•  The stock exchanges of Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand have linked up through a common trading platform, the ASEAN Trading Link. This platform provides investors a single entry-point access to the three largest equity markets in ASEAN. There is still some way to go to achieve seamless participation across the region’s financial markets. But these initiatives are a good start. OTC derivatives infrastructure Second, OTC derivatives infrastructure. Earlier, I spoke of global regulatory reforms driving a revolution in the derivatives market. This has brought about new market infrastructure developments, and Singapore has made significant strides in two key areas. The first area is clearing. •  SGX AsiaClear, Asia’s first OTC clearing facility, was established as early as 2006. •  As counterparty to both buyers and sellers, AsiaClear mitigates counterparty credit risk in OTC transactions. •  AsiaClear’s value to the trading community extends to record and statement services, position netting, and cost savings for customers posting margins. •  Today, SGX AsiaClear is the region’s leading multi-asset OTC clearing house, with volumes exceeding 300 billion US dollars to-date. The second area is trade reporting. •  Just in December 2012, the Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation’s (DTCC) Global Trade Repository established its Asia-Pacific global data centre in Singapore. •  The Singapore location is part of its global trio of data centres, designed to support DTCC’s global trade repository services around the clock. •  DTCC’s initiative will fill a key post-trade market infrastructure gap in Singapore and the Asia Pacific region.

Hence, the Central Bank will not use only one indicator to assess the main trend in inflation and will openly inform the public of the type of the relevant indicator and the degree of its importance. Moreover, after reaching a satisfactory number of observations, new indices can be compiled based on different techniques and the SCA can be updated. Public sector’s role in the inflation targeting regime In the inflation-targeting regime, developments in the public sector are a matter of concern from the monetary policy perspective. The CBRT certainly cannot control polices implemented by the public sector. However, the fact that the size of the public sector relative to the economy is still large makes it necessary to closely monitor the developments in this area. In accordance with its law, a central bank,  4  BIS Review 1/2007  which focuses on price stability, has to monitor developments in budget and fiscal policy and has to react to the possible repercussions of these policies on inflation. Policies of the public sector have the potential to affect the inflation outlook through various channels. The first channel comprises expectations. Further enhancement of fiscal discipline through its continuity will increase the effectiveness and predictability of monetary policy by extending the borrowing maturities and reducing risk premiums and the volatilities in risk premiums and facilitate the management of inflation expectations. Pricing behavior of goods and services produced or controlled by the public sector itself or the indirect taxation channel has a direct effect on inflation.