Singapore Central Bank Chief Menon to Retire; Chia Is Successor

Chanyaporn Chanjaroen, Bloomberg News

Ravi Menon, managing director of Monetary Authority of Singapore, speaks during an interview in Singapore, on Wednesday, Oct. 26, 2022. According to Menon, Southeast Asia has done a “decent job” of allowing markets to absorb some shocks from an aggressive US monetary tightening while ensuring that currency weakness doesn’t spiral out of control. , Bloomberg

(Bloomberg) -- Ravi Menon, the Monetary Authority of Singapore’s longest-serving chief, will leave the central bank at the end of the year, to be succeeded by his former deputy Chia Der Jiun.

Chia, 52, who is currently the Ministry of Manpower’s permanent secretary for development, will become managing director-designate of the MAS from Nov. 1, the authority said Monday in an emailed statement. His term runs from January through May 31, 2026, according to the statement.

Menon, the outgoing chief, has been at the helm of the MAS since 2011 and his term was extended from June 1, for up to two years. He will retire from public service on Dec. 31, according to MAS. Bloomberg News reported in April that Chia had been picked to take the baton from the 59-year-old Menon when he leaves the central bank and financial regulator this year.

Read: Singapore Central Bank Chief Set to Leave After 12 Years

As head of the MAS, which uses the exchange rate as the main policy tool instead of borrowing costs, Chia will need to ensure Singapore’s export competitiveness by keeping the local dollar from strengthening too much, and check imported inflation by not letting it weaken a lot.

With the global economy slowing due to tighter financial conditions and the outlook threatened by China’s faltering recovery, Chia has much heavy lifting to do to support the trade-reliant city-state’s growing stature as a financial and wealth hub.

The fact that he previously spent 18 years at the MAS and was a deputy to Menon will likely help. While the MAS is due to review monetary settings in October, Chia’s first scheduled major policy decision as central bank chief will happen in April when the next announcement is expected.

When he was previously at the MAS, Chia helped to improve the risk sensitivity of the authority’s regulatory frameworks. He also oversaw the implementation of monetary policy and investment of central bank’s official foreign reserves. In 2011, he was seconded to the International Monetary Fund for two years as executive director for Southeast Asia.

Finance Minister?

Menon started at the MAS in 1987 and has been at the forefront of efforts by central banks globally to develop financial technology, as well as digital currencies. He also led the reform of the country’s financial regulatory framework following the 2008 global financial crisis, while strengthening the enforcement regime against money laundering and market misconduct, according to the release.

The city-state is due to hold a general election by November 2025, though polls could be held earlier.

While Menon told Bloomberg News in 2021 he has “absolutely no intention to enter politics,” his credentials would make him an attractive candidate. His predecessors Heng Swee Keat, Tharman Shanmugaratnam and Richard Hu served as finance ministers after leaving the central bank.

--With assistance from Clarissa Batino.

(Adds background from the fourth paragraph; an earlier version corrected the spelling of Chia’s name.)