Authorities seek to expand job opportunities for Singaporeans

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Singaporean authorities seek to expand job opportunities for Singaporeans through the Manpower Plan.

The Monetary Authority of Singapore supports the Manpower Plan promoted by the Ministry of Manpower that seeks to establish more job opportunities for Singaporeans.

This initiative establishes a salary increase qualifying for pass holders’ entry-level employment in the financial services sector.

The two organizations worked together to determine the new minimum wage for the financial services sector, which now ranks higher than the rest of the economy.

This initiative is developed with the aim of providing more support to the recruitment of Singaporeans in the financial services sector.

Job creation is maintained

Despite the current crisis, the sector has continued to create jobs, with a net increase of less than 1,500 jobs in the first half of the year.

Of this figure 4 out of 5 jobs for Singapore citizens.

The Monetary Authority of Singapore stated that, although job creation will be slower in the second half of the year, it could be frozen for the next.

This salary increase will allow financial institutions to complement their workforce, said Jacqueline Loh, Deputy Director of Markets and Development at MAS.

“The move toward higher salary criteria for PE candidates complements MAS’s workforce development programs to expand job opportunities and deepen local capabilities, Loh said.

In the same way, he pointed out that a high-quality workforce, with a solid core with specialized skills, will allow the Singaporean financial services system to compete internationally.

He stressed that it is necessary to take advantage of new growth opportunities as economies and global ones recover from the crisis generated by the pandemic.

MoneySense campaign seeks to improve the financial health of Singaporeans

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MoneySense 2020 Campaign Guides Singaporeans on How to Cope with Financial Challenges Amid the Covid-19 Pandemic.

MoneySense launches new campaign to help Singaporeans to better manage their finances and face the economic challenges caused by Covid-19.

Under the slogan, #stayunitedstayresilient MoneySense updates its message and plans to help Singaporeans manage their finances wisely, deal with tighter cash flows, minimize debt and avoid scams.

What will the campaign be like?

The initiative that started last Friday, August 14 and will last for 12 weeks, will provide citizens with three resources to strengthen their financial resilience.

MyMoneySense Expense Manager: It is a free online tool that allows users to review their financial situation and better plan their resources in various periods.

Financial Resilience Guide: This is a section on the MoneySense website that guides people facing financial commitments to take steps to improve their situation.

It also plans to hold seminars with experts in the field where they can discuss topics of interest.

During the next 12 weeks MoneySense will also post tips, recommendations and quizzes on its platform and social media.

At the same time, they will share a series of educational articles where they will talk about money-related issues.

On the website, users will also find digital tools and resources such as mortgage calculators and a financial health check to help them properly manage their finances.

Other MoneySense initiatives:

Likewise, those who want to improve their saving habits can participate in the Pledge to Stash initiative.

This plan is based on a self-commitment to save before you spend, by setting up a recurring transfer to automatically save to a dedicated savings account each month.

MoneySense encourages the public to proactively find out if their finances are in good shape.

Ubin project: a multi-currency payment network based on Blockchain

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Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) announced the launch of the Ubin Project, a multi-currency payment network based on blockchain technology.

A report from the agency states that the project was validated with over 40 financial and non-financial companies to prove its commercial capacity.

Its potential uses include: faster and lower cost cross-border transactions, currency exchanges, smart contracts for deposit and commerce.

The Monetary Authority of Singapore claims that Ubin Project can level the way to build better cross-border payment networks with strategic alliances between central banks and other financial entities.

While Temasek agents claim that the project will allow better adaptation of Blockchain technology in the financial sector.

“We will support the commercialization efforts of the Ubin Project, in order to promote a better adaptation to blockchain technology” said Chia Song Hwee, executive director of Temasek.

Ubin Project Phases

It is an initiative born in 2016, developed by Temasek and J.P Morgan, began its testing phase last year.

First and second phase: they were in charge of develop technological competences for a national payment network.

Third and fourth phase: was focused on the internal operability of blockchain-based networks for Delivery-versus-Payment (DvP) and Cross-Border-Payment-versus-Payment (PvP), which were in charge of prove the viability of the project.

Fifth phase: was responsible of proving the value, including how to improve settlement efficiency.

The Ubin project is projected as a bridge that help transactions with central banks and other users in the financial industry, allowing the creation of a better technological infrastructure to expand the network for cross-border payments.

New wave of contagion impacts Singapore’s economy

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The new contagion Covid-19 outbreak has a strong impact on the national economy, due to the strict measures that the authorities of the Asian country have been forced to take.

The new cases of Coronavirus have uncontrollably continued to rise; from having nearly 300 cases in March, Singapore went on to exceed 23 thousand infections this Monday, May 11.

This new wave of contagion is basically due to the crowding in workspaces despite the suggestions of national activists due to the lack of measures that led the increment in the number of contagions.

“We are particularly concerned that it is increasingly difficult to link new cases and identify the source of infection,” said the Ministry of Communication in its most recent speech.

This situation forces the authorities to make drastic decisions to contain the expansion of the Covid-19 and, consequently, the economy will suffer a severe fall.

90% of the cases registered in the country are linked to jobs and dormitories shared by a large number of nationals and foreigners.

Most of the new cases have been confirmed among the foreign population with work permits housed in areas for immigrants. Last week, the government announced that it would transfer foreign employees to vacant government military camps and apartments.

Employees in the tourism, food and beverage and transportation industries are at the highest risk line for the pandemic said Lee Quane, regional director for Asia at the human resources consultancy ECA International.

Quane affirmed that, the employees in most of these sectors are foreigners and regularly these positions are difficult to fill by locals, indicating that the greater the outbreak and cessation of operations in these sectors the more affected the economy will be in each of these areas.