2 ASEAN Economic Integration Brief 2017 http://asean.org/storage/2017/06/AEIB_No.01-June-2017_rev.pdf 3 Source: http://asean.org/storage/2012/05/ASEAN_Stats_Leaflet2016_web.pdf 4 ASEAN Investment Report 2015; Infrastructure Investment and Connectivity, ASEAN Secretariat and UNCTAD (Page 65)  http://asean.org/storage/2016/09/ASEAN-Investment-report-2015.pdf  3  In addition, potential growth is hampered by ageing population and large debt overhang. According to United Nations’ World Population Ageing Report5, the number of people aged 60 years or over is projected to increase by 56% by 2030. On top of that, debt overhang has undermined private investment and consumption. These conditions could dampen demand and threaten long-term economic growth. Along with these challenges, movements towards protectionism and geo-political uncertainties could trigger adverse shocks to the global economy. Against this backdrop, we also face profound changes in technology. While technology advancement is needed to improve productivity and our standard of living, its unprecedented speed of change could be disruptive for incumbents in many industries ranging from taxi services to financial services. In the area of exchanges, we see changes in exchange and brokerage business models, the emergence of algorithmic trading, alternative trading, and robo-advisor. Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) could potentially transform payment, settlement and custodial services. We should be mindful that technology advancements also bring along new forms of risks to the financial system ranging from cyber risks to strategic risks of existing business models. Ladies and Gentlemen, These circumstances pose challenges not only for regulators but also players in the financial market.

Public investment, together with the government’s strategy to attract investments in industries for the future, will step up Thailand’s competitiveness and lay a strong foundation for sustainable growth. Thailand’s external position remains strong with large current account surplus of around 11% of GDP1 and high level of international reserves, roughly more than 3.5 times of the short-term external debt. Financial conditions remain accommodative, and business financing through credit and capital market continues to expand. Furthermore, our capital account liberalisation and recent efforts to reform foreign exchange regulations will help create a 1 Source: Office of the National Economic and Social Development Board Gross Domestic Product: Q2/2017 Report (page 33) http://www.nesdb.go.th/ewt_dl_link.php?nid=5166&filename=QGDP_report  2  conducive environment for financial market development and financial connectivity in the region. Our regional efforts towards deeper economic integration provide immense opportunities for Thailand and the ASEAN region. ASEAN is projected to grow at 4.8% in 20172, and is home to more than 600 million people3. According to the Asian Development Bank, the share of ASEAN’s middle class is estimated to increase to 65% by 2030. The growing middle class with increased purchasing power inevitably serves to boost demand and productivity for the regional economies over the medium to long term. In addition, increased regional connectivity has led to expanding trade and investment prospects. Infrastructure investment is gaining momentum throughout the region. UNCTAD has estimated infrastructure investment needs in ASEAN at $ billion per year through to 20254.