SINGAPORE — Mr Ravi Menon will step down on Jan 1 as managing director of the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), seven months after his reappointment for two more years.

He will have spent 36 years in public service, said the Public Service Division on Monday (Sept 4).

Mr Menon, who turns 59 this year, is the longest-serving chief at MAS. He has been at the helm since 2011, managing Singapore's foreign reserves, enforcing monetary policy, supervising the financial sector and developing the city-state as a financial hub.

Mr Chia Der Jiun, one of his former deputies who is currently Permanent Secretary (Development) at the Ministry of Manpower (MOM), has been appointed as his successor.

On May 12, the MAS said Mr Menon would continue to serve in his role and as a member of the MAS board. His reappointment was effective from June 1, 2023, to May 31, 2025, or until his retirement from the public service, whichever is earlier.

Mr Menon, together with Attorney-General Lucien Wong and NetLink NBN Management chairman Chaly Mah, were also reappointed to the MAS board for another three-year term from June 1, 2023, to May 31, 2026.

Mr Chia is the Ministry of Manpower's permanent secretary for development.

The MAS former deputy managing director for corporate development spent 16 years with the central bank before he joined the Manpower Ministry in 2020. 

Mr Menon began his career at MAS in 1987. During the Covid-19 pandemic, MAS played a crucial role in supporting workers and households, sustaining them through the pandemic and laying the foundations for a strong economic recovery post-crisis.

Among the slew of measures ranging from wage subsidies for businesses, cash transfers for households and training for the future, the centrepiece of the Singapore Government's response to the Covid-19 had been fiscal policy.

MAS eased its monetary policy in line with the slowdown in the economy. It ensured the smooth functioning of the funding markets, and facilitated the flow of credit to the economy.

On the monetary front, the MAS assumed an accommodative and supportive policy stance.

Mr Menon is widely credited for his role in introducing digital banking to Singapore. MAS issued its first four digital banking licences in 2020. Under his leadership, MAS actively promotes innovative and responsible use of digital assets.

In June 2022, he was assigned as chair of MAS' advisory board of a new Asia-Pacific network that will support the net-zero transition of financial institutions in the region.

Mr Menon helped steer Singapore's economy through the post-global financial crisis era. MAS was among the first central banks to start tightening monetary policy in a post-pandemic world. He 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 - a testament to his global stature among central bankers.

Before MAS, Mr Menon was permanent secretary at the Ministry of Trade and Industry and a deputy secretary at the Ministry of Finance, where he was responsible for government reserves and fiscal policy.

A recipient of the Singapore Government's Meritorious Service Medal and Public Administration (Gold) Medal, Mr Menon has served on a variety of boards in the public and private sectors in Singapore.

The Raffles Institution alumnus holds a Master in Public Administration from Harvard University and a Bachelor of Social Science (Honours) in economics from the National University of Singapore.

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This article was first published in The Straits Times. Permission required for reproduction.