This can be done through investment to modernize new energy-efficient machinery and technology used for production. Importantly, price and tax mechanisms should foster energy saving. As for the commitment to help upgrade education to increase labour productivity, reform in the education system should focus on raising the standard and quality of education for future generation of labor force. Skill specialization must be shaped to complement for Thailand’s competitiveness in the world market. Indeed, better education would also improve financial literacy and access, which will, in turn, allow more efficient allocation of consumption and investment. In sum, no matter how fast the economy manages to grow, at the end it is merely numbers. The development makes a real difference only when we are committed to building strong fundamentals to support long-term growth to ensure that the people are really better off on a sustained basis. Moreover, as we move toward an ageing society, fiscal policy is able to ensure a sound social safety net system to accommodate for an increase of elder population in the future. Meanwhile, the monetary policy takes care of price and financial stability. Ladies and Gentlemen, After a rather heavy presentation, I would like to end my talk on a lighter note. I trust that during your years in Thailand, you may have come across some fortuneteller stalls packed with worried-looking customers. In finding out what lies ahead, these customers hope that the right thing can be done today to secure a brighter future.

In such a case, a review of that regulatory policy may be necessary. There is no one-size-fits-all supervisory answer. It simply means that as regulators, we need to keep abreast with technological developments. Only then, can we exercise thoughtful judgment. The fact that many financial regulators including the MAS have allowed regulatory sandboxes to be set up highlights a preparedness to allow innovative financial models to first be tested within defined parameters. Harnessing technology to strengthen supervision 21 There is a growing area of technology use that will be directly relevant to financial supervision – Regulatory Technology (or RegTech). This is the use of advanced technology systems and algorithms to enhance risk management and regulatory compliance. 22 Many financial institutions have embraced RegTech, such as: Predictive analytics being used in stress testing; Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning-powered systems to identify money laundering risks; and Cognitive computing and behavioural algorithms to detect suspicious trading and possible misconduct. 23 On the supervisor’s end, the MAS is developing our own ‘SupTech’ to improve and sharpen our surveillance and analytical capabilities. Since about a year ago, we have set up a dedicated unit for SupTech within our Data Analytics Group. 24 The aim is to make greater use of technology and “smart tools” to guide our financial surveillance and supervision functions. To do so, building the infrastructure for our data analytics projects is important. We are putting in place an MAS Private Cloud. This will serve as the foundation to provide computing power to all data analytics projects in MAS.