QUESTION NO 546

NOTICE PAPER 103 OF 2015

FOR ORAL ANSWER

Date: For Parliament Sitting on 13 April 2015

Name and Constituency of Member of Parliament

Mr Yee Jenn Jong, NCMP

Question:

To ask the Prime Minister whether the Ministry is working with banks to improve SMEs' access to foreign exchange hedging products, including renminbi hedging.

Answer by Mr Lawrence Wong, Minister for Culture, Community and Youth on behalf of Mr Tharman Shanmugaratnam, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister in Charge of MAS:

1   Banks in Singapore offer companies, including SMEs, a comprehensive range of foreign exchange solutions. These include foreign exchange forwards, swaps and options against various currencies, including the RMB. These hedging solutions are offered for transaction sizes as small as $10,000, which should cater to the needs of most SMEs. SMEs can also choose to hedge their Asian currency risks through the many currency futures contracts listed on the Singapore Exchange (SGX).

2   To reach out to the SMEs, several banks have organised workshops on the  use of these foreign exchange (FX) hedging tools. Besides the banks, SGX and the Association of Small and Medium Enterprises have organised seminars on the use of FX futures to hedge risk. SPRING also provides toolkits and  grants to help SMEs upgrade their capabilities in financial management or improve financial knowledge. To reach out to more SMEs, SPRING is intensifying its outreach efforts through a network of 12 SME centres. MAS will also continue to ensure that the finance industry meets the needs of our SME sector.

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