Many of our banks have embraced sustainability goals while our Islamic Banks are striving actively to adopt Value-Based Intermediation; banking and financing based on Principles of Shariah that encompass not just sustainability but also the wider goals of Maqasid Shariah and social economic well-being. Financial markets should not be left behind. We should strive to work towards adopting sustainable and ethical practices where we can in the Malaysian financial markets. Extra support can be given to market activities that nudge the economy towards sustainable development, inclusivity and social welfare. Again, the industry can think of ways and means of how you can play a role in this. Lastly, having experienced heightened uncertainties in recent years, we continue to need to  improve the financial market environment to ensure that markets are resilient against any form of shock. A part of this is that market players themselves need to be agile. This has become a necessity in the landscape of the financial world today which has shorter visibility on what we can expect due to the ever changing nature of the financial markets. The ability to adapt and react immediately is a must to thrive in future years. Data science analytics and greater expertise will increase the agility of financial institutions to acclimatise to not only new demand but also new regulations or developments. Alongside that, the development of talent with forwardthinking capabilities would be instrumental in elevating the quality of financial services.

In so far as financial markets are concerned, these recent times have seen us avoid major and abrupt market movements or disruptions. Besides the 2016 measures that stabilised our markets, this growth is also the result of the many initiatives implemented since then. One key fundamental strategy has been our steps to enhance market transparency and visibility, which provides us with information and data for targeted development efforts. The operationalisation of the RENTAS Segregated Securities Account which enables us to observe the activity in the Malaysian bond market has also provided investors with improved efficiency and a reduced reporting burden, lowering the cost of investing in this area. On this topic, I am pleased to share that on Monday this week, Clearstream launched their revamped solution which will provide an internal settlement link to facilitate greater access to the Malaysian market. They now rejoin a host of International Central Securities Depositories and Global Custodians that provide such access. This is yet another positive development for our financial markets. With greater oversight capabilities, we were able to introduce the dynamic hedging programme in 2016, which successfully enabled institutional investors’ active management of their foreign 1/4  BIS central bankers' speeches  exchange exposures in the onshore market. The programme currently records participation of 104 registered institutional investors managing USD37 billion total asset under management, and has led to the migration of these investors’ former offshore strategies to the onshore market which has increased the level of transparency and orderliness of the ringgit market.