Recommendation 108

Several witnesses highlighted the success of MAS in operating an authorisation process that is responsive to, and supportive of, candidate firms. Sir Nicholas Lyons, Chair of Phoenix Group and former Lord Mayor of the City of London, told us: “Singapore was consistently demonstrating that it was more responsive to inbound [financial services] firms, especially in insurance and reinsurance, basing its competitiveness on its proximity to huge Asian markets.” 174 This was echoed by Charles Randell, who stated: “One aspect of Singapore is that it has a sort of concierge culture. The regulator accompanies firms through the authorisation process and has a developmental objective of growing the Singapore finance industry.” 175