The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has published a roadmap for the future of its financial services sectors, including insurance and risk transfer, aiming to become the leading hub in Asia and putting technology at the heart of industry transformation.
The industry transformation map (ITM) for financial services, published by MAS, outlines growth strategies by sector, skills upgrade programmes, and puts continuous innovation and technology adoption at the heart of its efforts to be the leading hub in Asia.
Singapore already has a burgeoning insurance and reinsurance sector, which it now wants to build into a “global capital for Asian insurance and risk transfer.”
Speaking this morning at the launch of the roadmap, Mr Ong Ye Kung, Minister for Education (Higher Education and Skills) and Second Minister for Defence, explained, “Singapore is already the leading insurance and re-insurance hub in Asia, and there is good opportunity to address the increasing risk management needs of a growing Asia.”
Putting insurtech at the heart of this mission, he continued, “MAS will work with the industry to transform the insurance marketplace through centralised blockchain platforms, which will allow for more efficient risk placements, and create specialist risk solutions to address emerging risks in the region.”
Singapore has been at the forefront of developments in financial technology (Fintech) and the use of blockchain or distributed ledger technologies to advance its financial markets.
Technology will be at the heart of all of Singapore’s financial market development, as it seeks to, “encourage the adoption of technology for increasing efficiency and creating opportunity.”
This is vital in insurance and reinsurance markets and if Singapore can develop efficient mechanisms for placing and transacting in risk it will have a unique edge over rival markets.
Additionally, Singapore has an ambition to become a hub for insurance-linked securities (ILS) in the Asia region, with a special purpose reinsurance structure already available but needing updating.
If the country can bring technology to make re/insurance risk transfer more efficient, in a modern capital markets focused marketplace it could increase its stature in global markets.
