goh chok tong : challenges and opportunities for singapore ’ s insurance industry speech by mr goh chok tong, senior minister and chairman of the board of directors of the monetary authority of singapore, at the national trades union congress ( ntuc ) income 40th anniversary gala dinner, singapore, 22 october 2010. * * * 1. in 1990 and 2000, i had the pleasure of celebrating with you income ’ s 20th and 30th anniversaries. i am very happy to see that income has grown from strength to strength as it celebrates its 40th anniversary. naturally, i am anxiously looking forward to your 50th anniversary. formation of income and adhering to sound principles 2. income was another of the many initiatives of the late dr goh keng swee. at the “ modernisation of the labour movement ” seminar in 1969, he mooted the idea of setting up a life insurance co - operative ( “ co - op ” ). a year after, income was formed. 3. dr goh believed that a life insurance co - op would advance the cause of the labour movement. such a co - op would be fulfilling a genuine social need. by getting members of the working class to take out life insurance policies at a cost they can afford, the co - op will help them alleviate hardship at times of unexpected events and build up valuable savings for old age. besides, the labour movement is an inclusive one, bridging different communities, languages and even to some extent, status. the network of trade unions and branches would provide the life insurance co - op with a clear advantage over private enterprise. 4. to ensure that the co - op would succeed, the realist in dr goh laid down a few principles for its operation. first, the co - op must be fully competitive with private enterprises and cannot expect privileged treatment from the government. second, the co - op must have effective management. third, all levels of staff should be recruited based on merit and not affiliations with the labour movement or government. it was the steadfast adherence to these sound principles that has kept income successful over the past 40 years. the growth of singapore ’ s insurance industry 5. at income ’ s 30th anniversary celebration, i had sketched out the changes in the global financial landscape, and how mas had to liberalise the domestic insurance industry. reputable foreign insurers were allowed to set up in singapore or enter into strategic alliances with existing local insurers. the hope was

national university of singapore, the world bank, and google have come on board as partners to the accelerator. international co - operation remains key to growing the asian carbon credits market. the task force for scaling voluntary carbon markets, sponsored by the institute of international finance, has launched a consultation paper outlining 17 very sensible recommendations. singapore is keen to work with like - minded countries and businesses to test - bed the recommendations of the task force … … and to start laying the foundations for a viable carbon credits market in asia. green finance action plan the second way in which singapore seeks to facilitate asia ’ s transition to a sustainable future is through the green finance action plan, which mas launched at the fintech festival last year. the green finance action plan comprises four strategies : strengthen the financial sector ’ s resilience to environmental risks ; develop green financial solutions and markets for a sustainable economy ; build knowledge and capabilities in sustainable finance ; and harness technology to enable trusted and efficient sustainable finance flows. let me briefly outline the progress we have made under the first three strategies and spend a bit more time on the last – on harnessing technology. first, strengthening the financial sector ’ s resilience to environmental risks. later today, mas will issue finalised guidelines for financial institutions to manage their environmental risks. the guidelines are among the first of its kind in the asia - pacific to apply to all financial institutions, across banking, insurance, and asset management. the guidelines are comprehensive, covering environmental risks besides climate change – such as pollution, loss of biodiversity, and changes in land use. mas will assess environmental risk in our supervision of financial institutions and conduct by end - 2022 industry - wide stress tests on the impact of climate risks. second, encouraging the development of green financial products and solutions. mas is : 8 / 10 bis central bankers'speeches providing grants to offset the certification costs of issuing green and sustainability - linked bonds and loans ; promoting insurance solutions for climate risks ; attracting green funds and asset managers with a sustainability focus ; and anchoring providers of sustainability rating and verification services. third, building knowledge and capabilities in sustainable finance. we are working to anchor in singapore centres of excellence to undertake asia - centric research on green finance and build a talent pipeline. in october, we announced the launch of the first research and talent development institute focused on green finance – the singapore green finance centre – a collaboration between singapore management university and imperial college business school. green fintech finally, let me focus on the role of