MAS chief Ravi Menon to retire on 1 Jan 2024, Chia Der Jiun named successor

SINGAPORE: After 36 years of dedicated public service, Mr Ravi Menon, the Managing Director of the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), will retire on 1 January 2024.

MAS announced on Monday (4 Sept) that the President of the Republic of Singapore has appointed Mr Chia Der Jiun (谢啇真) as Managing Director (Designate), MAS from 1 November 2023 to 31 December 2023, and as Managing Director, MAS from 1 January 2024 to 31 May 2026.

Mr Chia will succeed Mr Ravi Menon, who will conclude his remarkable journey in the Singapore Public Service and his tenure at MAS.

In April, Bloomberg had preemptively reported that Mr Ravi Menon’s departure from MAS, shedding light on insider information that suggested Mr Chia, a former deputy of Mr Menon, was the favoured candidate to assume the mantle.

The official statement from MAS highlighted that Mr Chia currently holds the role of Permanent Secretary (Development) at the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) since 2022, following his appointment as the Second Permanent Secretary at MOM in 2020.

Mr Chia had previously spent 18 years at MAS, where he played a leadership role across MAS’ major functions, including monetary policy implementation, reserve management, banking supervision, prudential policy, and macroeconomic surveillance.

“During his first 10 years in MAS, Mr Chia played a key role in developing and implementing policies to restructure the local banking groups and to liberalise the banking sector. ”

MAS said Mr Chia was instrumental in the set-up of the Singapore Deposit Insurance Corporation.  During the Global Financial Crisis in 2008, Mr Chia led the conduct of financial stability assessments.

“In 2011, he was seconded to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for two years as Executive Director for Southeast Asia, where he contributed to Board discussions and decisions on issues such as capital flow management, IMF financing programmes, and financial stability assessments.”

In 2013, Mr Chia was appointed Assistant Managing Director (Markets & Investment), and he subsequently led the review of the asset allocation of the Official Foreign Reserves.

In 2019, Mr Chia was appointed Deputy Managing Director (Corporate Development).

He strengthened the operational resilience of the national payment systems (GIRO, FAST, MEPS+) during the COVID-19 pandemic. He led the effort to transform MAS’ technology architecture and corporate functions.

MAS’s statement noted that Mr Chia has extensive experience in the broader Public Service.

Prior to his stint in MAS, he served in the Ministry of Trade and Industry, Public Service Division, and the then-Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources.

MAS conveyed deep appreciation for Mr Menon’s stewardship

MAS also expressed its profound gratitude to Mr Menon for his visionary leadership as the Managing Director of MAS since 2011 and his exceptional contributions over his remarkable 29-year tenure with the organization.

The MAS’s statement also highlighted Mr Menon’s achivement in MAS as Managing Director, including advancing MAS’ efforts to bolster Singapore’s financial sector, making it more resilient, innovative, and purpose-driven.

He spearheaded significant reforms in response to the global financial crisis, fortifying regulatory frameworks and enforcement against financial misconduct. Mr Menon also positioned Singapore as a prominent FinTech hub, fostering electronic payment growth and introducing digital banking licenses.

His leadership extended to strengthening workforce skills and sustainability initiatives, and during the COVID-19 crisis, he swiftly implemented measures to support banks, SMEs, and individuals.

“Mr Menon has been actively involved in shaping the international financial regulatory agenda. He is Chairman of the Network for Greening the Financial System, an international coalition of more than 125 central banks and financial regulators, and a member of the G20 Financial Stability Board (FSB) Steering Committee.”

He previously chaired the FSB Standing Committee on Standards Implementation (2013-2017) and the International Monetary and Financial Committee Deputies Meetings (2011-2015).

Under Mr Menon’s leadership, MAS has won several international accolades, including being named in 2019 by the UK-based publication Central Banking as the Central Bank of the Year, for its “pioneering FinTech efforts combined with its consistency of performance in monetary policy, financial stability, and supervision”

Menon told Bloomberg in 2021 that he has “absolutely no intention to enter politics”

Menon has led MAS since 2011 and is currently the longest-serving chief of Singapore’s central bank. His term is set to end on May 31. He first joined MAS in 1987.

Ravi Menon describes himself as “an optimist and an idealist”. Before MAS, he also served in the trade and industry ministry as well as the Bank for International Settlements.

Under his helm, Mr Menon played a key role in steering Singapore’s economy through the post-global financial crisis era. In the wake of the pandemic, MAS was among the first to begin tightening monetary policy.

Additionally, Mr Menon pushed Singapore’s banks to develop financial technology early on.

In 2018, Mr Menon was a contender to lead the Financial Stability Board based in Basel, Switzerland. The following year, his name was floated as a potential candidate to head the Bank of England, a testament to his global reputation among central bankers.

In a 2021 interview with Bloomberg News, Menon stated that he has “absolutely no intention to enter politics.”

However, previous chiefs of MAS, including Heng Swee Keat, Tharman Shanmugaratnam, and Richard Hu, have gone on to serve as finance ministers after leaving their positions at MAS.