IMAS Signs MOU to Promote Singapore's Status as Asian Fund Centre

Improved Standards of Automation Will Serve Investors' Needs

SINGAPORE, Jan. 30 /Xinhua-PRNewswire/ -- In support of Invest Singapore's 2010 Vision to create a first class operational environment, the Investment Management Association of Singapore signed a Memorandum of Understanding today with E-Finance Services Technical Committee and SWIFT (the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication) to promote the local fund industry's adoption of globally recognized standards for automated processing.

"Singapore's vision is to be known as the Asian hub for the fund industry, just like Dublin and Luxembourg are in Europe," commented Giri Mudeliar, Executive Director, Investment Management Association of Singapore (IMAS). "In order to achieve that status, we must as an industry strive for the risk reduction and cost-savings benefits derived from fund automation."

The MOU, which was signed jointly at the third annual Fund Processing Automation Conference held today at The Raffles Hotel, set forth key objectives for each of the signatories:

Investment Management Association of Singapore is committed to drive adoption for Straight Through Processing (STP) and encourage dialogue on operational issues with IMAS members, distributors, pension & plan sponsors and regulators in Singapore and Asia.

e-Finance Service Technical Committee will work with the investment community through education and industry working groups in support of more active participation from the industry stake holders and industry associations.

SWIFT (Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication) will provide training and share global best market practices in support of the Singapore fund industry's adoption efforts of ISO 20022 open standards for a safer, automated processing environment.

"Fund automation in Asia is on the advance, so to remain competitive the fund industry in Singapore must embrace and implement the standards that have been set in place in other global centres," stated Andrew Kwek, Chairman, e-Finance Services Technical Committee.

"We have seen significant take-up of ISO 20022 standards in Taiwan and Hong Kong this year, which streamline subscriptions, redemptions and switching of funds down to the simple press of a button between linked financial institutions, effectively removing human error and countless hours of manual processing and reconciliation," observed Eric Chua, Regional Head, SWIFT. "Fund automation ultimately does the right thing for investors by bringing down the costs, and the risks of investing in fund products."

"Each of our respective organisations has a strong commitment to building a world class operational environment in Singapore for the fund industry. Together, through this MOU, we can help industry players understand the issues they face and then evolve to the level of automation that they must - both intelligently and competitively," noted Mudeliar.

IMAS Contact:

Giri Mudeliar

Executive Director

Tel: +65-6223-9353

Email: giri_mudeliar@imas.org.sg