Singapore, India sign agreement for fintech firms to market products
Singapore and India have signed an agreement that opens a gateway for fintech firms from both countries to market test innovative products in both markets.
Both countries will work together to operate a joint regulatory sandbox, with Sunday’s signing of the FinTech Cooperation Agreement between the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and the International Financial Services Centers Authority (IFSCA).
The regulators will also facilitate collaboration between Indian and Singaporean fintech companies under the agreement.
The signing was witnessed by Singapore’s Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong, who noted that the agreement was the first of its kind for both countries.
“We hope this (agreement) will open up fintech companies from both countries to experiment and pilot innovative products and services to serve both our markets,” said Wong, who was in the western state of Gujarat as part of a five -day visit to India.
“I hope this will stimulate innovation, create new jobs and investment, and further strengthen the development of the fintech industry in both Gujarat and Singapore,” Wong, who is also finance minister and deputy chairman of MAS, said at an official lunch held here. by Gujarat Govt.
A joint press release from MAS and IFSCA said the two regulators will leverage existing regulatory sandboxes in Singapore and Gujarat to support “innovative cross-border experiments” in both jurisdictions.
Under the agreement, the two regulators may also invite other jurisdictions to participate in a global regulatory sandbox for appropriate use cases.
A regulatory sandbox allows firms to test the viability of innovative products and services with real customers under a regulator’s supervision, without the full licenses normally required.
Headquartered in Gujarat International Finance Tec-City (Gift City), IFSCA oversees the financial sector in India’s International Finance Centers (IFSCs). The IFSCs are tax holiday zones that offer financial services to customers outside India, with Gift IFSC being the first such financial center to be developed.
Gujarat is the home state of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who actively pushed for cooperation between the state and Singapore while he was chief minister from 2001 to 2014.
Wong noted that Gujarat accounts for close to 30 percent of India’s exports to Singapore, while the island state is the second largest investor in the state.
He said Gujarat-Singapore links should be seen in “the wider context of the very strong and long-standing partnership between India and Singapore”.
Noting the 22-year relationship between India’s National Stock Exchange (NSE) and the Singapore Exchange (SGX), Wong highlighted the “groundbreaking” NSE IFSC-SGX Connect framework launched in July to allow foreign investors to trade Indian equity derivatives on land.
“We will certainly see both exchanges doing more together and we can expect cross-border operations to increase,” he said.
“By working together, our private sector and our regulators can strengthen the economic connection between our two countries, and I’m sure there is a lot of potential for us to do more.”
During his visit to Gujarat, Wong also met Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel.
Wong tweeted after the meeting: “We confirmed our good relations and talked about technology and the digital economy. We are also committed to exploring more new areas of partnership.”
On Saturday, Wong participated in the first India-Singapore Ministerial Roundtable, a new mechanism between the two countries to discuss comprehensive and newer, emerging areas of cooperation.
