UK and Singapore align financial agenda ahead of G20 and ASEAN roles

Talks covered tokenisation AI adoption quantum security and sustainable finance.

The UK and Singapore advanced cooperation on digital finance, capital markets, and sustainable finance, ahead of the UK’s G20 presidency and Singapore’s ASEAN chairmanship in 2027.

The discussions took place at the 11th UK-Singapore Financial Dialogue, held in Singapore on 20 October.

On digital finance, discussions covered tokenisation and wholesale digital markets, including the Monetary Authority of Singapore’s (MAS) Project Guardian and BLOOM and the UK’s Wholesale Financial Markets Digital Strategy, as well as crypto-assets and stablecoins.

The dialogue stressed safe and responsible AI adoption in financial services, highlighting Singapore’s Safeguards for Agentic Finance at Runtime framework and the UK’s AI policies for financial services. MAS and the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) also reviewed progress under the UK-Singapore AI in Finance Partnership, including PathFin.ai, Spotlight, the FCA Supercharged Sandbox, and the AI Observatory.

Quantum security and transitions to quantum-safe technologies were also discussed, including the UK’s post-quantum cryptography migration guidance and MAS’ Quantum Key Distribution sandbox.

For capital markets, HM Treasury shared progress on capital market reforms and private capital access, whilst MAS updated on the Equities Market Review Group’s measures and Singapore’s Growth Capital Workgroup.

Sustainable finance discussions covered Singapore’s revisions to the Singapore-Asia Taxonomy 2.0 and the Financial Sector Carbon Market Grant, alongside the UK’s progress on transition finance and climate adaptation through insurance markets.

An industry-led roundtable will follow on 21 October, covering international cooperation opportunities ahead of the UK’s G20 presidency and Singapore’s ASEAN chairmanship in 2027.