MAS chief Ravi Menon set to leave post; Chia Der Jiun tipped to succeed: Report
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Mr Ravi Menon (left), who has been at the helm of MAS since 2011, is tipped to be succeeded by Mr Chia Der Jiun, one of his former deputies.
PHOTOS: ST FILE, LIANHE ZAOBAO
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SINGAPORE – Mr Ravi Menon, the Monetary Authority of Singapore’s longest-serving chief, is poised to leave the central bank this year, according to people familiar with the matter.
Mr Menon has been at the helm of MAS since 2011 and his current term ends on May 31. Mr Chia Der Jiun, one of his former deputies, is tipped to be his successor, the people said, declining to be identified discussing a private matter.
When asked for comment, MAS referred the matter to the Public Service Division.
A spokesman for the Public Service Division told The Straits Times: “We have no information to provide at this moment. The Public Service Division will announce any upcoming changes to the appointment of permanent secretaries through official channels and media releases.”
Mr Chia is currently the Ministry of Manpower’s permanent secretary for development. If he does take up the role, it will mark a return for MAS’ former deputy managing director for corporate development. Mr Chia was a 16-year veteran of MAS before he joined the Manpower Ministry in 2020.
It is unclear what will be Mr Menon’s next step. His predecessors like Mr Heng Swee Keat, Mr Tharman Shanmugaratnam and Mr Richard Hu joined politics and served as finance ministers after leaving the central bank.
Mr Menon told Bloomberg News in 2021 that he has “absolutely no intention to enter politics”. This came after he weighed in on various hot-button topics in the city-state from wealth taxes to foreign labour.
The central bank chief, who describes himself as “an optimist and an idealist”, began his career at MAS in 1987. He also had stints at the Trade and Industry Ministry as well as the Bank for International Settlements.
In his 12 years at the helm of MAS, Mr Menon helped steer Singapore’s economy through the post-global financial crisis era. MAS was among the first to start tightening monetary policy in a post-pandemic world. Mr Menon also pushed Singapore banks to develop financial technology early.
In 2018, Mr Menon was in the running to head the Basel-based Financial Stability Board. The following year, his name was floated to head the Bank of England – another sign of his global stature among central bankers.
When Mr Chia was at MAS, he helped to improve the risk sensitivity of the authority’s regulatory frameworks. He also oversaw the implementation of monetary policy and investment of MAS’ official foreign reserves.
He would rejoin the regulator as Singapore gains in importance as a key financial hub while confronting challenges from a slowing economy and inflation that remains at a 14-year high. BLOOMBERG
With additional information from The Straits Times
