The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), Enterprise Singapore (ESG), Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority (ACRA) and the Association of Banks in Singapore (ABS) on Thursday (2 July) said in a joint statement there would be industry-wide efforts to enhance commodity financing standards in Singapore.
Banks are taking a collaborative approach to develop a set of best practices for the commodities industry and will be consulting the trading companies in order to strengthen Singapore’s resilience, relevance and competitiveness as a global commodities trading hub, read the statement.
The move comes after several commodity trading companies like Hin Leong Trading, Zenrock and Hon Top crashed this year, leading banks to tighten any financing on the sector.
“I am encouraged that the banks and trading companies are coming together to improve the bankability of the commodities sector amidst the challenging global business climate,” said Satvinder Singh, Assistant CEO of ESG- he government agency driving Singapore’s trading hub development.
“Singapore is home to a very large and diversified group of commodity companies. This initiative to raise financing standards and best practices in commodities financing would strengthen Singapore’s attractiveness as a commodities trading hub and help set standards for the region. “
“MAS strongly supports the development of best practices in commodity financing to promote transparency and trust in the sector,” added Ho Hern Shin Assistant Managing Director, Banking & Insurance, MAS.
“These practices will strengthen banks’ lending standards and facilitate continued lending to trading companies.”
“ACRA believes that this collaboration between the banks and trading companies is a big step forward towards boosting the corporate transparency and governance for this sector,” commented Andy Sim, Assistant Chief Executive, Legal Services & Compliance, ACRA.
Photo credit: Aditya-chinchure
Published: 7 July, 2020
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