Exclusive: Singapore’s Central Bank Chief on Crypto, AI and Battling Inflation

The country has no plans to roll out a retail central bank digital currency at this juncture, says Chia Der Jiun

Chia Der Jiun, the Monetary Authority of Singapore’s managing director. Photo: MAS

As the central bank of a leading global financial powerhouse, the Monetary Authority of Singapore’s (MAS) policy decisions can have a wide-ranging impact on the global economy and financial sector.

While Singapore is one of the richest countries in the world on a per capita basis, its economy is highly reliant on international trade. The city-state’s exports and imports of goods and services total more than three times its GDP, according to official data. This leaves it vulnerable to geopolitical tensions and disputes, which have been on the rise in recent years.

The U.S. and the European Union have been building up trade barriers to protect their own industries. Regional conflicts have fueled investor panic, and the global economy is still reeling from the fallout of the Covid-19 pandemic, with many central banks around the world, including MAS, trying to keep inflation in check.

In October, MAS kept its monetary policy unchanged, making no adjustments to the policy band of the Singapore dollar nominal effective exchange rate (S$NEER) due to the country’s strengthening growth momentum and an anticipated further decline in core inflation. The S$NEER is the trade-weighted value of the Singapore dollar against a basket of currencies, which the central bank allows to fluctuate within a set range. Adjusting its policy band can influence the exchange rate, thereby affecting Singapore’s international trade, capital flows and inflation.