Abstract
July 8, 2016
July 8, 2016
Prepared By
Asia and Pacific Department
Contents
FUND RELATIONS
STATISTICAL ISSUES
Fund Relations
(As of May 31, 2016)
Membership Status: Joined August 3, 1966; Article VIII
General Resources Account
| SDR Millions | Percent of Quota | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Quota | 3,891.90 | 100.00 | |
| Fund holdings of currency (exchange rate) | 3,261.61 | 83.80 | |
| Reserve tranche position | 630.66 | 16.20 | |
| Lending to the Fund: | |||
| New Arrangements to Borrow | 117.79 | ||
| SDR Millions | Percent of Quota | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Quota | 3,891.90 | 100.00 | |
| Fund holdings of currency (exchange rate) | 3,261.61 | 83.80 | |
| Reserve tranche position | 630.66 | 16.20 | |
| Lending to the Fund: | |||
| New Arrangements to Borrow | 117.79 | ||
SDR Department
| SDR Millions | Percent of Allocation | |
|---|---|---|
| Net cumulative allocation | 744.21 | 100.00 |
| Holdings | 744.34 | 100.02 |
| SDR Millions | Percent of Allocation | |
|---|---|---|
| Net cumulative allocation | 744.21 | 100.00 |
| Holdings | 744.34 | 100.02 |
Outstanding Purchases and Loans: None.
Financial Arrangements: None.
Projected Payments to the Fund: None.
Exchange Arrangement
Singapore’s de facto exchange rate arrangement is classified as “stabilized.” The de jure exchange rate arrangement is “other managed.” The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) monitors its value against an undisclosed basket of currencies and intervenes in the market to maintain this value within an undisclosed target band. The U.S. dollar is the intervention currency. Singapore has accepted the obligations of Article VIII, Sections 2, 3, and 4 and maintains an exchange rate system free of restrictions on the making of payments and transfers for current international transactions, except for restrictions maintained solely for the preservation of national or international security, which have been notified to the Fund in accordance with the procedures set forth in Executive Board decision 144-(52/51). Singapore maintains restrictions on Singapore dollar credit facilities to, and bond and equity issuance by, nonresident financial institutions. Singapore-dollar proceeds obtained by nonresident financial entities (such as banks, merchant banks, finance companies, and hedge funds) from loans exceeding S$5 million, or any amount for equity listings or bond issuance to finance activities outside Singapore must be swapped or converted into foreign currency upon draw-down. Financial institutions are prohibited from extending Singapore-dollar credit facilities in excess of S$5 million to nonresident financial entities if there is reason to believe that the Singapore-dollar proceeds may be used for Singapore-dollar currency speculation. In a bid to contain a real estate price bubble, Singapore imposed additional stamp duties on purchases by foreigners and corporate entities of residential properties in Singapore.
Article IV Consultation
Singapore is on the 12˗month consultation cycle. The 2015 Article IV consultation discussions were held during April 29–May 12, 2015; the Executive Board concluded the consultation on July 15, 2015 (IMF Country Report No. 15/199).
FSAP Participation
The FSAP Update involved two missions: May 15–22, 2013 and July 25–August 7, 2013. The findings were presented in the Financial System Sustainability Assessment (IMF Country Report No. 13/325).
Technical Assistance: None.
Resident Representative: Mr. Geoffrey Heenan has been posted in Singapore since January 2014.
Statistical Issues
| Assessment of Data Adequacy for Surveillance | |
| General: Data provision is broadly adequate for surveillance. While the authorities have continued to expand the range of publicly available data, dissemination of more disaggregated data would enhance the basis for macroeconomic policy analysis, particularly in the external, monetary and fiscal areas. | |
| National accounts: The Singapore Department of Statistics (DOS) has made improvements in data sources and methodology. The reconciliation of various national accounts estimates was conducted in 2014, resulting in lower statistical discrepancies. DOS has completed the rebasing of Singapore’s national accounts to reference year 2010. | |
| Price statistics: DOS has completed the rebasing of the Consumer Price Index (CPI) to base year 2014. The CPI is rebased once every five years to reflect the latest consumption pattern and composition of goods and services consumed by resident households. | |
| Government finance statistics: Information on government assets held abroad is neither published nor provided to the Fund. The government publishes annually partial information on the interest and dividends on these assets. Debt service payments on domestic debt made from the extra budgetary Government Securities Fund are published on an annual basis. Data on the financial position of the consolidated public sector are not published. | |
| Monetary statistics: The Monetary Authority of Singapore has not submitted the standardized report forms (SRFs) for monetary statistics introduced in October 2004. The SRFs provide for accounting data to be broken down by instrument, sector, and currency. | |
| Balance of payments: In February 2012, the DOS concluded the migration of the balance of payments accounts to the 6th edition of the Balance of Payments and International Investment Position Manual (BPM6). The main changes relative to the 5th edition include: reclassification of repairs on goods and processing fees to services (from goods); reclassification of merchanting to goods (from services); and treating banks’ Asian Currency Units (ACUs) as residents (previously they were regarded as nonresidents, and hence their transactions were excluded from the balance of payments). Data on Singapore’s international investment position (IIP) is not provided on a disaggregated sectoral basis as suggested by the BPM6. The authorities have completed revising the IIP data to include all foreign assets held by Singapore’s Government Investment Corporation. The associated flows were already included in the balance of payments data. | |
| Data Standards and Quality | |
| Singapore provides data on a timely basis and meets all the SDDS specifications. These include the coverage, periodicity, and timeliness of the data; and the dissemination of advance release calendars; quarterly certification of the metadata posted on the Fund’s Dissemination Standards Bulletin Board; and provision of information to allow users to assess data quality. | No data ROSC is available. |
| Assessment of Data Adequacy for Surveillance | |
| General: Data provision is broadly adequate for surveillance. While the authorities have continued to expand the range of publicly available data, dissemination of more disaggregated data would enhance the basis for macroeconomic policy analysis, particularly in the external, monetary and fiscal areas. | |
| National accounts: The Singapore Department of Statistics (DOS) has made improvements in data sources and methodology. The reconciliation of various national accounts estimates was conducted in 2014, resulting in lower statistical discrepancies. DOS has completed the rebasing of Singapore’s national accounts to reference year 2010. | |
| Price statistics: DOS has completed the rebasing of the Consumer Price Index (CPI) to base year 2014. The CPI is rebased once every five years to reflect the latest consumption pattern and composition of goods and services consumed by resident households. | |
| Government finance statistics: Information on government assets held abroad is neither published nor provided to the Fund. The government publishes annually partial information on the interest and dividends on these assets. Debt service payments on domestic debt made from the extra budgetary Government Securities Fund are published on an annual basis. Data on the financial position of the consolidated public sector are not published. | |
| Monetary statistics: The Monetary Authority of Singapore has not submitted the standardized report forms (SRFs) for monetary statistics introduced in October 2004. The SRFs provide for accounting data to be broken down by instrument, sector, and currency. | |
| Balance of payments: In February 2012, the DOS concluded the migration of the balance of payments accounts to the 6th edition of the Balance of Payments and International Investment Position Manual (BPM6). The main changes relative to the 5th edition include: reclassification of repairs on goods and processing fees to services (from goods); reclassification of merchanting to goods (from services); and treating banks’ Asian Currency Units (ACUs) as residents (previously they were regarded as nonresidents, and hence their transactions were excluded from the balance of payments). Data on Singapore’s international investment position (IIP) is not provided on a disaggregated sectoral basis as suggested by the BPM6. The authorities have completed revising the IIP data to include all foreign assets held by Singapore’s Government Investment Corporation. The associated flows were already included in the balance of payments data. | |
| Data Standards and Quality | |
| Singapore provides data on a timely basis and meets all the SDDS specifications. These include the coverage, periodicity, and timeliness of the data; and the dissemination of advance release calendars; quarterly certification of the metadata posted on the Fund’s Dissemination Standards Bulletin Board; and provision of information to allow users to assess data quality. | No data ROSC is available. |
Singapore—Table of Common Indicators Required for Surveillance
(As of June 17, 2016)
Daily (D); weekly (W); monthly (M); quarterly (Q); annually (A); irregular (I); and not available (NA).
Includes reserve assets pledged or otherwise encumbered as well as net derivative positions.
Both market-based and officially determined, including discount rates, money market rates, rates on treasury bills, notes, and bonds.
Foreign, domestic bank, and domestic nonbank financing.
The general government consists of the central government (budgetary funds, extra budgetary funds, and social security funds) and state and local governments.
Including currency and maturity composition.
Official external debt is zero.
Singapore—Table of Common Indicators Required for Surveillance
(As of June 17, 2016)
| Date of Latest Observation | Date Received | Frequency of Data1 | Frequency of Reporting1 | Frequency of Publication1 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Exchange rates | 6/17/16 | 6/17/16 | D | D | D |
| International reserve assets and reserve liabilities of the Monetary Authorities2 | 4/2016 | 5/2016 | M | M | M |
| Reserve/base money | 4/2016 | 5/2016 | M | M | M |
| Broad money | 4/2016 | 5/2016 | M | M | M |
| Central bank balance sheet | 5/2016 | 6/2016 | M | M | M |
| Consolidated balance sheet of the banking system | 4/2016 | 5/2016 | M | M | M |
| Interest rates3 | 6/17/16 | 6/17/16 | D | D | D |
| Consumer price index | 4/2016 | 5/2016 | M | M | M |
| Revenue, expenditure, balance and composition of financing4––general government5 | 3/2015 | 3/2016 | A | A | A |
| Revenue, expenditure, balance and composition of financing4––central government | 3/2016 | 5/2016 | M | M | M |
| Stocks of central government and central government-guaranteed debt6 | 2015:Q1 | 5/2016 | Q | Q | Q |
| External current account balance | 2016:Q1 | 5/2016 | Q | Q | Q |
| Exports and imports of goods and services | 5/2016 | 6/2016 | M | M | M |
| GDP/GNP | 2016:Q1 | 5/2016 | Q | Q | Q |
| Gross external debt7 | 2015:Q4 | 3/2016 | Q | Q | Q |
| Net international investment position | 2015:Q4 | 3/2016 | Q | Q | Q |
Daily (D); weekly (W); monthly (M); quarterly (Q); annually (A); irregular (I); and not available (NA).
Includes reserve assets pledged or otherwise encumbered as well as net derivative positions.
Both market-based and officially determined, including discount rates, money market rates, rates on treasury bills, notes, and bonds.
Foreign, domestic bank, and domestic nonbank financing.
The general government consists of the central government (budgetary funds, extra budgetary funds, and social security funds) and state and local governments.
Including currency and maturity composition.
Official external debt is zero.
Singapore—Table of Common Indicators Required for Surveillance
(As of June 17, 2016)
| Date of Latest Observation | Date Received | Frequency of Data1 | Frequency of Reporting1 | Frequency of Publication1 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Exchange rates | 6/17/16 | 6/17/16 | D | D | D |
| International reserve assets and reserve liabilities of the Monetary Authorities2 | 4/2016 | 5/2016 | M | M | M |
| Reserve/base money | 4/2016 | 5/2016 | M | M | M |
| Broad money | 4/2016 | 5/2016 | M | M | M |
| Central bank balance sheet | 5/2016 | 6/2016 | M | M | M |
| Consolidated balance sheet of the banking system | 4/2016 | 5/2016 | M | M | M |
| Interest rates3 | 6/17/16 | 6/17/16 | D | D | D |
| Consumer price index | 4/2016 | 5/2016 | M | M | M |
| Revenue, expenditure, balance and composition of financing4––general government5 | 3/2015 | 3/2016 | A | A | A |
| Revenue, expenditure, balance and composition of financing4––central government | 3/2016 | 5/2016 | M | M | M |
| Stocks of central government and central government-guaranteed debt6 | 2015:Q1 | 5/2016 | Q | Q | Q |
| External current account balance | 2016:Q1 | 5/2016 | Q | Q | Q |
| Exports and imports of goods and services | 5/2016 | 6/2016 | M | M | M |
| GDP/GNP | 2016:Q1 | 5/2016 | Q | Q | Q |
| Gross external debt7 | 2015:Q4 | 3/2016 | Q | Q | Q |
| Net international investment position | 2015:Q4 | 3/2016 | Q | Q | Q |
Daily (D); weekly (W); monthly (M); quarterly (Q); annually (A); irregular (I); and not available (NA).
Includes reserve assets pledged or otherwise encumbered as well as net derivative positions.
Both market-based and officially determined, including discount rates, money market rates, rates on treasury bills, notes, and bonds.
Foreign, domestic bank, and domestic nonbank financing.
The general government consists of the central government (budgetary funds, extra budgetary funds, and social security funds) and state and local governments.
Including currency and maturity composition.
Official external debt is zero.