MTI Singapore, US Department of Commerce sign MoU to deepen fintech ties

Ministry of Trade and Industry Singapore (MTI) announced that it has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the US Department of Commerce to deepen collaboration between US and Singapore companies in the areas of fintech.

The MoU was signed during Singapore PM Lee Hsien Loong’s official visit to the US in 2016. Minister for Trade and Industry (Industry) S Iswaran and US Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross reaffirmed the robust and longstanding economic ties between both the countries on 1 May 2017, and discussed ways to facilitate business opportunities for fintech companies through the US-Singapore Collaboration Platform MoU.

Apart from fintech, the MoU focuses in deepening ties in areas such as infrastructure, smart-city solutions as well as e-commerce.

“Singapore and the US share strong and mutually beneficial economic relations, and the US-Singapore Free Trade Agreement (USSFTA) is the cornerstone of our relationship. We look forward to deepening our relations with the US and building on our early successes under the US-Singapore Collaboration Platform MOU,” Minister Iswaran said.

Minister Iswaran and Secretary Wilbur Ross met during the Milken Institute Global Conference at Los Angeles, where the minister addressed a roundtable discussion on ASEAN, titled “Poised for Growth: The ASEAN Opportunity”, and spoke on the feature panel. He highlighted the importance of globalization and how free and open markets benefit companies, workers, and citizens.

Singapore has been an established gateway for US companies and serves as a launch-pad for American startups looking for growth opportunities in the wider Southeast Asian region. The country has been playing a major role in fintech ties with other countries. In March this year, Singapore signed cooperation agreement with France and Dubai to foster fintech cooperation between the countries.