It is our earnest aspiration that the entry of ING Public Takaful Ehsan will further add to the dynamism and vigour of the takaful industry. With this strategic alliance between 2 financial groups of such calibre, Bank Negara Malaysia looks forward to strong management stewardship, innovative product offerings, wide distribution channels, operational and service excellence as well as breakthrough business strategies that are well-matched by robust risk management capabilities. I am confident that ING Public Takaful Ehsan will benefit greatly from the synergies and complementary strengths of its shareholders, by drawing upon the combined wealth of market experience, technical underwriting expertise, multi-channel distribution network and infrastructure, to successfully make its mark as one of the leading takaful operator, both domestically and on the global front. 2  BIS central bankers’ speeches  In the pursuit to seize the growing business opportunities in the increasingly competitive environment, building a pool of highly skilled and knowledgeable workforce must remain a strategic priority for takaful operators. As a knowledge-intensive industry, human capital can indeed be a potent weapon of competitive advantage for the industry. As the industry seeks to achieve a higher level of competitiveness, increased product complexity, business sophistication, service excellence and the global nature of competition are all demanding greater depth and breadth of leadership, knowledge, competence and skills of industry professionals. Adding to the demands for increased organisational capabilities is the changing regulatory landscape towards risk-based capital, soon-to-be implemented for the Malaysian takaful industry, which places greater prominence on strong risk management culture.

In order to safeguard this informal, implicit independence, the CBT was established as, and still is, a joint stock company, in which the state and  BIS Review 57/2007  1  other local entities hold shares. This structure was by no means a coincidence, but of deliberate design aiming at minimizing government intervention. However, in today’s world, the relationship between ownership structure and central bank independence has become less significant. Nowadays, the most independent central banks are wholly state-owned and the central bank independence involves much more than just ownership. The early years of the establishment were the years in which autonomous functioning of the CBT was at the forefront. The central bank operations were respected and at times demand for short-term credit by the governments was then resisted. The outcome was low inflation. The basic aim of the Bank was to support the economic development of the country. To this end, the Bank’s main operational tools were to set rediscount rates, regulate money markets, execute the Treasury operations and take, jointly with the Government, all measures to protect the value of the Turkish currency. During and after the Second World War, central banking underwent drastic changes in the world in line with the gradual global economic and political transformation. The scope of the central bank’s mandate to manage and control the circulation of currency was extended. Its responsibility now ranged from issuing banknotes, functioning as a lender of last resort, achieving and maintaining low inflation to being the guardian of financial stability.