However, a key challenge observed was that workers became siloed in their various specialties, thus impeding collective innovation goals. Michael Tushman, a Harvard Business School professor known for his work on organisation design, was an early researcher into efforts to overcome this challenge. From there, he coined the term 'boundary spanners' 3 – individual connectors with the ability to bridge information from different verticals of an organisation to unlock innovation value. Since 1958, the boundary spanning role has been popular throughout academic research into innovation systems. With hindsight, we know that period ended up as the golden age of capitalism, marked by greater organisational efficiency, specialised production and trade expansion. It is intriguing to find insurance at a similar crossroad today. Consumer activity is becoming entrenched in digital ecosystems. Critical sources of information which were previously unconnected are becoming more connected. This has the potential to not only deepen protection, but also mitigate long-held issues in insurance like moral hazard and adverse selection. 1/6  BIS - Central bankers' speeches  While the pandemic presented numerous challenges, it underscored the value of financial security in times of stress. This has generated greater consumer and business appreciation for protection solutions. Like the past, there are immense opportunities emerging across ecosystem verticals, merely awaiting a connecting agent to unlock them. I believe the insurance and takaful industry is uniquely positioned to act as boundary spanners that can pave the direction for innovation, break down traditional barriers, and influence positive consumer behaviours.

The inclusion of RMB assets into global indices has driven up the demand for these assets and a good part of the investment is done through Hong Kong. At the same time, we are also working closely with the Mainland to expand and enhance these Connect schemes, including expanding the product scope to cover derivative products in the case of Bond Connect and ETF in the case of Stock Connects. 9. Talking about China opportunities, one key development is the Guangdong-Hong KongMacao Bay Area (the Greater Bay Area, or GBA). The GBA combines Mainland China’s wealthiest and economically most advanced cities along the Pearl River Delta into a metropolitan cluster. It covers a population of nearly 70 million and generates GDP of about $ trillion, providing a unique stage for financial institutions to launch and expand their business. Besides, the depth of Hong Kong’s financial markets could help enterprises in the GBA to access global capital. At the initial phase, we are studying ways to facilitate capital flows within the GBA at the individual level, such as cross-border use of mobile payment and mutual access of wealth management products by residents in Hong Kong and in the Mainland part of the GBA. 10. Apart from being a major platform for capturing China opportunities, the HKMA is actively moving towards the new era of Smart Banking. We launched the Faster Payment System (FPS) last September – a round-the-clock instant payment platform that achieves full connectivity between banks and stored value facilities.