Menon

SINGAPORE - Singapore has made a name for itself as a beacon of trust, stability and resilience through the Covid-19 crisis, and has a big advantage in the post-pandemic world given the greater premium placed on such qualities, said Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) managing director Ravi Menon on Thursday (April 8). "We are a Global-Asia node, we are the conduit through which the rest of the world comes into Asia, and we want to be the conduit through which Asia reaches out to the rest of the world," he said. This is the Republic's unique value proposition which it seeks to continue strengthening, he added. Mr Menon was speaking on a panel on the banking sector which was moderated by Singapore Management University's Professor Emeritus of Finance (Practice) Annie Koh. The panel at The Ritz-Carlton Millenia Singapore was held on the sidelines of the Association of Banks in Singapore's (ABS) annual general meeting. Mr Menon's sentiments were shared by his fellow panellists ... » Learn More about Singapore has great advantage in post-Covid-19 world: MAS chief Ravi Menon

SINGAPORE - Singapore's former chief justice Yong Pung How, who died on Thursday morning (Jan 9), aged 93 , was a "selfless titan who dedicated himself to building up Singapore and her institutions", said Home Affairs and Law Minister K. Shanmugam. Paying tribute to Mr Yong in a Facebook post, Mr Shanmugam said that he was privileged and fortunate to have been a practising lawyer when Mr Yong was a High Court judge and then Chief Justice from 1990 to 2006. "Appearing before CJ Yong was always an experience. Recently, I was reminded that in the Court of Appeal, he once told me (when I stood up to argue my client's case), to put away all my notes and to argue from memory! I had about 30 seconds to collect my thoughts and put my client's case to the Court of Appeal," recalled Mr Shanmugam, who said that Mr Yong was "sharp, immensely practical, and formidable to appear before". "It is also fair to say that he evoked mixed reactions among those who had to appear before him - if you ... » Learn More about Yong Pung How dies: Shanmugam, CJ Menon and legal fraternity pay tribute to former chief justice

SINGAPORE: Working at the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) since 1987, he has seen tectonic shifts in the financial world, from the rise of digital finance, to artificial intelligence and blockchain technology. But what drives Ravi Menon and his team at MAS these days are the risks and opportunities that addressing climate change will bring to the Singapore economy. “It was about two to three years ago … I became increasingly convinced that if indeed climate change is the existential risk of our times, then it must also be the existential risk for the financial sector,” said Mr Menon on CNA’s The Climate Conversations podcast. As a global financial centre, Singapore had to think seriously about not just what the risk was, but in mitigating it and in the process make a clear shift towards a lower carbon economy. All of this, he said, “was going to change the structure of economies and societies”. READ: Commentary: Here's how green bonds will take Singapore's reputation ... » Learn More about Climate change both an existential risk and an opportunity for the financial sector: MAS chief Ravi Menon

SINGAPORE - Blogger Leong Sze Hian has lost an appeal to make a counterclaim in a libel suit brought against him by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong . Mr Leong had filed a defence and countersuit against PM Lee last year , arguing that the Prime Minister's defamation suit against him is an abuse of the process of the court. But the Court of Appeal, comprising Chief Justice Sundaresh Menon and Judges of Appeal Andrew Phang and Judith Prakash, threw out Mr Leong's suit on Friday afternoon (Sept 27). The apex court also ordered Mr Leong to pay $20,000 in costs. "I am struggling to get my head around the concept that a party can defame somebody, and the law should recognise as a course of action that the person, having been defamed, when trying to vindicate their reputation, can be sued for doing that," said Chief Justice Menon in dismissing the claim. PM Lee had initiated legal action against Mr Leong in December , after Mr Leong shared on Facebook part of the headline of an ... » Learn More about Court of Appeal throws out blogger Leong Sze Hian’s counterclaim against PM Lee

WELLINGTON (Reuters) - New Zealand's Catholic Church formally apologised on Friday to the survivors of abuse within the church and said its systems and culture must change. Cardinal John Dew, who is the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Wellington and Metropolitan of New Zealand, made the apology at the Royal Commission into Abuse in Care on behalf of the bishops and congregational leaders in New Zealand. "Today, recognising the importance of this moment, I apologise to you, on behalf of the bishops and congregational leaders of the Catholic Church in Aotearoa New Zealand," said Cardinal Dew, who is also the president of the New Zealand Catholic Bishops Conference. "I also apologise to you on behalf of those who preceded us as bishops and congregational leaders. We offer no excuses for their actions, or for ours, that have caused you harm." Cardinal Dew's comments in Auckland was part of witness statements being recorded from faith-based institutions at the Abuse in Care inquiry ... » Learn More about New Zealand’s Catholic Church apologises to survivors of abuse

Singapore's reach in global arbitration is also seen in thought leadership and in its court cases cited abroad over the years. The latest two instances emerged last week, the first being when Singapore's Chief Justice Sundaresh Menon was invited to deliver the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators Australia Annual Lecture 2020. Please subscribe or log in to continue reading the full article. Get unlimited access to all stories at $0.99/month Latest headlines and exclusive stories In-depth analyses and award-winning multimedia content Get access to all with our no-contract promotional package at only $0.99/month for the first 3 months* Subscribe now *Terms and conditions apply. ... » Learn More about Global reach of local arbitration views

SINGAPORE - With Singapore making a name for itself as a centre for dispute resolution, even an old hand like Britain has said it can "learn a lot from the approach Singapore has taken in recent decades" on the subject. A British parliamentary group said this in a report issued last month that was based on a week-long study visit to Singapore in August 2019. The All-Party Parliamentary Group for Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) also said: "From adopting a 'whole-of-government' policy for disputes policy to efforts to boost the status of mediation as a means for settling international commercial disputes, there are several elements of the Singaporean approach which we think the UK should emulate and, where necessary, adapt and modify." The group is one of the many cross-party informal ones comprising members of both Houses of Britain's Parliament with a common interest in particular issues. During the visit, the group met key figures from the Singapore government, judiciary ... » Learn More about UK can take leaf from Singapore on dispute resolution, say its MPs in post-study visit report

With the coronavirus pandemic raging, Ms Sherry Soon, 39, founder of local ground-up movement Be Kind SG, wanted to give front-line healthcare workers an extra boost. In early February, she galvanised corporate sponsors, schools, non-profit groups and the Singapore Prison Service to put together 7,000 care packs containing items such as snacks, toiletries and thank-you notes for healthcare staff. That was one of more than 10 initiatives led by Ms Soon amid the Covid-19 period. For her efforts, Ms Soon was among 31 recipients presented with an award by President Halimah Yacob at this year's President's Volunteerism and Philanthropy Awards (PVPA) ceremony held at the Istana yesterday. A record 236 nominations were submitted for the PVPA this year, more than twice the number received in 2018. In her address at the ceremony, Madam Halimah noted that despite the Covid-19 pandemic posing a great challenge, it has also brought out the best in many Singaporeans. "Over ... » Learn More about Community heroes hailed for kind acts amid Covid-19

SINGAPORE - Relief measures to help individuals and small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) with cash flow difficulties will be extended into 2021. This is intended to give those who have applied to defer loan repayments more time to resume their debt servicing, said the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) on Monday (Oct 5), in its joint announcement with the Association of Banks in Singapore (ABS) and the Finance Houses Association of Singapore. The reliefs are also available to those who have not applied to defer payments previously, but are now facing cash flow challenges. The extended measures will allow both individuals and businesses to transition gradually to full loan repayments, as the central bank and the financial industry recognise that many will continue to experience cash flow pressures into early 2021, MAS said. But it urged borrowers who are able to resume paying loan instalments in full to start doing so from Jan 1, 2021, as further postponement ... » Learn More about Loan repayment relief measures for individuals, SMEs extended into 2021: MAS

SINGAPORE - Former chief justice Yong Pung How had such a profound and immense impact on the legal profession that, more than three decades after he set out to transform Singapore's justice system , his achievement is still talked about around the world today. Chief Justice Sundaresh Menon said this on Thursday (April 8) at a ceremony to mark the renaming of the Singapore Management University (SMU) law school after Mr Yong , who was Singapore's second chief justice and SMU's third chancellor. The new name - Yong Pung How School of Law - takes effect on Sunday (April 11), the day on which Mr Yong would have turned 95. He was 93 when he died in January last year. More than 200 guests - including Mr Yong's widow, Mrs Yong Wei Woo, 91, and their daughter, Ms Yong Ying-I, 57 - attended the event, either in person at the SMU Hall or virtually. In the audience were Education Minister Lawrence Wong, Second Minister for Law Edwin Tong, SMU honorary patron Tony Tan Keng Yam and ... » Learn More about SMU names law school after late CJ Yong Pung How for his ‘profound and immense’ impact on profession