Chua Hak Bin joins Maybank Kim Eng, sees S'pore 2017 growth at 2.5%

Singapore

PROMINENT economist Chua Hak Bin has joined Maybank Kim Eng after leaving Bank of America Merrill Lynch (BAML) last year, and after a short stint at Singapore's sovereign wealth fund GIC.

He now starts off in his new role - and the new year - with a strong optimism that the Singapore economy can achieve a 2.5 per cent growth this year, while also urging the city-state to be more open to foreign workers.

"Singapore will thrive if it builds 'bridges' while others build 'walls'," he wrote in a Jan 12 note, in a not-so-subtle reference to US President-elec…