HM Treasury and the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) have held the UK – Singapore Financial Dialogue to identify collaboration opportunities in sustainable finance and fintech. Sustainable Finance Both countries agree on the urgent need to develop approaches that enable and scale financing to support economies’ transition to net zero.

Transition Finance The UK and Singapore agreed that globally comparable and transparent transition plans that include credible forward-looking information can help decrease fragmentation, scale transition finance, and support sustainability in finance. Both countries recognised the value of cooperation on transition plans to mobilise real economy emission reductions. The MAS offered updates on Singapore’s focus on scaling blended finance and addressing energy transition needs in Asia, MAS’ Finance for Net Zero Action Plan (FiNZ Action Plan) and initiatives to further green and transition financing to enable Asia’s net zero transition.

The UK’s updates centred the Transition Plan Taskforce’s (TPT) work to finalise its disclosure framework and TPT’s international engagement with governments and regulators on the applicability of the framework alongside the International Sustainability Standards Board’s (ISSB) final standards. International standards Both countries re-confirmed their support for a global framework of sustainability disclosures based on the ISSB final standard for general reporting on sustainability and climate-related disclosures, and are committed to implementing globally interoperable sustainability disclosures, having welcomed the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) endorsement of the ISSB’s standards. Such a framework is considered necessary in promoting a simple, consistent, and effective regulatory environment for firms, regulators, and financial authorities, with both countries agreeing to support the ISSD in implementing the standards and reaching its goal of achieving globally interoperable disclosure standards.

Additionally, the UK and Singapore exchanged views on their respective Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) data and ratings codes of conduct, which are published for consultation. Nature and Biodiversity Both countries agree on the need to deepen the understanding of nature and biodiversity loss and how it impacts the financial sector, having welcomed a joint research project on nature-related financial risks in SE Asia. Fintech and Innovation The UK and Singapore shared views on the developments of their respective work in the digital space, with a focus on crypto and digital assets, CBDCs, Project Guardian, and e-wallets.

Crypto and digital assets Both regions agreed to contribute to the development of global regulatory standards for crypto and digital assets as part of international standard-setting bodies like IOSCO and working groups under the Financial Stability Board (FSB), having welcomed FSB’s recommendation on crypto-assets, including stablecoins. The UK shared updates regarding Future Financial Services Regulatory Regime for crypto assets consultation and the regulatory rules for marketing crypto assets, whereas Singapore shared its perspective on regulatory developments on stablecoins and consumer protection measures for Digital Payment Token Services. Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) Having held a discussion surrounding their respective approaches towards CBDC, the UK updated on the Digital Pound consultation and the plans for the current design phase, whereas Singapore shared its approach to exploring use cases for a digital Singapore Dollar, and efforts undertaken for interoperability.

Additionally, Singapore offered insights into its exploration of wholesale CBDC for cross-border FX settlement. Project Guardian Singapore shared developments on its private-public sector collaborative initiative to test the potential and feasibility of asset tokenisation, and both regions agreed on consideration of future collaboration opportunities within this area. E-wallets The UK welcomed MAS’ review of the e-wallet caps outcome, including the increase to the relevant limits imposed on e-wallets.

Furthermore, the Dialogue centred on a cross-border arrangement for selected trading venues. Per the joint statement, the UK offered an update on the cross-border arrangements between the regions for exchanging information relating to derivatives trading venues concerning both countries' derivatives trading obligations, and the classification of regulated markets for the purpose of Exchange Traded Derivatives trading. Singapore and the UK alike acknowledged the value of ongoing cooperation to support the G20 OTC derivatives reforms.

Additionally, they have renewed their commitment to engagement beyond the Dialogue through a series of roadmap engagements, with further cooperation having been agreed on Sustainable Finance and FinTech and Innovation ahead of the next Financial Dialogue to be held in Singapore in 2024. .