Daily Briefing: MAS launches $86.6b swap facility with US Fed; Singapore, New Zealand to maintain open supply chains amidst virus outbreak

And Scoot has temporarily suspended flights to 49 destinations.

From Channel News Asia:

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has announced the establishment of a $86.6b (US $60b) swap facility with the US Federal Reserve, as the global economy comes under strain from the coronavirus outbreak.

The swap facility will be in place for at least six months, and will allow MAS to exchange Singapore dollars for US dollars, providing US dollar liquidity to financial institutions in Singapore.

The announcement came after the Fed extended the swap line arrangements to the central banks of nine other countries including Singapore.

"The swap facility complements MAS' management of the Singapore dollar market. It will contribute significantly to ensuring stable liquidity conditions in the USD funding markets in Singapore and globally,” said MAS.

Apart from Singapore, the Fed is said to provide up to US$60 billion each to the central banks of Australia, Brazil, South Korea, Mexico and Sweden and US$30 billion each to Denmark, Norway and New Zealand.

Read more here. 

From Channel News Asia:

Singapore and New Zealand are committed to maintaining open and connected supply chains ”as part of collective efforts to combat COVID-19, said both countries in a joint ministerial statement.

“We will work closely to identify and address trade disruptions with ramifications on the flow of necessities,” said Chan Chun Sing, Minister of Trade and Industry, and David Parke, Sing’s New Zealand counterpart in the statement.

The two countries also affirmed the importance of refraining from the imposition of export controls or tariffs and non-tariff barriers, and of removing any existing trade restrictive measures on essential goods during this time, especially medical supplies.

“We are committed to working with all like-minded countries to ensure that trade continues to flow unimpeded, and that critical infrastructure such as our air and seaports remain open to support the viability and integrity of supply chains globally,” the statement added.

Read more here. 

From Channel News Asia:

Scoot will temporarily suspend flights to 49 destinations as countries tighten border restrictions due to the virus outbreak.

Many of the affected routes are flights between Singapore and China. Outside of Asia, Scoot flights to Greece and Germany are also affected. The suspension of some routes started on Friday.

The airline said that customers facing disruption to their travel plans, including those with multiple sectors that include the suspended flights, will be notified progressively and will receive a Scoot travel voucher on the unused portion of their itinerary within 30 business days with no further action required.

Other routes are also said to see frequency adjustments, without notification of the destinations affected. Scoot said that customers who are affected will be contacted directly.

Affected customers who were supposed to travel between 23 Jan and 31 May will be given a choice to either reroute to another Scoot destination, rebook the flight to a later travel date or get a full refund of unused itinerary value through a travel voucher.

Read more here.