More foreign banks operate in the UK than in any other EU country, and around half of the world’s largest financial firms have their European headquarters in the UK. London is Europe’s investment banker, with UK-based firms involved in over half of debt and equity issuance by EU27 borrowers. Over three-quarters of foreign exchange and OTC interest rate derivatives trading in the EU takes place here. This concentration of activity increases efficiencies and lowers fees for European end users, while reducing the risks associated with complex finance to European real economies. 4  More broadly, for centuries, the UK has bet on openness, and it has paid off handsomely. A more open economy, if properly managed, can grow faster without generating inflationary pressures or risks to financial stability. Those benefits accrue through a variety of channels. Openness increases dynamism by spreading knowledge and new technologies across borders; by enabling firms to specialise and take advantage of economies of scale; and by better matching of savers and borrowers, lowering financing costs and boosting investment. Openness increases choice for consumers. And it enables more effective risk-sharing, both across borders and generations. 5 See ‘Total tax contribution of UK financial services, Ninth edition’, City of London Corporation Research Report in association with PwC, available at https://www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/business/economic-research-and-information/researchpublications/Documents/research%202016/total-tax-report-2016.pdf. 6 See ‘The UK at the heart of a renewed globalisation’, speech given by Mark Carney, 24 October 2013, available at http://www.bankofengland.co.uk/publications/Documents/speeches/2013/speech690.pdf.

This is a collaboration among the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the ASEAN Bankers Association, and the MAS. AFIN is a platform that offers two functions: One, it is a marketplace where financial institutions in ASEAN seeking solutions to specific problems can connect with relevant FinTech firms across the region and beyond. Two, it is a sandbox where the financial institutions and FinTech firms can test potential solutions and achieve scale in a cost-efficient manner. Second, deepening the enterprise financing ecosystem. We want to make Singapore an Asian hub for enterprise financing, to support the next generation of Asian growth companies. We are enhancing the private markets infrastructure. Last year, MAS simplified the regulatory regime for venture capital managers, shortening the authorisation process from 16 to 4 weeks. We are working with the industry to establish private market platforms to enable Asian growth companies to connect with investors for capital and expertise. We are strengthening the public markets ecosystem. We are working with the industry to develop an information aggregation utility for SMEs to demonstrate credit worthiness in the pre-IPO phase. We are deepening the research ecosystem for both private and public markets. In the private markets, we are curating ASEAN venture capital (VC) and private equity (PE) research with industry partners to raise awareness of investment opportunities in the region. In the public markets, we are funding research to support market liquidity in the post-IPO 3/4  BIS central bankers' speeches  phase.