The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) will restrict the tenure of loans granted by financial institutions for the purchase of residential properties, effective from 6 October. MAS' move is part of the government's broader aim of avoiding a price bubble and fostering long-term stability in the property market. The new rules impose an absolute limit of 35 years on the tenure of all loans for...
Monetary Authority of Singapore
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%...
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...