A major initiative during the year was to promote increased access to financing to the new areas of growth as well as to small and medium scale enterprises, including for micro enterprises. This aims to enhance the potential and capacity of domestic indigenous enterprises to grow and thus enhance their contribution to the economy. In the area of Islamic banking and finance, policy initiatives have been implemented to position Malaysia to become a leading international Islamic financial centre. Earlier this month, the Malaysian Government had launched the Malaysia International Islamic Financial Centre or MIFC initiative. This initiative is aimed at building greater intermediation linkages between the East Asian, the West Asian and Middle East regions which will in turn, further expand inter-regional trade and cross border investment flows. This would also contribute towards a more efficient allocation of capital and thus enhance the prospects for mutually reinforcing intra-regional growth. In addition, the enhanced opportunities for raising financing offers would also facilitate greater risk diversification. To achieve this goal, efforts and resources are being directed towards achieving two broad objectives: •  First, to become an international leader in the origination, issuance as well as trading of Islamic capital market and treasury instruments, fund and wealth management services, offshore Islamic financial services, and takaful and retakaful. •  Second, to position Malaysia as a centre of excellence for Islamic banking and finance education, training, consultancy and research.

Indeed, the very foundation of insurance is one that is based on a relationship of trust and integrity. Reputation and trust are indeed the valued assets of the insurance and takaful industries' business. Any lapses in market conduct will have widespread implications on the business and on the industry. Ensuring fair and equitable dealings with customers should also be a priority. In this environment where the industry originates more and more innovative and complex financial solutions, insurers and takaful operators therefore have a responsibility to ensure that: •  consumers receive sufficient information to be able to make informed decisions;  •  that they understand the key features of a policy, including any significant exclusions, before any purchase;  •  that the recommended policies are suitable for their demands and needs; and  •  that their claims are dealt with promptly and fairly. The new environment of increased market discipline now places even greater emphasis on stronger corporate governance, integrity and transparency. High standards of integrity should also define the management of the institution's human and physical resources. In this respect, there can be no substitute for the commitment of an institution's leadership to uphold the highest standards of integrity in dealing with its human capital and corporate resources that are managed on behalf of shareholders and policyholders. Achieving success in an environment of greater competition will hinge on the ability of the domestic industry to innovate and provide enhanced value propositions for consumers.