(Oct 14): Singapore must work faster and harder as it competes with other global hubs that manage wealth, Deputy Prime Minister Gan Kim Yong said.

“We have always been competing with financial centres around the world, in Hong Kong, Dubai, London or New York,” he said in an interview with Bloomberg Television with Haslinda Amin at the New Economy Forum in New Delhi on Wednesday. 

As global supply chains and investment flows shift, Singapore’s important role as a financial hub will provide further opportunities, he said. The island nation continues to ensure that its regulations are up to date in facilitating operations for wealth management, he added. 

“We can move fast and that is our strength,” said Gan.

While Singapore has benefited from rising flows from the rich, competition from Hong Kong and other wealth hubs has prompted policymakers to mull new measures to stay attractive. Regulators in August announced a suite of measures aimed at bolstering its asset management industry, including potentially lucrative tax exemptions for individual fund managers.

Singapore is also interested in developing cross-border electricity trading as the need for green energy grows, said Gan. 

However, “it’s a very major challenge for countries to come together” in implementing an Asean energy grid, which will likely take multiple decades, he added, referring to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.

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