• Green Finance Progress: The MAS and PBC’s Green Finance Taskforce plans to complete the integration of the Singapore-Asia Taxonomy into the Common Ground Taxonomy by year-end, facilitating cross-border green financing.
• Bond Market Access: A pilot program between Singapore and China aims to enhance international investor access to China’s bond market, leveraging the “over-the-counter” framework.
• ETF and Capital Market Expansion: MAS and CSRC are working on expanding ETF product links between the SGX and Chinese stock exchanges, enriching regional market offerings.

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) announced several green finance and capital market initiatives at the 20th Joint Council for Bilateral Cooperation (JCBC) meeting, co-chaired by Singapore’s Deputy Prime Minister Gan Kim Yong and China’s Vice Premier Ding Xuexiang. The initiatives aim to enhance financial cooperation between Singapore and China.

Catalyzing Green Financing Flows:

MAS, alongside the People’s Bank of China (PBC), is progressing the China-Singapore Green Finance Taskforce’s work to include the Singapore-Asia Taxonomy in the Common Ground Taxonomy. Expected to conclude by year-end, this comparison between the EU, China, and Singapore’s taxonomies will facilitate cross-border green loans, bond issuances, and investments. Industry partners are collaborating on Panda Bond issuances through a dedicated Green Corridor, catalyzing green finance flows.

Bond Market Pilot Program:

MAS and the PBC are exploring a pilot with Singaporean and Chinese banks to boost international investor access to China’s bond market. This program will use the existing “over-the-counter” bond market framework, allowing banks in Singapore to offer trading and custody services for selected fixed income products in China’s Interbank Bond Market.

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ETF and Capital Market Collaboration:

Building on strong investor interest, MAS and the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) are discussing expanding ETF product links between SGX and the Shenzhen and Shanghai stock exchanges. Additionally, the SGX and China Securities Index are set to develop a second index following their successful Emerging Asia Technology Index launched in January 2024.

First Panda Bond Listing and Gold Market MOU:

MAS welcomed the first listing of a Panda Bond on the SGX by UOB—a three-year, RMB 5 billion bond—enhancing the participation of international investors. Moreover, UOB and the Shanghai Gold Exchange signed an MoU to cooperate on gold trading and provide innovative services to ASEAN gold suppliers and investors.

Mr. Chee Hong Tat, Minister for Transport, Second Minister for Finance, and Deputy Chairman of MAS, remarked,

“Financial cooperation has been a key pillar underpinning the strong bilateral relations between China and Singapore. The strong slate of initiatives announced today at the 20th anniversary of JCBC reflects our continued commitment to deepen financial connectivity between our markets.”

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