SG60: Where Finance Meets – Happy Birthday Singapore
On 9 August 2025, Singapore turns 60 — a city-state that has grown, in just six decades, into Asia’s most trusted crossroads for capital, talent, and ideas. finews.asia, proud to have chronicled a decade of this rise from its newsroom in the Lion City, sends heartfelt congratulations to Singapore and everyone building its next chapter.
To Singapore — happy 60th. For ten years, the financial news website finews.asia been privileged to report from this dynamic financial centre: the policy wins and the pitfalls, the entrepreneurs and the incumbents, the experiments that become new rails. Thank you for the trust, the access, and the stories. Here’s to the next decade of building — together.
The foundations of today’s financial centre were laid early: Parliament passed the MAS Act in 1970 and the Monetary Authority of Singapore opened its doors in 1971, fusing central banking, supervision, and market development under one roof — a rare, high-clarity model that proved decisive for credibility and growth.
A 60th birthday framed by confidence
This year’s National Day theme – «Building Our Singapore Together» – invites a forward-looking stock-take of what has worked: openness, rule of law, and pragmatism. Those same traits underpin finance, from banking to capital markets to the fast-maturing digital-assets stack.
Capital Keeps Choosing Singapore
Singapore’s asset-management industry has reached new highs, with AUM around S$6.1 trillion last year, reflecting steady global inflows and the city’s role as a regional allocation hub.
Family offices remain a standout story: the number of single-family offices climbed to about 2,000 in 2024, up sharply from 1,400 a year earlier, cementing Singapore’s position as Asia’s preferred base for private capital
Markets With Momentum
Confidence is visible on the bourse. SGX just posted record earnings and flagged its strongest IPO pipeline in years — proof that recent market-enhancing measures are bearing fruit and that deal-makers still see Singapore as a credible listing venue.
Sustainability is now mainstream in disclosure. From FY2025, Singapore issuers must report Scope 1 and 2 emissions in line with IFRS Sustainability standards — aligning the market with global best practice and sharpening investor comparability.
Prudent Innovation
The city’s digital banks — GXS, MariBank, ANEXT, Green Link Digital, and Trust Bank — spent 2024 narrowing losses and finding niches in consumer and SME finance, adding competitive verve to everyday banking without compromising stability.
On wholesale rails, MAS has treated innovation as infrastructure: Project Ubin proved DLT-based settlement concepts and evolved into Ubin+ for cross-border FX experiments; in parallel, Project Guardian is scaling real-world asset tokenisation with global regulators and industry.
High Standards
The 2023 money-laundering scandal tested the system’s defences. MAS concluded enforcement this July with S$27.45 million in penalties across nine institutions and tightened expectations — a tough episode handled transparently, with remediation demanded and delivered.
At the same time, to keep legitimate wealth flows efficient, authorities shortened processing for family-office tax incentives to ~3 months and worked with banks to speed account openings — a calibrated blend of vigilance and competitiveness.
A Festival That Convenes Finance and Tech
This November marks the 10th edition of the Singapore Fintech Festival, now the world’s largest of its kind — a signal that the city doesn’t just regulate innovation; it convenes it. Expect decarbonisation, digital assets, and cross-border payments to dominate the agenda again.
What to Watch Next
- Listings & liquidity: Can SGX convert its IPO pipeline into marquee debuts and deeper secondary liquidity? Early signs are encouraging.
- Sustainable finance at scale: Mandatory emissions reporting should accelerate capital re-pricing and green-product innovation.
- Tokenised markets: Guardian’s expanding international coalition suggests 2026–2028 could see institutional-grade tokenised funds and collateral markets move beyond pilots.
