<P> In April 2013, the country was recognised as an increasingly popular tax haven for the wealthy due to the low tax rate on personal income, a full tax exemption on income that is generated outside of Singapore and 69 double taxation treaties that can minimise both withholding tax and capital gains tax . Australian millionaire retailer Brett Blundy, with an estimated personal wealth worth AU $835 million, and multi-billionaire Facebook co-founder Eduardo Saverin are two examples of wealthy individuals who have settled in Singapore (Blundy in 2013 and Saverin in 2012). Additionally, Australian mining magnate Gina Rinehart owns property in Singapore and American investor Jim Rogers moved to Singapore in 2007--Rogers has identified the 21st century as an era in which Asia will dominate and wishes for his two daughters to learn Mandarin as a key outcome of the relocation . Chinese Media TV celebrities Jet Li and Gong Li have also taken up naturalised Singapore citizenship . </P> <P> The Monetary Authority of Singapore is Singapore's central bank and financial regulatory authority . It administers the various statutes pertaining to money, banking, insurance, securities and the financial sector in general, as well as currency issuance . The MAS has been given powers to act as a banker to and financial agent of the Government . It has also been entrusted to promote monetary stability, and credit and exchange policies conducive to the growth of the economy . </P> <P> Unlike many other central banks such as Federal Reserve System or Bank of England, MAS does not regulate the monetary system via interest rates to influence the liquidity in the system . Instead, it chooses to do it via the foreign exchange mechanism . It does so by intervening in the SGD market . </P> <P> Percentage of economic growth: 1.7% (2016) </P>

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