The Financial Authority of Singapore, the city-state’s monetary regulator and central financial institution, has named Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong as chairman of its board of administrators efficient July 8.

Wong, who’s the nation’s finance minister, will exchange Tharman Shanmugaratnam, who held the position for 12 years since Could 2011, the release said.

Shanmugaratnam announced last month that he can be working in presidential elections in Singapore, which should be held by mid-September. The president position is basically symbolic and ceremonial.

Wong, who was deputy chairman of MAS since June 2021, will function chairman till Could 31, 2026, in accordance with the press launch. He beforehand served as a member of the MAS Board from June 2011 to August 2016.

Singapore’s Minister for Commerce and Business Gan Kim Yong can be appointed deputy chairman of the MAS Board for a similar interval, from July 8 to Could 31, 2026.

Chatting with CNBC in February, he mentioned Singapore faces a challenge of a “delicate balancing act” when setting its authorities finances for the yr because the financial system grapples with world slowdown and weakened demand.

Market watchers are intently monitoring if Singapore might enter a technical recession after its financial system contracted within the first quarter.

Barclays senior regional economist Brian Tan mentioned, “Our monitoring estimate implies a 0.3% quarter-on-quarter decline in Q2, extending Q1’s 0.4% contraction — implying a shallow technical recession.”

Singapore’s industrial production fell for a second month in Could by 3.9% month-on-month after seeing a decline of 1.6% in April.

Regardless of the slowdown, Barclays doesn’t count on the central financial institution to make adjustments to its financial coverage any time quickly, the economist mentioned in a June 26 word.

“Our long-standing view stays that the Financial Authority of Singapore is unlikely to additional tighten its FX coverage settings this yr — together with through unscheduled inter-meeting changes within the close to time period,” Tan wrote.

Singapore’s Straits Times index noticed a bounce shortly after the announcement, paring earlier losses and final traded 0.33% larger.