Ravi Menon: A smart financial centre Keynote address by Mr Ravi Menon, Managing Director of the Monetary Authority of Singapore, at the Global Technology Law Conference 2015, Singapore, 29 June 2015. *  *  *  The Honourable Chief Justice Sundaresh Menon, The Honourable Justice Lee Seiu Kin, Distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen, good morning. And to all our foreign guests, a warm welcome to Singapore. “The Geeks Shall Inherit the Earth” Technology is changing the way we live, work, and play. •  •  Robots and unmanned drones are becoming more common. –  Robotic cleaners like iRobot have lightened the load of household chores. –  Pizza restaurants in cities ranging from Mumbai to Moscow have started to deliver pizzas using drones. Digital payment systems are taking off rapidly, especially in developing countries. –  Kenya launched in 2007 M-Pesa: a simple and low-cost service that allows users to deposit and transfer funds through SMS text messages. When the legal profession is organising a conference on technology, you know that something momentous is brewing! I congratulate the Singapore Academy of Law for its acumen in setting technology as the theme for its conference. A sector where I believe technology is going to be fundamentally transformative is financial services. In fact, there is a new buzzword: “FinTech” – financial technologies or the integration of finance and technology. Two things are happening. First, non-financial players are using technology to offer innovative solutions that mirror the services traditionally offered by financial institutions (“FIs”).
Let me cite a few examples, -  The Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures, created at the request of the Financial Stability Board but comprising in its entirety members of the industry. This Task Force has produced voluntary disclosure standards for companies in general, which are becoming more and more relevant, as investors, consumers and corporates demand sustainability-related information to make informed decisions. -  The European Commission Action Plan on Financing Sustainable Growth, which should contribute to making the EU a leading force in the global fight against climate change. -  The International Platform on Sustainable Finance. -  The Coalition of Finance Ministers for Climate Action, which comprises governments from more than twenty countries joining forces to address the challenges posed by climate change. We are also honoured to have with us Ms. Ana de la Cueva, Secretary of State for Economic & Business Affairs, who will close this conference and inform us about this initiative. -  Last, but certainly not least, I want to mention the Network of Central Banks and Supervisors for Greening the Financial System (NGFS), created two years ago as a “coalition of the willing” and a voluntary-based forum. The NGFS has grown from 8 members to over 50 since 2017, which is a clear sign of its success.