ravi menon : financial cooperation between china and singapore congratulatory remarks by mr ravi menon, managing director of the monetary authority of singapore, at the inauguration of icbc singapore rmb clearing bank, singapore, 2 april 2013. * * * mr jiang jianqing, icbc chairman, mr dai bing, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen, good morning. 1. i am happy to join you at this morning ’ s ceremony inaugurating the industrial & commercial bank of china as the renminbi clearing bank in singapore. 2. today ’ s event marks a key milestone in the financial cooperation between china and singapore. it is the fruit of a strong and substantive collaboration between the monetary authority of singapore and the people ’ s bank of china. • mas extended qualifying full bank ( qfb ) privileges to icbc and bank of china in october 2012 as part of the china - singapore free trade agreement. • pbc then named icbc singapore as the rmb clearing bank in singapore. • last month, mas and pbc doubled the size of their bilateral currency swap facility from rmb150 billion to rmb300 billion. the scope of the swap facility was expanded to allow mas to provide rmb liquidity to banks in singapore. 3. singapore is the first regional financial centre outside greater china to have a rmb clearing bank. offshore rmb activities in singapore will be underpinned by the strong and growing trade flows between the region and china. • singapore ’ s bilateral trade with china exceeds us $ 80 billion. • trade between asean and china is at a record us $ 400 billion. • this large and growing cross border trade will fuel greater rmb trade settlement activity in singapore over time. the rmb clearing bank will be an important channel for rmb liquidity to circulate between singapore and china. 4. singapore ’ s deep and liquid capital markets will be able to support rmb financing needs in the region. we have already seen companies here issuing rmb - denominated bonds. the singapore exchange has announced that it is ready to quote, trade, clear and settle rmb - denominated securities. we can expect the range of rmb - denominated product offerings to expand, as regional corporates raise rmb financing through bond issuances and equity listings, to tap on the strong investor base in the region. 5. there will also be strong and growing demand for rmb trade services. there is a critical mass of

strengthen tax enforcement have increased the risk of undeclared monies flowing to singapore. in response, the international community has strengthened considerably the frameworks for anti - money laundering ( aml ) and counter financing of terrorism ( cft ) and exchange of information on tax - related crimes. these developments will have implications for the wealth management industry globally. mas is fully committed to safeguarding the integrity and reputation of singapore as a clean financial centre : one, we have a strong legal and regulatory framework on aml and cft, in line with international standards. two, we have a rigorous regime of supervision to monitor compliance by financial institutions. three, we will strengthen cross - border co - operation to fight trans - national financial crime. four, we will step up vigilance against suspicious flows of funds arising from external developments. let me give you an update on what mas has done and will do in each of these areas. a robust legal and regulatory framework singapore has a robust regulatory framework on aml / cft. the key legislation is the corruption, drug trafficking and other serious crimes ( confiscation of benefits ) act, or cdsa. the cdsa makes it a crime to engage in the money laundering of benefits from a total of 417 so - called predicate offences, ranging from criminal breach of trust, to dealing with property of terrorist and market manipulation. the cdsa makes the reporting of suspicious transactions mandatory for all persons who become aware of such transactions in the course of their work. mas gives force to the cdsa by requiring all financial institutions in singapore to have in place an effective aml / cft framework. our coverage is comprehensive – banks, merchant banks, finance companies, insurance companies, capital market services licensees, licensed trust companies, financial advisers, insurance brokers, exempt fund managers, moneychangers, and remittance houses. financial intermediaries are held to rigorous client due diligence requirements. they are required to verify the bona fides of their customers and assess their risk profiles. where particular customers, business relationships, or transactions present a higher risk of money laundering or terrorism financing, enhanced customer due diligence is required. singapore ’ s aml / cft regime was evaluated three years ago by the financial action task force or fatf, the global standard setter for aml / cft. fatf assessed that singapore operates a strict and rigorous aml / cft regime, centred on a comprehensive and sound legal,