The MAS declined to comment and referred Reuters to the public service division, which oversees leadership appointments in the civil service. The division said it had no information to provide at present and "will announce any upcoming changes to the appointment of permanent secretaries through official channels." Menon and Chia did not immediately respond to emailed requests for comment. Menon, who turns 59 this year, has been at the helm of the MAS since 2011 and his current term ends on May 31 having extended his tenure in the post two years ago. Before joining the central bank, he was trade ministry permanent secretary and deputy secretary at the finance ministry.
Chia, 52, spent 16 years at the MAS from 2004 and has held various management posts at the central bank ranging from macroeconomic surveillance to markets and investment.
Chia was also the deputy managing director for corporate development at the central bank. Singapore's central bank was one of the earliest to tighten monetary policy as the city-state exited the pandemic.
It had tightened monetary policy for five rounds since October 2021 but last week left levers unchanged, saying previous moves were "still working through the economy and should dampen inflation further". (Reporting by Urvi Dugar in Bengaluru and Xinghui Kok and Yantoultra Ngui in Singapore; Editing by Jacqueline Wong, Martin Petty)
