Charles Dow himself chose these stocks, nine of them being railroad companies, the key growth industry at the time. Over time, he would revise the index as he saw appropriate to be reflective of ongoing market and industry developments. Ladies and Gentlemen, The construction and use of benchmark market indices today has undergone much advancement since then. Indeed, financial markets have undergone dramatic transformation. Economic, industry, and corporate expansion; the sophistication, proliferation and diversity of instruments; the expanding investment communities are all factors that have led to an increase in the number of benchmark indices and their greater use. Benchmark committees deliberate over the construction of the index and determine the rules of the benchmark. Investors need the benchmark indices to be used as performance indicators of the broad market and for an indication of the market direction and investors' sentiment on the corporate sector and economy. The representative stocks within a benchmark index need to be highly liquid and reflective of the key corporate sectors that drive growth in the economy. At the same time the index should also reflect the underlying changes in the economy incorporating the emergence of new industries. Thus, for an index to be a useful benchmark and to be used as a reference by investors and market players, the index needs to be regularly reviewed and adjusted accordingly in line with market developments and the transformations taking place in the economy. Indeed, benchmark market indices would reflect the broader investor participation and growing maturity of a markets.

The merger of the Dow Jones Islamic Index for Malaysia and the existing RHB Islamic Index, besides achieving some form of economies of scale with reduced duplication of efforts, will have the significant added advantage of both international and domestic recognition. Moreover, as one of the leading countries that support the growth and development of Islamic financial markets, it is most appropriate for the development of the index to be part of the Dow Jones Islamic World Index. Within a global index such as the Dow Jones Islamic World Index, the inclusion of the Dow JonesRHB Islamic index will increase the potential for further investments into Malaysian Islamic equities. Malaysia is well positioned to benefit greatly from this as the infrastructure and marketplace for Islamic financial instruments and investment has long been developed. Indeed, in our equity market, more than 80% of the counters in Bursa Malaysia or previously known as the Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange, are Syariah compliant. Ladies and Gentlemen, Certainly, the development of benchmark market indices is an important part and parcel of the continued progress, contributing to the further deepening of capital markets. Two particular areas of heightened focus are in the regional bond market and international Sukuk market. In the region, the Asian Bond Fund 2, launched by the EMEAP central banks in December 2004, is aimed at promoting the further integration of the regional countries' bond markets and the creation of a new asset class for Asia and global investors.