Singapore can support region's development through financing infrastructure and enterprise: Heng

Singapore

SINGAPORE can support regional development by financing infrastructure and enterprise in Asia, including roping in private capital, said Finance Minister Heng Swee Keat on Friday.

And the Republic's adoption of digital technology can boost both transaction efficiency and financial inclusion, he added, calling higher access to financial services "a key priority under our Asean chairmanship".

But, citing the Asian and global financial crises, he cautioned in a keynote address at the DBS Asian Insights Conference that "proper risk management" is needed too.

Mr Heng told some 1,200 conference goers: "As we grow and develop our financial sector to serve the needs in the real economy, we must take proper risk management. At the macro level, to maintain our resilience, we must also be prepared for major disruptions in the global financial markets." He cited the absence of proper risk management as factors behind the recent crises - "the consequences when financial flows became decoupled from un…