SINGAPORE (THE BUSINESS TIMES) - ST Engineering on Friday (Oct 23) said it has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Montran Corporation focusing on the "digitalisation of critical payments and securities settlement systems" in the Asia-Pacific region.

The partnership will see the establishment of a centre of excellence (COE) in Singapore, both companies said in a joint statement.

It also combines ST Engineering's capabilities in designing, building and operating critical information infrastructures with Montran's experience in global payments and securities settlement and clearing infrastructure solutions.

Under the Cybersecurity Act, a critical information infrastructure is a computer or a computer system located wholly or partly in Singapore, necessary for the continuous delivery of an essential service.

According to ST Engineering and Montran, the COE will lead the development and implementation of ISO-20022-compliant, real-time gross settlement, central securities depository and payment system solutions. This is to meet the fast-evolving financial services space in Singapore and the region, the companies said.

The ISO 20022 is an emerging global and open standard for payments messaging, according to Swift, the global provider of secure financial messaging services.

The alliance will also cover initiatives such as the modernisation of payment solutions technology to support the financial services ecosystem for a globalised network that can be hosted within a hybrid or multi-cloud management under the COE, the companies noted.

Said Mr Ravinder Singh, president of ST Engineering's electronics sector: "This partnership will contribute to ST Engineering's growth strategy, especially in supporting critical information systems in the financial services sector, as well as in the digitalisation of user-centric payment systems to augment our smart city solutions and service offerings."

ST Engineering shares were trading at $3.66 as at 1.43pm on Friday, up two cents or 0.6 per cent.