MAS launches two-year technical assistance programme for neighbouring central banks

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) launched a two-year programme of technical assistance for central bank officials in Cambodia, Lao PDR, Myanmar and Vietnam – the so-called CLMV countries – with a forum on financial supervision and regulation over the past weekend.

The MAS hosted 24 officials from the CLMV central banks in the first event of its wider "capacity building" programme. In total, 190 central bankers will receive training in banking supervision, monetary policy management, macro-prudential surveillance and the organisation of payments and settlements systems.

The programme is being funded by a grant of 305,000 Singapore dollars ($245,000) from the Temasek foundation, a philanthropic arm of Singapore's sovereign wealth fund.

The content of the programme was devised through "policy dialogues" between all the central banks involved in August and October. It was designed to help the CLMV central banks "build up competencies in areas relevant to them, taking into account their countries' financial landscape, level of development and development strategies".

Specifically, the programme aims to "strengthen the capabilities of leaders and mid-level officials from the CLMV central banks in central banking, financial regulation and supervision", while facilitating an "exchange of views" across borders.

Ravi Menon, the MAS managing director, alluded to wider efforts to "foster economic development" within the CLMV countries while "deepening [their] economic integration" with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean).

The finance ministers in each of the CLMV countries have pledged to "speed up" their economic cooperation, while the association is in the process of assessing their "current implementation approaches and modalities".

"Macroeconomic stability and a strong financial sector are critical to these efforts," Menon said. "We are happy to be able to play a part in building the capacity of the CLMV central banks in banking supervision and regulation, and are grateful to the Temasek Foundation for its generous support."