Singapore’s Prime Minister Lawrence Wong said the city-state should not weaken the Singapore dollar to gain competitiveness, and should instead rely on its economic strengths. He said a strong, stable currency helps keep imported inflation down.
01Summary
- 01Lawrence Wong made the remarks at DBS CEO Tan Su Shan’s Asia Future Forward Conference in Singapore on Monday.
- 02Wong said the Monetary Authority of Singapore will exercise monetary policy independently and the Singapore dollar will reflect economic fundamentals.
- 03The Singapore dollar has strengthened almost 0.4% against the US dollar since the start of the year.
- 04Wong said Singapore is “certainly not the cheapest location in Southeast Asia” and that companies must factor currency strength into costs.
- 05He said Singapore is building broader industrial ecosystems linking multinational corporations, domestic suppliers, research capabilities and skilled workers.
02Why it matters
The remarks reinforce Singapore’s long-standing approach to using the exchange rate to manage inflation rather than to chase cheaper exports. That matters for businesses, exporters and investors watching the currency and the city-state’s cost base.
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