At the same time, China is improving the global renminbi settlement and clearing system through a wider network of renminbi clearing banks and the upcoming Cross-Border Interbank Payment System (CIPS) to lower the transaction costs for the renminbi relative to other major currencies. Currently, there are at least five hundred global investors, including sixty or more foreign central banks and sovereign wealth funds, that have gained direct access to China’s financial markets. Many more have access through the Hong Kong-Shanghai Stock Connect. Malaysian institutional investors seeking to internationally diversify their investments would need to intensify the learning curve process in the Chinese financial markets to realise its benefits. Malaysia: A pioneer in the cross-border use of the renminbi Malaysia was one of the earliest countries to recognize the potential role of the greater crossborder use of renminbi. Given China’s significance as Malaysia’s largest trading partner, the settlement of trade and investment in renminbi significantly lowers costs and promotes greater cross-border trade and investment activity. In turn, fund-raising activity in renminbi has become a means for Malaysia to utilise the renminbi liquidity obtained through trade settlements. Malaysia has a comparative advantage in this area, as the largest debt securities market in Southeast Asia and as a leading centre for sukuk issuance. As an early pioneer of renminbi initiatives, Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) was the first ASEAN central bank to sign a currency swap agreement with the People’s Bank of China (PBC) in February 2009.

Opening Remarks Veerathai Santiprabhob, Governor of the Bank of Thailand  ASEAN Banking Cybersecurity Conference 2019 Crystal Hall, 3rd Floor, The Athenee Hotel, Bangkok, Thailand 6 September, 2019  TBA Board of Directors, TBA members, Members of ASEAN banking community, Distinguished guests, Ladies and gentlemen, I am delighted to be here with you this morning, and I would like to thank TB-CERT for inviting me to speak at this event. Technology and the internet have undeniably become integrated into our daily lives. Customers’ behaviors continue to evolve and adapt to the technological progresses. In response, new technologies are developed to serve and accommodate customers’ ever-evolving needs. A prime example is the invention of smartphone over a decade ago, which has completely transformed our ways of lives and increased people’s connectivity to unprecedented levels. The banking industry, too, is undergoing massive digitalization, from the user-facing tools like mobile banking apps to backend infrastructure and essentially everything in between. These developments are the key drivers behind the convenience and productivity that we all enjoy today. But, inherent to any invention, these technological revolutions come with their own form of risk: cyber risks. The more “digital” banks become, the more channels for potential points of attacks from cyber criminals, who are constantly evolving to exploit new loopholes. Even when these loopholes are identified and patches are issued, delayed updates could also pose potential risk. We have repeatedly witnessed that the various—and many times severe—cyberrelated incidents often revolve around financial institutions.