
BLOOMBERG/ORE HUIYING
Singapore’s central bank is considering to extend funding for financial-technology initiatives because the five-year round ending in March 2020 has yielded positive results, reported Bloomberg.
Ravi Menon, the Managing Director of Monetary Authority of Singapore said that the regulator will probably announce new funding plans next year, with possible areas including cybersecurity and artificial intelligence.
The SGD 225 million ($165 million) programme has spurred innovation, attracted new companies and created jobs, said Menon.
“I think it has been money that is extremely well spent, the most important is that we now have a vibrant fintech ecosystem,” added Menon.
According to Accenture, the private sector is also piling in, with investors spending a record $735 million on the island’s fintech ventures in the first nine months of this year.
MAS data shows that there are now more than 600 fintech start-ups in Singapore, up from about 50 in 2015—bolstering employment at a time when automation has prompted lenders around the world to cut branches and staff.
“We’ve been creating outside of the financial sector about 1,000 fintech jobs each year, this is significant at a time when the need to create jobs is more paramount than ever before,’ said Menon.
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