New opportunities in fintech, sustainable finance
Swiss Ambassador to Singapore Frank Grutter sees strong potential for the 2 countries to work together especially in emerging areas in the financial sector
THE newly emerging areas of fintech and sustainable finance offer promising new opportunities for fruitful collaboration between Switzerland and Singapore, says the new Swiss Ambassador to the Republic, Frank Grutter. A seasoned diplomat, he has taken over on Aug 1 as the new Swiss envoy to Singapore from his predecessor, Fabrice Filliez, who has been posted to Warsaw as the new Swiss Ambassador to Poland on completion of his 4-year term in Singapore.
“I see strong potential in working together and in learning from one another. To mention just one area of collaboration: Fintech and sustainable finance are surely an area I will be keeping an eye on, supporting our exciting common project as best as I can, ” Ambassador Grutter tells The Business Times (BT) in an exclusive interview for this supplement on the occasion of the Swiss National Day on Aug 1.
“I am talking here about the Point Zero Forum, an idea that was first explored during the visit of Federal Councillor Ueli Maurer to Singapore in November 2021, before being successfully launched in February 2022 for the event to take place from June 21 to 23 in Zurich.”
Ambitious platform
The conference is an ambitious platform for the discussion of current and future fintech regulatory frameworks, developments in Web3, embedded finance and sustainable finance.
Jointly organised by the Swiss State Secretariat for International Finance and Elevandi, an organisation under the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), it aims to drive investment activity between the 2 countries by bringing together relevant stakeholders.
Swiss Federal Councillor Ueli Maurer and Singapore Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat were both keynote speakers at the conference. “This is a perfect example of how to enhance the cooperation between our two countries in the financial sector,” the new Swiss ambassador tells BT. (DPM Heng addressed via video as he tested Covid positive a few days before the forum while on a European visit.)
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Ambassador Grutter highlights that Switzerland and Singapore enjoy longstanding, cordial and broad-based bilateral relations. “We have a lot in common: geographically, we are both small nations with a huge interest in a rules-based international order. This is obvious in the multilateral realm, where our interests often converge and where we have worked together on many a project in the past…
“I experienced this collaboration myself in my former capacity as UN Director in the Swiss Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and in my earlier roles – be it on the reform of the UN Security Council, on G20 questions, cybersecurity or Covid-19, to name just a few joint initiatives.
“Both our nations also have a strong focus on technology and innovation to drive our economies – hence our appetite for exchanging ideas, best practices and working together in various domains. In short, we have a very strong basis to grow our bilateral relationship to a high level, with lots of opportunities to collaborate in the many fields.”
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Ambassador Grutter says that in the first few months of his tenure, he will be focusing on getting to know the various stakeholders who are active in building the Swiss-Singapore relationship.
“I am talking about the Swiss community here, the numerous Swiss companies and institutions, as well as the competent Singapore authorities and Singapore business entities. This will enable me to get a better understanding of how we can profit from each other and further strengthen the Swiss-Singapore ties.”
BT asked the Swiss envoy to highlight the areas he thinks both countries should be focusing more on in the coming years considering the fast-evolving global economic situation and the domestic economic sectors in both countries.
“Luckily, Singapore’s and Switzerland’s economies have remained largely stable during the pandemic compared to other countries and are able to recover comparatively quickly. In the coming months, I will be feeling the pulse of the various parties involved to make sure we can profit from synergies and opportunities arising,” he says.
“I feel privileged that relations between Singapore and Switzerland are doing so well. Given our similar outlook on the world as efficient and open economies, we are natural partners. We estimate that about 400 Swiss companies operate in Singapore, which employ more than 25,000 employees. The main sectors of Swiss corporate presence in Singapore are finance and insurance, wholesale and retail trade, as well as production.”
All the major Swiss financial institutions (excluding the cantonal and Raiffeisen banks, with the exception of the Zurich Cantonal Bank) and insurance companies are present in Singapore. Swiss banks are mainly involved in private banking, with UBS, Credit Suisse and Julius Baer constituting the largest Swiss employers in Singapore.
Ambassador Grutter says that business services, medtech, foodtech, and logistics and information and communications technology (ICT) investments have grown in recent years.
“This is in line with Swiss companies leveraging Singapore’s position as a hub into South-east Asia and the Asia-Pacific. 2021 was a year in which more Swiss fintech startups pursuing international ambitions chose Singapore as a hub, setting up offices and expanding the Singapore teams amid booming demand…
“I think as 2 leading financial centres, we are well-placed to put a lot of thinking into how to make our respective finance sectors more sustainable – and by extension share our expertise, best practices etc with a global audience.”
Another area where Switzerland and Singapore can cooperate is digitalisation and cybersecurity. The Swiss envoy tells BT that he will be engaging in a regular dialogue with the relevant entities in these areas. Ambassador Grutter’s previous overseas postings have been to the Swiss embassies in London and Madrid as well as at the Swiss United Nations Mission in New York. His last posting was in Berne – the Swiss capital, where he led the UN Department in the Foreign Ministry.
“As you would know, multilateralism is part of the Swiss DNA. Via its humanitarian work and tradition, Switzerland has lived the ideals of the UN Charter long before it was written, ” he says.
Having the International Committee of the Red Cross in the heart of international Geneva meant an early commitment to alleviating the suffering of people. Up until today, international Geneva is a very special place.
Success factor
There are currently 39 international organisations, 178 foreign missions and over 400 non-governmental organisations (NGOs) in the city. This high concentration of organisations and expertise is unique in the world and a success factor for the Swiss foreign policy.
“If you look at the last 2 years, dealing with the aftermath of Covid-19 was a clear priority during my tenure. Here, we have worked hard to ensure that the UN and its organisations can meet and take decisions virtually. We provided humanitarian and other assistance to countries facing severe socio-economic problems as a result of Covid-19...
“We have also participated in the Covax facility, which aims to help distribute vaccines more equitably around the world and worked a lot on this together with Singapore,” says Ambassador Grutter.
“Last but not least, I am proud to say that 20 years after Switzerland joined the United Nations as a member state, we have been elected to serve on the Security Council in 2023/24. We will use this mandate to push for a UN that helps to ensure international peace and security and serves the people around the world. As a member of the Security Council, we will take our engagement to the next level – being A Plus for Peace!”
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