In complementing the sukuk market as a source for fund raising, also being explored are other funding channels to assist small and medium enterprises, new growth industries and entrepreneurs that have limited access to the sukuk market. A multi-bank investment platform is now being developed for the effective matching of funds from potential investors with targeted industries and ventures in the real sector. Foreign Islamic financial institutions and investors also stand to benefit from this platform, with the offering of multi-currency financing options for foreign projects. The platform facilitates Islamic banks to perform  2  BIS central bankers’ speeches  investment intermediation functions. It enhances further the intermediation role of the Islamic banking institutions to also function as an investment intermediary. In an increasingly internationalised global financial marketplace that has generated significant cross-border flows, one of the requirements as we advance forward is the need for more tradeable cross-border Islamic financial instruments that can cater to the different profiling of investors’ risk appetites. The issuance of the short-term sukuk by the International Islamic Liquidity Management Corporation (IILM) is a breakthrough in innovation towards increasing cross-border liquidity flows that could potentially enhance financial stability and the efficient functioning of the Islamic financial markets. Let me conclude my remarks. There is clear indication of the growing relevance and importance of the sukuk market, with the growing interest from both emerging and developed jurisdictions and the strategic approaches taken to diversify the funding sources through the sukuk market.

For investors, inflation is the biggest bear to watch because monetary policy could tighten at a quicker pace than expected by the markets. Markets are currently pricing in only about three Fed rate hikes to end-2019, so it may not take much to unsettle the markets. Equities, whose valuations are premised on low discount rates, could sell off in a hurry. “Mama Bear” - Protectionism Let me now turn to “mama bear” protectionism. And let us not take a hibernating bear for a dead one. This is a bear that may not wake up for a very long time, maybe never. But if it does, it could be ferocious. Protectionism was the biggest fear this time last year. There were populist backlashes against globalisation, represented most vividly by the results of the Brexit referendum in the UK and presidential elections in the US. The great relief of 2017 was that this risk did not materialise sufficiently to threaten the global economy or financial markets. But globalisation continues to face challenges. The WTO ministerial meeting last month ended inconclusively. 4/7  BIS central bankers' speeches  The US pulled out of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) early last year and has threatened to leave NAFTA. In Europe, the risk of a hard Brexit is not trivial. If negotiations break down, both the UK and EU will bear high disruption costs. Protectionism can do much harm to the global economy because its reach extends beyond the flow of goods and services, to the flow of capital and technology.