DPM Heng Swee Keat (left) and ABS chairman and DBS' Piyush Gupta, in a fireside chat at the 51st Association of Banks in Singapore (ABS) Annual Dinner on June 28, 2024. - Photo: ST
SINGAPORE: Singapore should position itself as a trusted and neutral node for technology, innovation and enterprise, said Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat on Friday (June 28).
“If you look at the International Monetary Fund and World Bank’s projections of global growth over the next five years, Asia will lead the world in terms of gross domestic product growth.
"There are a lot of opportunities in Asia, and we are in the heart of Asia, so we should think hard about this,” he said.
DPM Heng was speaking at a fireside chat moderated by DBS Bank chief executive Piyush Gupta during the 51st anniversary of the Association of Banks in Singapore (ABS).
Heng, who is also Coordinating Minister for Economic Policies, said disruptions to the economy such as the Covid-19 pandemic, bifurcation of the global supply chain and the United States-China trade tensions can occur, which is why Singapore companies need to be able to navigate these challenges.
He added that it is important for the financial industry to have a “strong linkage” to the real economy: “The financial sector plays a very important role not just in preserving wealth, but also in generating future wealth.”
Heng said Singapore must continue to maintain a neutral stance in the light of tensions between the US and China.
He said: “We have articulated very clearly to the Americans, the Chinese, and the rest of the world that we don’t want to take sides; we want to be able to work with both sides.”
DBS’ Gupta, who is also chairman of the ABS, noted in his opening statement that issues such as technological advances, climate and sustainability and trust will continue to be key themes in the financial industry.
He said: “Trust is the cornerstone of the banking industry and we are fortunate that in Singapore, banks are highly trusted entities by the public.
“However, the proliferation of scams has increased the risk of trust erosion among consumers.”
There were 46,563 scam cases reported in 2023 – the highest number since the police started tracking them in 2016, a 47 per cent increase from 2022.
The ABS marked its anniversary by announcing the winner of its anti-scam mascot design competition, which began in April and was open to Singapore citizens, permanent residents, work permit holders, professionals, student pass holders and organisations.
The competition received nearly 400 entries.
The association said it wanted the mascot to be visually present in households to keep the anti-scam message top of mind among children and adults.
Constance Ambre Le Grand de Mercey, a 10-year-old pupil, snagged the first prize of S$10,000 for her design “Leon the Skameleon” – a hand-drawn chameleon with a QR code containing scam information.
The second prize of S$3,000 went to comic artist Andy Choo for his creation “PAW (Pause And Wait) the Cat”, while the third prize of S$2,000 was awarded to education officer Yang Wenjun for his design “Spotty, a red dot”. - The Straits Times/ANN
