Market Snapshot

On Tuesday, Singapore's STI Index climbed in early trading, rising more than 0.3%. DBS gained 1%, while AEM SGD fell more than 3%, UMS dropped over 2%, and Singtel declined 1%.

SG Local News

‘Bringing Asean together as a single market’: PM Wong

For South-east Asia to continue attracting investments, the challenge lies in bringing Asean together as a single market, while encouraging entrepreneurship and innovation, said Prime Minister Lawrence Wong.

“We really have to harness the benefits of a single market, which we don’t have today,” he said.

PM Wong was speaking at a dialogue with DBS CEO Tan Su Shan at the DBS Asia Future Forward Conference held at the Suntec Singapore Convention & Exhibition Centre on Monday (Oct 12).

They discussed a range of topics, from how to responsibly manage the impact of artificial intelligence on jobs, to encouraging liquidity, confidence and interconnectedness in Asia’s capital markets.

In response to a question on Asean’s separate markets, PM Wong said: “We are like Europe, but in fact, even further behind because the complexity of operating in South-east Asia is far greater than in Europe.”

However, he noted that every challenge presents an opportunity for Asean to integrate its economies more closely.

Economists expect MAS to tighten monetary policy again in October, though some see room for a pause

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) is widely expected to tighten monetary policy for a third consecutive time at its upcoming policy meeting, though some economists say it could hold instead.

Several economists expect MAS to steepen the slope of the Singapore dollar nominal effective exchange rate (S$NEER) policy band “very slightly” when it announces its decision on Wednesday (Oct 14).

UOB, Barclays and Bank of America (BOA) each expect a 25-basis-point increase, which would lift the slope to 1.5 per cent per annum from an estimated 1.25 per cent. Maybank and DBS also expect a slight steepening.

A bigger move in October appears unlikely. Barclays economists Brian Tan, Aastha Gudwani and Amruta Ghare said that the chance of MAS re-centring the band upwards – a more aggressive form of tightening – remains slim, as it would need more evidence of significant demand-pull inflation or import costs surging beyond energy.