The UK and Singapore recently participated in the 7th UK-Singapore Financial Dialogue, where a Memorandum of Understanding was agreed on the UK-Singapore Fintech Bridge.
Fintech Bridge seeks to support continued growth, investment and technological innovation in the sector, and builds on active interest from fintech players in the areas of payments, regtech and asset management.
Both countries strongly welcomed this expanded collaboration on fintech and the opportunities the industry can deliver in relation to financial inclusion, increased innovation and improved outcomes for consumers.
Shared interests in sustainable finance as well as fintech and innovation were also discussed, including:
- Transitional financing. Recognizing the importance of transition plans and pathways to achieving the Paris Agreement’s goal of limiting global temperature increase to 1.5°C from pre-industrial levels, both countries agreed to explore collaborative opportunities, working with partners such as the UK Transition Plan Taskforce and the Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero (GFANZ) Asia Pacific office, to drive international consistency in the design and publication of transition plans.
- Disclosure Standards. The parties confirmed their strong commitment to the implementation of the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) disclosure standards. Both countries will continue to work with IOSCO, ISSB and other international organizations to implement a comprehensive global baseline of sustainability-related disclosure standards that are interoperable with jurisdiction-specific requirements. They also committed to phasing in mandatory climate-related financial disclosure that provides consistent, comparable and decision-making information for market players and financial authorities.
- Green washing. The two countries discussed efforts to combat greenwashing, including in relation to sustainability disclosures and sustainable investment products. It was agreed that regulators should continue to discuss how to adopt a global, coherent and coordinated approach to regulatory oversight of ESG ratings and providers of data products, based on IOSCO’s recommendations.
- Natural capital and biological diversity. Both countries agreed on the importance of a globally consistent framework for nature-related disclosures and exchanged views on how the efforts of the Taskforce on Nature-Related Financial Disclosures (TNFD) can contribute to the ISSB’s global baseline.
- Crypto asset sector. Both countries shared their latest assessments of market development, opportunities, trends and long-term expectations for the crypto-asset sector. They also discussed risks and challenges related to financial stability, regulatory arbitrage and shared their progress in strengthening consumer protection rules and developing the regulation of stablecoins. There was strong agreement on the need to support the secure development of a digital asset ecosystem while ensuring that risks posed by digital assets are consistently managed. Both countries will continue to participate actively in the design of robust global regulatory practices through involvement in international multilateral forums such as the Financial Stability Board (FSB), the Committee on Payments and Market Infrastructures (CPMI) and IOSCO.
- E-wallets and digital banking. Singapore provided updates on the progress of its e-wallet cap review and anticipated next steps. Both countries discussed the newly released consultation, with the UK giving views on the main proposals. Singapore also updated on the new digital banks that recently started operations in Singapore.
The next dialogue is planned to take place in London in 2023.
