Singapore and the United Kingdom have highlighted their strong and continued collaboration between the two countries, with a focus on several key themes, including digital finance and innovation, sustainable finance, capital markets and international regulatory developments.
The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) said in a statement on Thursday that the two countries held the 10th UK-Singapore Financial Dialogue in London on Wednesday, and have exchanged views on how each country harnesses potential and addresses challenges across the digital landscape, and reaffirmed their continued partnership in this area.
Participants also discussed tokenization, including regulatory updates.
Meanwhile, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and the MAS reflected on the progress of Project Guardian, and agreed to deepen collaboration through joint work with the UK’s Investment Association and the Investment Management Association of Singapore.
The work will explore the impact of asset tokenization from the investor perspective and help drive greater adoption of tokenized assets in both markets.
The UK also shared its experience to date in joining the Global Layer One initiative, while Singapore provided an update on the initiative’s progress and focus areas.
The UK and Singapore also discussed the adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) in the financial services sector, including current trends, emerging use cases, barriers to adoption and their respective approaches to AI regulation.
The FCA and MAS agreed to develop joint collaboration on AI, focusing on sharing innovative AI solutions and holding discussions on cross-border AI developments.
It is noted that the FCA-MAS AI Innovation Showcase in London on July 3 will kick off this collaborative program with leading AI-in-finance solutions from the UK and Singapore.
The two countries also shared updates on their respective approaches to fostering sustainable finance.
The UK shared its work following the Transition Finance Market Review and the creation of the Transition Finance Council.
They also shared progress on the Prudential Regulation Authority’s proposed update to its supervisory expectations on the management of climate-related risks by banks and insurers.
Singapore provided updates on the adoption of the Singapore-Asia Taxonomy by the financial industry, public sector and corporates and its inclusion in the International Platform on Sustainable Finance’s Multi-Jurisdiction Common Ground Taxonomy.
The discussion also covered voluntary carbon markets, with both parties acknowledging the value of collaborating to promote high-integrity carbon markets.
The UK outlined its consultation on a governance framework for voluntary carbon credits, designed to boost demand and support its broader carbon markets strategy.
MAS shared Singapore’s initiatives to grow carbon markets and support greater participation from financial institutions, including efforts to develop transition credits as a strategic use case to build confidence and scale broader carbon markets.
Both sides also exchanged updates on the progress in their respective efforts to improve consistency and comparability of sustainability-related disclosures, including through a phased and proportionate move towards adoption of International Sustainability Standards Board standards.
The UK also shared an update on its Sustainability Disclosure Requirements and labelling regime for investors, as well as updating on its progress in developing a future regulatory framework for ESG rating providers.
Both sides reaffirmed the importance of interoperability, building on the International Organization of Securities Commissions’ recommendations for environmental, social, and governance (ESG) Rating and Data Providers.
Participants also exchanged views on measures to strengthen capital markets.
The UK shared updates on recent pensions reforms aimed at driving investment and innovation, as well as its commitment to adopt a T+1 settlement cycle by October 2027.
MAS provided an update on the first set of measures announced by the Equities Market Review Group to deepen liquidity, strengthen the equity research and fund management ecosystem, attract quality listings and associated upcoming work.
The two countries also exchanged views on international financial regulatory engagement and priorities, including at the Financial Stability Board (FSB).
The UK set out Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey’s priorities as FSB Chair.
Both parties emphasized the importance of the FSB’s work on non-bank financial intermediation, particularly the implementation of the FSB leverage recommendations, with the aim to address vulnerabilities in core funding markets.
They also supported the broader work to enhance authorities’ ability to identify and mitigate risks and vulnerabilities in the non-bank sector, including addressing data challenges.
Both the UK and Singapore recognized the importance of strong prudential standards for banks in safeguarding financial stability.
The UK reaffirmed their commitment to the implementation of the Basel III framework.
MAS has implemented the Basel III reforms fully from 1 January 2025 and shared their considerations and lessons from the implementation of the Basel III framework.
The UK and Singapore also renewed their commitment to engagement beyond the dialogue through a series of roadmap engagements to explore further cooperation in sustainable finance and innovation, ahead of the next Financial Dialogue due to be held in Singapore in 2026.
The Financial Dialogue was followed by an industry-led UK-Singapore business roundtable on July 3 with participation from industry representatives from both countries.
The roundtable opened with senior participants sharing reflections on the discussions held the previous day, before moving on to a discussion on AI.
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