S'pore CFOs polled say currency volatility key concern this year

[SINGAPORE] Chief financial officers here have cited currency volatility as their primary concern this year, according to findings from Bank of America Merrill Lynch's (BAML) 2014 CFO Outlook Asia survey.

When asked which financial risk they were most concerned about, 55 per cent of Singapore CFOs polled picked forex volatility over other financial risks including liquidity risk, interest rate movements and counterparty risk.

In its report, BAML said that wider-than-usual swings in the Singapore dollar in recent years explain the results: "The Singapore dollar strengthened against the US dollar for several years after the global financial crisis, with a negative impact on some Singapore businesses. Because of Singapore's status as international centre for businesses in which receivables are typically in US dollars (from shipbuilding to fuel oil), companies with payables in Singapore dollars felt the pinch.