The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has said it expects inflation, now at a 26-year high of 6.7 percent, to cool to an average 4 percent in the second half of this year. Singapore's central bank also said on Tuesday that economic growth will slow in 2008, but the expansion will likely remain at a healthy level even under a tighter monetary policy. "Full-year gross domestic growth of between 4%-6%...
MAS
The central bank has reiterated its stance that it will not regulate the Islamic banking market here in Singapore. At a conference on Islamic Finance on Tuesday, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) instead argued that Shariah-compliance should be regulated internally as part of a bank's good practice in governance and control. The Islamic banking market is estimated to be worth as much as US$800...
Finance Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam on Sunday said Singapore has to be on its guard against inflation, or the country's growth could be undermined. Responding to questions about the recent monetary adjustments made by Singapore's central bank, Mr Tharman said the adjustments were not made in response to short-term inflationary pressures. "If you don't continuously focus on the mid-term, we'll also...
Monetary authority acts to curb inflation The Singapore dollar climbed to a record high yesterday after a surprise tightening in monetary policy aimed at combating inflation. The currency jumped 1.7 per cent in Asian trade to touch a high of $1.3567 in afternoon trade - its largest single-day gain since October 1998. While a rising Singapore dollar can provide consumers some respite from spiralling...
Fitch Ratings expects property trusts to see more mergers and acquisitions (M&As) in the near-to-medium term, with those trading below their book values likely to become targets of acquisitions. Under certain conditions, the ratings firm said: “Such M&As could affect the credit ratings of the affected” real estate investment trusts (Reits). “Fitch believes that consolidation of the Singapore...