Government Leaders
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Mr. Ravi Menon
Managing Director
Monetary Authority of Singapore |
Ravi Menon is Managing Director of the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS). The MAS is responsible for conducting monetary policy, managing the official foreign reserves, regulating and supervising the financial sector, and developing Singapore as a financial centre. Mr Menon was previously Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Trade & Industry (MTI) and Deputy Secretary at the Ministry of Finance (MOF).
A recipient of the Public Administration Medal (Gold), Mr Menon has served on boards in the public, private, and people sectors. He was a board member of the Housing and Development Board, Singapore Totalisator Board, Agency for Science, Technology, and Research, Civil Service College, National Research Foundation, and Deputy Chairman of the Central Provident Fund Board. He was also on the board of directors of DBS Bank. He is currently on the board of trustees of the Singapore Indian Development Association, a volunteer group dedicated to build a strong Singaporean Indian community; and on the board of governors of Raffles Institution.
Mr Menon holds a Master's in Public Administration from Harvard University and a Bachelor of Social Science (Honours) in Economics from the National University of Singapore.
Singapore is located 1 degree or 136.8km north of the equator. It has a total land area of 699 square kilometers and a population of about four million. Situated at the crossroads of East and West, Singapore is one of the busiest sea and airports in the world. Its strategic position has also made it a hub for trade, communications and tourism activities.
Singapore is known for its hot and humid weather, with little variation throughout the year. The average daytime temperature is 31ºC (88ºF), dropping to around 24ºC (75ºF) in the evenings. The monsoon season can bear down pretty heavily on our tropical weather from November onwards, so be prepared for rain on a daily basis during this period.
Singapore voltage is 220 – 240 volts AC, 50 cycles per second.
The currency used in Singapore is the Singapore dollar (S$). Money changing services can be found not only at the Singapore Changi Airport but also most shopping centres and hotels around the island. You can also access the automated teller machines (ATMs) located everywhere (even in the most obscure bits) in Singapore, that accept most of the main credit cards such as Visa, MasterCard and American Express.
