Even though the last quarter of the year has delivered to expectations, the Singapore Central Bank has not changed any policy but mentioned that 2018 will be a moderate year. This is attributed to the maturity of the global economy. Investors who want to move to Singapore have a lot they need to learn from this information. As they continue reading One Visa webpage to know how they can move with their businesses to Singapore, they also need to know how 2018 will be in Singapore.
A Word from Monetary Authority of Singapore
According to MAS, the Singapore dollar appreciation rate policy will remain the same. Further, they also mentioned that it appears that the country may not hit the growth of 6.3 percent recorded in the last quarter of 2017. In fact, this is a higher growth at almost double the predicted figure of 3.2 percent.
The good thing is that MAS has decided also not to change any of the policies that could affect the Singapore dollar rate. If any change were to be made, it would have to be to the negative. According to a senior official in the Ministry of Trade, the move is a great decision that will put Singapore in the front line for investment. They also noted that the slow growth is a global affair and will not hinder investors from considering Singapore as their business hub.
Reasons to Maintain the Singapore Dollar Policy
Although MAS in collaboration with Singapore Central Bank still maintained the same growth rate of the Singapore dollar at the beginning of 2017, the dollar came down slightly. It lost 0.1 percent as compared to the US dollar. Economic and financial experts praised the move because the situation would have been worse if any policy had been changed to the negative.
Still, a significant number of investors found this to be a stable environment to start or add a branch to their businesses. According to the immigration data, there were more investors in 2017 than in 2016. This gives hope that even though the country will have a slow growth rate in the first and second quarters of 2018, more investors are expected to invest within Singapore.
Singapore is a producer of electronics, and the demand for the products keeps on growing globally. Therefore, they are expected to get more orders from various countries. This is a good hope because this sector of trade will help sustain the economic situation. Therefore, the country ought to maintain the dollar rate as it is. All the stakeholders are in agreement that this move will sustain the country in a good situation.
The Strategy of Singapore Central Bank
As part of the duties mandated for MAS, setting the exchange rates is at the top. This is how they determine whether the Singapore dollar will depreciate or appreciate. However, all factors lead to the certainty that MAS should not tighten the rates at all. Keeping them unchanged is the right decision to benefit both Singaporeans and the expat investors or those planning to join the country.