MAS loses S$10.61 billion as currency strengthens

It’s the second loss in three years.

The Monetary Authority of Singapore, the city-state’s central bank, said the net loss in its last fiscal year came as the Singapore dollar's rose against the yen and euro diminished the value of its foreign currency holdings.

MAS' loss for the financial year ended March, its second in three years, was just slightly below the record S$10.9 billion deficit incurred in financial year 2010/11 when the Singapore dollar also soared.

Managing director Ravi Menon said MAS made good investment returns, but when measured in Singapore dollars these gains were more than offset by the strength of the currency.

MAS said the Singapore dollar gained 13.8% against the yen and 6.2% against the euro in the 12 months to March. During the same period, the Singapore dollar rose 5.1% against the British pound and 1.3% against the US dollar.

The central bank had total assets of S$340.4 billion in March 2013, up from S$319.2 billion year-on-year.