Indranee refutes 'poorly sourced' FT article claiming 'unusual' Singapore government briefings for international banks

[The_King]

SINGAPORE: Minister in the Prime Minister's Office Indranee Rajah on Tuesday (May 7) refuted a Financial Times (FT) report that had characterised government meetings with top international banks as "unusual".

The Apr 20 article, titled "Singapore gives top-level briefings to reassure foreign banks on stability", said the government had given international banks an "unusual series of top-level briefings on geopolitics".

 

 

The purpose of this, the article said, was to reassure the banks that Singapore "can remain stable and neutral at a time of rising tension between China and the West".

In a written parliamentary reply to Member of Parliament Louis Chua (WP-Sengkang), who had asked Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong about the objectives and key messages of such briefings, Ms Indranee took issue with the way these meetings were framed by FT.

"It is surprising that such a poorly sourced story, vainly searching for a point, could appear in a major paper like FT, especially after we had repeatedly clarified matters with the reporter, including telling her the briefings were not unusual," said Ms Indranee on behalf of the Prime Minister.

The article was written by FT's Singapore and Southeast Asia correspondent Mercedes Ruehl. According to her LinkedIn profile, she has been in Singapore since 2020. 

Ms Indranee added: "As for the suggestion the Government was somehow conducting these briefings under the radar, the FT did not report what we told its reporter: That almost all the briefings her article mentioned had already been publicised by the ministers on their own social media accounts."

 

 

According to the FT article, citing sources with knowledge of the talks, Senior Minister and Coordinating Minister for National Security Teo Chee Hean led several such meetings.

Foreign Affairs Minister Vivian Balakrishnan, Trade and Industry Minister Gan Kim Yong and Home Affairs and Law Minister K Shanmugam were also involved in these meetings, according to FT.

Citigroup and Standard Chartered were named in the article as some of the US and European financial institutions that took part in the briefings. Local banks were also involved, said FT.

In her written reply, Ms Indranee said ministers and officials have been conducting such briefings for "decades". Parties involved in such meetings include not only financial institutions – international and local – but also groups such as businesses, non-governmental organisations, unionists and students.

"In brief, we engage as widely as possible," said Ms Indranee.

 

 

In response to CNA's queries, an FT spokesperson said on Wednesday: "We stand by our reporting."

ANTI-MONEY LAUNDERING EFFORTS

Mr Chua also filed a question for the Prime Minister asking about plans to tighten anti-money laundering rules in the wake of a multi-billion-dollar case, Singapore's largest.

Ten people have been charged and five of them sentenced – with jail terms ranging from 13 to 15 months.

Ms Indranee said an inter-ministerial committee intends to provide an update on its findings in "the coming months".

The formation of this committee was announced in October 2023. It is chaired by Ms Indranee, who is also the Second Minister for Finance.

 

 

The committee is made up of political office holders from the Monetary Authority of Singapore and four ministries: Home Affairs, Law, Manpower, and Trade and Industry.