Minister in the Prime Minister's Office and Second Minister for Finance Indranee Rajah slammed a Financial Times (FT) report claiming the Singapore government had given international banks an "unusual series of top-level briefings", saying that the report was "poorly sourced".

In a written parliamentary reply on May 7, she said:

"It is surprising that such a poorly sourced story, vainly searching for a point, could appear in a major paper like FT, especially after we had repeatedly clarified matters with the reporter, including telling her the briefings were not unusual."

The Apr. 20 article was titled "Singapore gives top-level briefings to reassure foreign banks on stability".

Such briefings common, done with wide range of groups: Indranee

Sengkang GRC MP Louis Chua filed a question in parliament asking about the objectives and key messages of such briefings alleged by FT.

The article was written by FT's Singapore and Southeast Asia correspondent Mercedes Ruehl.

Indranee noted that ministers and officials have been conducting briefings for decades, and not just with financial institutions.

Other groups, including businesses, professional bodies, voluntary and non-governmental organisations, community and cultural groups, unionists and students are engaged, she said.

"Even among financial institutions, we engaged not only international banks based here but also Singapore banks. In brief, we engage as widely as possible," she added.

Whole range of domestic issues covered

As for the issues addressed during these engagements, Indranee said besides geopolitical issues, "a whole range of domestic matters" are covered.

These range from the cost of living to the Budget, from education to housing policies, and also the ongoing money laundering cases.

"Our aim is to explain the Government’s positions, hear from various stakeholders about their concerns and challenges, and gather feedback," she added.

Not "under the radar", but publicised on social media

Indranee also rubbished the suggestion that these briefings were conducted "under the radar".

"The FT did not report what we told its reporter: that almost all the briefings her article mentioned had already been publicised by the ministers on their own social media accounts," she said.

For example, Senior Minister Teo Chee Hean posted photographs of his engagement sessions, she said.

Indranee noted that it was "significant" that "no reputable media outlet, international or domestic", followed up on FT’s story.

She added that several media outlets sent in follow-up queries, but none went ahead with the story after hearing the government's position.

Top image from MCI / Financial Times website