|
Singapore - International Financial Centre
The Singapore financial services sector currently constitutes 11% of Singapore's GDP and provides jobs to 5% of the workforce.
Singapore is an international financial centre which serves investors from around the globe. It has attracted a diverse mix of more than 600 local and foreign players, from the world's largest financial institutions to boutique banks. Besides financial institutions, multinational corporations with substantial operations in the Asia-Pacific are also increasingly locating their regional treasury offices here, including a good number of Fortune 500 companies.
Today, Singapore is a significant wealth management centre for the region. It is also the world's fourth largest foreign exchange trading centre. Its strength as an international financial centre has been widely recognised by financial institutions, analysts and commentators. In December 2005, the Banker named Singapore as the "Financial Centre of the Future" in its inaugural ranking of international financial centres.
| Number of Financial Institutions in Major Sectors |
| Insurance Companies / Insurance Brokers |
215 |
| Banks |
156 |
| Fund Management Firms |
91 |
| Stockbroking Companies |
72 |
| Financial Advisors |
60 |
| Futures Brokers |
38 |
Singapore's financial institutions offer a wide array of financial products which thrive under a progressive regulatory regime and strong corporate governance framework. The sector has grown exponentially in the last 20 years, especially in areas like banking, foreign exchange and insurance.
Strategic Location in a Region of Opportunities
Strategically located in the midst of the booming Asian economies, Singapore's strategic geographical location enables it to access 500 million people in the Southeast Asian market and the 2.8 billion strong Asian market within 7 hours of flight time. Its unique location and sophisticated telecommunications network also allow financial institutions to transact business with any part of the world within the same working day. Financial institutions trade around-the-clock with Asia-Pacific centres, as well as European and American centres, making Singapore a significant hub for 24-hour trading in foreign exchange and securities.
With its excellent infrastructure, sound and pro-enterprise regulatory framework, competitive and deep talent pools, Singapore is uniquely positioned as an international financial hub and gateway to regional and global opportunities. Its global connectivity, world-class telecommunications, financial and business infrastructures have made it a choice location for locating regional and global processing hubs.
Banking
- Singapore's banking sector has traditional lending and deposit taking functions and also offers a wide range of corporate and investment banking services.
- More than 100 foreign banks from around the globe reflect the international nature of Singapore's banking sector.
Asian Dollar Market
- An interbank market for transactions in international currencies.
- Over S$600billion as at December 2005
Foreign Exchange Market
- Singapore is the 4th largest foreign exchange trading centre in the world (Bank for International Settlements Triennial Central Bank Survey of Foreign Exchange and Derivatives Market Activity.)
- FX Average daily turnover volume was S$282 billion in 2005.
Derivatives Market
- Singapore is the second largest over the counter (OTC) derivatives centre in Asia.
- 8th largest warrant trading centre in the world with 435 warrants listed on SGX with a trading volume of S$142 million as at March 2006.
Commodities Market
- Singapore is the world's 3rd largest oil refining centre, top bunker port and the Asia Pacific centre for the pricing and trading of oil and rubber.
- 20% of the world's physical oil trade and half of the world's rubber trade is done out of Singapore.
Asset Management
- S$720 billion assets under management (AUM) as at end 2005.
- AUM size has grown 5 times since 1998.
- Over 100 hedge fund managers.
Insurance
- Reinsurance hub in Asia with 17 of the top 25 reinsurers based in Singapore.
- 61 direct insurers.
- Largest Asia Pacific domicile for captive insurance companies.
- Critical mass of insurance brokers.
Deep Financial Talent Pool
Singapore adopts an open policy on admitting international talents to work in Singapore. The financial sector workforce comprises a large and diverse mix of local and international talent and expertise. Washington-based risk consultancy agency, Business Environment Risk Intelligence (BERI), has rated Singapore's workforce tops since 1980. In addition, the IMD world Competitiveness Yearbook 2005 ranked Singapore as second, after the United States, in terms of attractiveness to foreign-skilled people.
The deep talent pool is the result of an excellent education system, as well as a strong and robust continuous learning framework and programmes. It has a good network of training providers offering quality courses, including top universities like the National University of Singapore (NUS), Nanyang Technological University (NTU), Singapore Management University (SMU) and INSEAD, as well as reputable commercial training companies like the Wealth Management Institute, Financial Training Company and FT Knowledge. Most of the major professional qualifications like the CFA, CFP and ChFC are also available in Singapore through its local chapters or partners.
To support continuous learning and upgrading of the financial sector workforce, MAS set up a Financial Sector Development Fund (FSDF) in 2001 to co-fund worthwhile training and development efforts undertaken by the industry. Key players from the financial services industry, MAS, IBF and the Singapore Workforce Development Agency (WDA) also collaborated and implemented a Financial Industry Competency Standards framework in 2005, to raise the professional bar of the financial sector workforce and training providers.
To find out more about the FICS, please click here: http://ibf.org.sg/fics/overview.asp
To find out more about IBF f-NEXT partners, please click here: http://ibf.org.sg/partners/list.asp
|
|
