Indeed, in recent times, especially in the aftermath of Asian crisis in late 1990s, we have seen several countries amending the laws governing their central banks. Such amendments have given them greater independence in the conduct of monetary policy. The current world trends have required the central banks to be transparent and accountable. This would be attained by ensuring a greater disclosure policy on their decisions. I have no doubt that today’s Seminar will lead to a healthy discussion and exchange of views on comparative policies among SEACEN member central banks and monetary authorities in selected areas of corporate governance. The first session will cover strategic planning process for central banks, for which a background paper has been prepared in consultation with the SEACEN Centre. I hope the paper will be a useful document to initiate fruitful discussion on the issue of strategic planning for central banks. In addition, Mr Gavin Bingham, Head of International Liaison, Bank for International Settlement, will present an overview of current issues and practices relating to this topic. I am confident that the participants would contribute with their country specific experiences on Central Bank Governance and specifically on their experiences with the formulation and implementation of Strategic Plans in the respective central banks. The second session will cover selected Central Bank Governance issues and will serve as a follow-up to the SEACEN-BIS Seminar on Central Bank Governance conducted in Langkawi, Malaysia in February 2004.

Financial institutions to constantly develop expertise in support of this sector. Green financing teams should have in-depth knowledge and capacity across the entire financing process flow including product development, promotions, sourcing of viable projects, effective credit assessment, holistic risk management and robust monitoring. The larger regional reach by Malaysian banks will also enhance the potential to access a wider talent pool from the region, catalyzing efforts to build a specialised human capital team needed to drive the green technology financing agenda. ii. Government policies that are further enhanced to spur the growth of the industry and create larger consumer awareness. On the supply side, more efforts should be taken to build a highly skilled workforce and increase collaboration between  BIS central bankers’ speeches  3  research institutions and businesses to commercialise and scale up innovative green technology research. On the demand side, to create incentives to encourage consumers to use green products and government procurement policies which prioritise green solutions could be explored. iii. A holistic governance structure and performance measurement system would be put in place to drive the implementation of policies and ensure that green and sustainability outcomes are achieved. This could potentially bring us to a more transparent reporting of green initiatives by various players including the Government, business and the financing community. iv. As Asia becomes increasingly more integrated, economically and financially, Malaysian financial institutions have the opportunity to leverage on regional networks to scale up their business and serve a sustainably growing green technology market in a cost-efficient manner.