Furthermore, in 2002, the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank undertook a comprehensive assessment of the Zambian financial sector through the Financial Sector Assessment Program (FSAP). In response to the weaknesses noted in the FSAP, Cabinet approved the Financial Sector Development Plan (FSDP) covering the period 2004 – 2009. Apart from addressing the weaknesses identified in the FSAP, the FSDP sought to further  BIS central bankers’ speeches  1  strengthen the Zambian financial sector as well as to guide efforts for realizing the vision of a stable, sound and market based financial system that would support the efficient mobilisation and allocation of financial resources necessary for economic diversification and sustainable growth. To this end, the Bank of Zambia in conjunction with the Government has been undertaken reforms in the financial sector under the FSDP, which is now in the second phase. Through the FSDP, the Bank of Zambia promoting competition among banks. Competition in the banking sector while desirable can have both negative and positive effects. In this regard, competition can be viewed in terms of being a public good which can significantly contribute towards access to better quality and cheaper financial services. The challenge, therefore, is to ensure that supervisory effort is adequately able to change and effectively respond to innovations and events in the financial system. It is expected that this would consequently promote confidence in the financial system which is necessary for insulating the economy from adverse internal and external shocks.

Tharman Shanmugaratnam: The evolving role of insurance in Singapore Speech by Mr Tharman Shanmugaratnam, Chairman of the Monetary Authority of Singapore, at the Launch of Prudential's New Office, Singapore, 7 November 2017. * * * Mr Mike Wells, Group CEO, Prudential PLC Mr Kai Nargolwala, Chairman, Prudential Corporation Asia Mr Nic Nicandrou, CEO, Prudential Corporation Asia Mr Wilf Blackburn, CEO, Prudential Assurance Company Singapore Ladies and Gentlemen 1. Thank you for inviting me to join you. Let me begin by congratulating Prudential on the opening of its new office at Marina One. 2. It is another milestone in Prudential’s long journey with Singapore, having started out as an agent for fire insurance in Singapore in 1924, and opening its first full branch in 1931. Its first life policy, issued to a Percy Robert Campbell, was a 15-year policy which would mature for the sum of $ Today, Prudential serves over 900,000 customers here, and the average maturity value of a Prudential life insurance policy in Singapore is just over $ 3. Prudential has indeed grown with Singapore. Its total sum assured in Singapore has grown to $ billion in 2016, and it currently employs over a thousand staff and works with more than 4500 financial consultants. Opportunity in Asia’s Demographic and Digital Transitions 4. Prudential, as with its counterparts in the life insurance industry, is increasingly focused on deepening its footprint in Asia. The opportunities are immense, and the basic reasons for this are well recognised. 5. Asia is experiencing momentous demographic change.