(Oct 30): Singapore’s former central bank chief Ravi Menon is reuniting with his former colleagues at a new financial and technology (fintech) network with plans including fund raising for startups.

Menon, who retired this year as head of the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), will be chairman of the central bank’s Global Finance & Technology Network (GFTN), the MAS said in a statement on Wednesday. Sopnendu Mohanty, currently MAS chief fintech officer, will relinquish the role and become chief executive of the new entity in February.

Mohanty, who spent almost 18 years at Citigroup Inc, was appointed by Menon as the regulator’s first fintech chief in 2015. Leong Sing Chiong, an MAS deputy managing director, and Neil Parekh, non-executive chairman for Asia at Tikehau Capital, have been named as deputy chairmen at GFTN.

The appointments came a week before the country’s annual Fintech Festival, now a global event with thousands of attendees, which Menon and Mohanty have worked closely in shaping since its 2016 debut. 

Menon, MAS’ longest-serving chief, is credited with pushing banks and other financial firms in Singapore to adopt financial technology including digitalisation and blockchain from the early 2010s. He has also been advocating for banks to help industries transition towards low-carbon paths and environmental sustainability. 

He is currently Singapore’s ambassador for climate action, a position attached to the prime minister’s office. Menon said he will keep the role while chairing GFTN.

“As a retiree, I have a little bit of bandwidth,” Menon told a media briefing after the announcement. He headed the MAS from 2011 through last year.

GFTN will have four key businesses including organising global conferences on financial technology, providing advice as well as an investment fund for technology startups with social impacts. The firm will be seeking a licence from the MAS for its plan to set up a venture capital fund, Menon said, adding details on the fund are not yet available.

Kenneth Gay, who has spent more than two decades at the MAS, will be appointed as designate chief fintech officer, taking the full role when Mohanty steps down.

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