Over the last few years, Singapore has established itself as the undisputed leader in a rapidly changing economic environment that has been hit by an unprecedented crisis. These attributes can be credited to the government, which incorporates the rule of equality, to enthusiastic people who constitute the perfect workforce and not to forget the sustainable infrastructure of the country.

However, massive capital inflows in a time-compressed manner within an open economy like this bring their fair share of potential problems and challenges. The banking sector and its policies also play a massive part in keeping the financial frameworks intact. Digital banks like Aspire act like a unified financial operating system that provides bank accounts, credit, and automation software for invoices and expense management.

What are the reasons behind the consistent growth of the financial markets in Singapore?

• Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS): It is one of the governmental institutions that got well-deserved recognition and accolades for systematic macroeconomic management techniques. It implemented prudential measures very well, safeguarding the entire financial system from the recession. With these practical measures, Singapore has become Asia’s largest foreign exchange trading centre, with a significant increase of 44% over the past three years. 

• Accurate analysis of financial markets: Few central banks of the nation like have a clear understanding of the complex, closely connected, and open to rapid cash-flows financial markets. Thus, they had the required policy instruments to mitigate and anticipate the possible malfunctions on time, unlike so many other developed countries that faced financial crises time and again due to their lack of expertise in analysis. There are also digital payment services like the ones provided by Aspire bank, which have eased the entire process of small business funding for foreign investors planning to incorporate in Singapore. 

• Ease of foreign trading policies: Singapore is the pioneer in establishing a foreign trading exchange hub in Asia. It all started in the late 60s and 70’s when the nation started providing foreign exchange services to its neighbours. It succeeded in establishing an Asia Dollar market and eventually promoted growth in the economy with the increase in demands for domestic and off-shore banking activities.

• Incorporation of supporting industrial policies: During the regulatory phase of Singapore, i. e from 1981-1998, several acts like the Insurance Act and the Security Industry Act were passed. It allowed the nation to leverage the free capital flow and enabled the local and foreign institutions to operate efficiently on the prescribed regulations and expand their financial base.

• Liberalization of banking sectors: Another milestone in the path of gaining financial enormity for Singapore was incorporating new banking policies and licenses with greater access to the domestic markets. As a result of the introduction of tax incentives and the elimination of estate duties, real estate investments grew, and other departments did as well. Achieving this was only possible with the support of the pool of financial experts who integrated the knowledge of finance with advanced technology to accomplish this.

The establishment of organizations like Aspire bank has further simplified the process of acquiring business accounts for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). One can easily open an online business account without any minimum fund deposit or annual or local transaction fees.