Today's high inflation was hardly caused by excessive asset purchases I do agree that asset purchases should have been concluded earlier. However, the objections I have sometimes had to them have not been about monetary policy becoming too expansionary. My view has rather been that asset purchases are not a particularly effective monetary policy tool when the Swedish financial markets are functioning normally. The small monetary policy effects must be weighed against a number of costs and risks associated with asset purchases.45 In my opinion, the experiences of our asset purchases underpins these views. It is therefore unlikely that the development of inflation in Sweden would have been very different if we had concluded the asset purchases earlier. The rise in inflation this year has been caused by international factors related to the pandemic, energy, raw materials and the war in Ukraine, and has been similar in most developed countries despite differences in the way monetary policy was conducted both before and during the pandemic. There is no point in actively selling mortgage or corporate bonds This interpretation also has implications for the question of whether the Riksbank should begin active sales of our holdings. The question has been raised, among other things, as the Bank of England has recently begun selling securities. Moreover, Calmfors, Hassler and Seim (2022) argue that the best strategy is unlikely to be keeping the securities to maturity. However, the Executive Board of the Riksbank has indicated that the bonds will be held to maturity.

To begin with, the Capital Account Liberalization Master Plan aims to make our financial markets serve residents and non-residents more flexibly with diverse products and services. This would facilitate regional financial transactions. Companies with regional operations are encouraged to set up a Treasury Center (TC) with the flexibility of foreign exchange regulations as well as tax incentives. To date, 16 companies, most of which are Multinational Corporations (MNCs) with intention to use Thailand as a springboard to gain access to CLMV, have already received a TC License, with several more to participate. The Bank of Thailand is also continuously promoting the use of local currency in regional trade settlement. In March this year, cross-currency dealers were appointed to act as clearing agents for the Baht and the Malaysian Ringgit. In the near future, we will allow securities companies to buy and sell foreign currencies within the scope of their brokerage business. Foreign corporations will also be permitted to borrow directly in Thai baht from domestic financial institutions to invest in the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS). Also in March of this year, we have signed Letter of Intent with Malaysia and Indonesia, and negotiations are currently under way, to establish the Qualified ASEAN Banks. Looking forward, this initiative should help enhance financial connectivity, and improve operational flexibility of businesses in the region. Ladies and gentlemen, as I outlined above, the Bank of Thailand is committed to establishing financial infrastructure which will facilitate efficient and inclusive growth.