speeches published date : 19 may 2022 " a future ready workforce for an international financial centre " - opening remarks by mr ravi menon, managing director, monetary authority of singapore, at singapore financial forum 2022 on 19 may good morning from singapore. i am pleased to join all of you, including our overseas singaporeans and their friends, as well as leaders and professionals from singapore ’ s financial centre at today ’ s forum. singapore ’ s financial centre is doing exceedingly well, and prospects remain bright for the years ahead. the financial sector performed strongly throughout the covid - 19 pandemic. the sector [ 1 ] grew by an annual average of 7. 2 % during 2020 - 21, four times faster than the overall economy. the last two years also saw 5, 800 net jobs created in financial services. growth has been broad - based – across banking, insurance, asset management, and payment services. we have grown steadily as a leading fund management and domiciliation hub, with 500 variable capital companies incorporated in singapore since we introduced this new investment fund structure just two years ago. we are now asia ’ s leading foreign exchange centre, with fx trading volume growing an average 13 % every year from 2017 to 2021, with a modern e - fx trading ecosystem taking deep root. we are powering asia ’ s development, with infrastructure investment growing five - fold and project finance by 80 %, from 2016 to 2020. the singapore economy remains on track to grow by 3 – 5 % in 2022 barring a further worsening in the external environment. the russia - ukraine conflict has generated both growth and inflation risks globally. but the ongoing recovery of the global economy from the covid - 19 pandemic and associated restrictions will provide support to economic activity. the financial sector should grow at least as fast as the overall economy. more importantly, the asian growth story remains intact, and singapore ’ s financial centre is well positioned to support and grow with asia. the asian development bank estimates that strong exports and domestic demand will drive developing asia ’ s growth at more than 5 % per annum in the coming years. demand for financial services typically grows faster than income as the middle class and mass affluent base expands. we are seeing the development of new capabilities which will add more engines of growth to our financial sector. in private markets, singapore ’ s private equity and venture capital ecosystem is providing smart capital and business networks to the rapidly expanding pool of growth companies here and across the region. in wealth

, which has seen promising results. 90 % of the 2019 cohort who were from non - tech jobs completed the programme and have taken on good tech jobs in financial institutions. another 530 are going through the programme from the 2020 and 2021 runs. i am pleased to say that ibf is launching the fourth run of this programme this year, with close to 700 training places – which is double the number offered last year. ibf and wsg will also launch a new wealth management accelerator programme ( wmap, pronounced as “ we - map ” ). wmap targets mid - career professionals with a passion for customer relationship management and an interest in pursuing a career in wealth management. the three - month programme will include structured and on - the - job training to provide participants with the skills to be licensed and hired into relationship management roles. seven major retail banks are participating in this inaugural programme, to fill close to 200 job roles. the third pool of local talent that we want to tap on is our network of overseas singaporeans. overseas singaporeans in finance and in technology are well placed to excel in singapore ’ s international financial centre. they have a solid understanding of overseas markets, useful networks, and good experience working in a cross - cultural environment. indeed, many returning singaporeans have progressed well in their careers and taken on leadership roles here. take for example melissa lim who returned from germany. melissa is a technology & innovation strategy director at standard chartered bank, where she is involved in driving the bank ’ s tech strategy and other transformation projects. prior to that, melissa spent five years in frankfurt, germany, where she was the head of investment platform transformation at allianz global investors, leading a global team to deliver strategic investment transformation programmes. melissa is one of the panellists for the relocation fireside later today, so do tune in to hear more from her. i hope that more overseas singaporeans – when you are ready to return home – will take up opportunities in singapore ’ s vibrant financial sector, grow further in your careers, and make a difference here in asia. as important as growing the singaporean core, we must continue to welcome and embrace high quality global talent. i know questions have been raised on singapore ’ s continued openness to global talent. first, the pandemic - related border controls were very difficult for many of our expatriate staff and their families. many firms faced challenges bringing in foreign manpower due to our border controls. today, we are