the region, so that they are better able to structure projects to make them viable and to maximise the economic and social impact that are bankable. Secondly, AIIB could make concerted efforts to leverage its financing and crowd in funding from the private sector as co-investments. Thirdly, the bank could contribute to strengthening and mainstreaming the existing infrastructure financing landscape through exploring innovative mechanisms to spur the development of infrastructure as an asset class. Lastly, he urge the bank to actively collaborate with other multilateral institutions such as the World Bank and ADB to promote sustained growth in Asia and set high standards in governance, procurement, environmental and social safeguards.

[cheongcalista]

Singapore Minister for Finance Heng Swee Keat spoke at the inaugural SNEF Beyond SG50 CEO and Employers Forum. In this speech, he spoke about transforming our economy through value creation by building deep capabilities and linkages, in our companies, in our industries and in our economy, creating new products and delivering better services with better processes in innovative ways, and by developing opportunities and channels for their professional development and progress for our people. This is one key area that the Committee on the Future Economy (CFE) will tackle, and CFE welcome ideas from the public.

[cheongcalista]

The revised Singapore-Luxembourg Avoidance of Double Taxation Agreement (DTA) entered into force on 28 December 2015.

[cheongcalista]

The Minister for Finance has re-appointed two board members to the Singapore Totalisator Board (“Tote Board”) which will take effect from 1 January 2016. The re-appointed board members are Mr Ng Soo Nam (Managing Director and Head of Asian Equities Threadneedle Investments Singapore (Pte) Limited) and Mr Thali Koattiath Udairam (Group Chief Executive Officer Eastern Health Alliance).

[cheongcalista]

Minister for Finance, Mr Heng Swee Keat, will deliver Singapore’s FY2016 Budget Statement in Parliament on Thursday, 24 March 2016. There will be live television and radio coverage of the Budget Statement. A live webcast of the delivery of the Budget Statement will be available as well on MOF’s Singapore Budget website.