I am extremely thankful to be once again invited to speak at TheEdge Mid-Year Investment Forum 2019. Once again, I thought it would be a good learning experience to share the Q&A with the public for learning purposes. If you are interested in reading the previous year’s Q&A, do click here.

Question: How do you see the issuing of digital bank licenses affecting our local banks.

This question is probably in reference to the latest article from the Singapore Government here, where the MAS is exploring to issue 5 new digital bank licences. This comprises of up to 2 digital full-bank licences, and up to 3 digital wholesale bank licences. Furthermore, they must all meet the same capital requirements as local banks.

It is my opinion that while this may cause some disruptions to our local banks, it is probably limited to the payment space in the meantime. Furthermore, the payment