By Chen Lin and Jinghui Kok
SINGAPORE (Reuters) – Singapore has announced plans to overhaul its financial services sector by 2025 to strengthen its position as a “key battleground” to tackle climate change, raise capital to support sustainable finance and green fintech.
The “2025 Industrial Transformation Map”, released by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), will include measures to change the corporate structure used by investment funds, including city-state central banks , family offices, which benefit from tax breaks and 400 USD. million dollars ($285 million) of investment for local industry talent.
The full plan, the full details of which have not been released, comes as Singapore’s appeal as a financial center in Asia grows amid concerns over prolonged COVID-19 restrictions and increased scrutiny from China. mainland on its rival Hong Kong.
“If true, our financial center will remain relevant and competitive and become an important global financial hub connecting global markets, supporting Asian development and serving Singapore’s economy,” the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance said. of Singapore, Lawrence Wong. . minister
Speaking at a press conference, Wong said there was “growing interest” among the wealthy and family offices to do more in philanthropy.
The new MAS plan projects Singapore’s financial sector to grow by an average of 4-5% per year from 2021 to 2025 and create an average of 3,000-4,000 net jobs per year.
The plan includes a fund of US$100 million over five years to support sustainability in the financial sector, such as green fintech, new sustainable financing solutions and reinsurance.
Asia is the “main battlefield” to fight climate change, Wang said. “The financial sector must do its part – mobilize capital through financing and investments that support the region’s transition to net zero,” he said.
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Under the plan, the corporate structure used by the investment fund will be “enhanced” with family offices known as companies with variable capital (CVC), although details of the expansion are not yet known. not disclosed later. The VCC was first introduced in 2020 and offers tax exemptions.
MAS said it has received a request to improve the structure of the VCC so that more industry participants and asset owners can manage the VCC and convert the existing business structure into a VCC.
“The wealth management industry in Singapore has continued to perform well in recent years, recording healthy growth despite the pandemic. We are seeing inflows from multiple sources outside of Singapore, including North America, Europe, North Asia and South East Asia,” MAS said.
($1 = 1.4050 Singapore dollars)
(Reporting by Chen Lin and Jinghui Kok in Singapore; Editing by Kenneth Maxwell)