Singapore’s central bank is teaming up with its Chinese counterpart on a digital renminbi or e-CNY project aimed at tourists.
The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) will work with the Digital Currency Institute, the People’s Bank of China unit which is developing the e-CNY, on a pilot project that will allow travellers from their countries to use the digital currency in Singapore and China for tourism spending.
“This will enhance convenience for travellers when making purchases during their overseas travel,” MAS says in a statement on December 7.
According to the central bank, this was one of two initiatives announced and discussed at this year’s annual bilateral cooperation meeting between Singapore and China. The meeting in Tianjin on December 7 was co-chaired by the deputy prime ministers of both countries.
In the second initiative, MAS and the Guangzhou Futures Exchange have signed a memorandum of understanding to collaborate on information exchange, training and joint research on sustainable products.
According to Leong Sing Chiong, deputy managing director for markets and development at MAS, this has been a fruitful year for financial cooperation between Singapore and China.
“MAS welcomes the new initiatives in digital finance and capital markets connectivity, as these will catalyse new financial flows between our financial centres, and deepen trade and economic relations between our economies,” he says.