samchain/econo-pairs-v1 huggingface dataset:
It is gratifying to note that applications were invited from all eligible students in various higher institutions of learning around the country. I have also been informed that although only four teams have been shortlisted, the response from the young entrepreneurs was overwhelming with about 75 total applications received. I am certain that the winning team will be worthy winners of the K100 Million Business Loan Sponsorship prize. Further, I have been reliably informed that the competition will become an annual event and prize money will be increased in future years, which indeed is commendable. I am certain that the award will provide a great incentive to our young men and women to be innovative and develop business ideas. The initiative will also improve the level of entrepreneurship in the country which is lacking at the moment. Mr Chairman I once again applaud you and your co-sponsors for this long term commitment to this award programme. Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen, allow me at this moment to highlight the importance of entrepreneurship in our economy. Entrepreneurship involves developing innovative ideas, taking risk and managing the business in a sound manner. In these turbulent times and with an increasingly competitive global market, it is vital for a country like ours to have a good entrepreneurial base which should contribute to wealth creation and to the country’s economic development. The need for more Zambians to own successful businesses and compliment foreign investments in our country cannot be over-emphasised.

Caleb M Fundanga: Importance of entrepreneurship in Zambia’s economy Opening remarks by Dr Caleb M Fundanga, Governor of the Bank of Zambia, at the PrizeGiving Ceremony for Intermarket Banking Corporation VentureComp 2010 Business Plan Competition, Lusaka, 28 July 2010. *           *  *  Mr Ackim Sinkala, Acting Managing Director – Intermarket Banking Corporation Zambia Limited and Intermarket Securities Limited; Mrs Beatrice Nkanza, General Manager Lusaka Stock Exchange; Dr. Maurice Jangulo, Board Chairman Zambezi Airlines; Dr. Patrick Nkanza, Director General TEVETA; Officials from the Ministry of Science, Technology and Vocational Training; Chief Executive Officers of Financial Institutions and Companies Present; Distinguished Invited Guests; Members of the Press; Ladies and Gentlemen. It is my honour and privilege to officiate at this Prize Giving Ceremony of the VentureComp 2010, K100 Million Business Plan Competition. I was honoured at the beginning of this year to have been given the opportunity to launch this Competition. I did not hesitate to accept the invitation to officiate at this event as the subject of entrepreneurship and the deserved recognition of the entrepreneurial efforts of young men and women is very close to my heart. Distinguished Guests, let me from the onset take this opportunity to commend the sponsors of this competition, Intermarket Banking Corporation Zambia Limited, Intermarket Securities Limited, and their partners, Lusaka Stock exchange (LuSE), Zambezi Airlines and TEVETA for coming up with this excellent and important initiative.
The financial crisis has emphasised the close links between the health and behaviour of banks and the state of the economy. We are remembering a very uncomfortable lesson from history that should not have been forgotten. But, forgotten it was. We have a very big programme of reforms under way, with the central objective that we must not let a financial crisis of this scale happen again. At the heart of this programme we are trying to knit together monetary policy and financial stability in both its macro- and micro-prudential forms, something that has not been done properly for a long time. I say that quite deliberately, because such coherence was not present prior to the reforms of 1997, so this is more than a change to recent arrangements. The new macro-prudential approach to financial stability will see the establishment of the Financial Policy Committee (FPC), charged with the primary objective of identifying, monitoring and taking action to remove or reduce systemic risks with a view to protecting and enhancing the resilience of the UK financial system. In June, the Chancellor announced that the government would amend the Bill to give the FPC a secondary objective so that, subject to being content on the first objective, it should support the economic policy of the government, including its objectives for growth and employment. Currently, the FPC is acting in an interim capacity to undertake as far as possible the future statutory FPC’s macroprudential role.

The attraction of this is that existing shareholders will retain some of any upside, though they will pay via lower returns for the risk premium on the cost of Co-Cos. I am quite attracted to CoCos, but we need to think through whether they will create the necessary incentives to new lending. I should add that, while we are seeking to discourage banks from deleveraging in the form of lending to the real economy, we are not against releasing existing capital to support new lending where that capital is currently tied up in non-core assets, which can either be sold or run off because they are not needed on the balance sheets of banks to support the real economy, such as trading book proprietary assets. BIS central bankers’ speeches  3  Finally on this subject, let me briefly describe what we have done so far. The government and the Bank of England have introduced the Funding for Lending Scheme (FLS). FLS is in large part a response to developments in financial markets, notably the increase in the cost of bank funding which was, inevitably, being passed on in the form of higher costs of lending. In the twelve months up to the middle of this year, business lending and mortgage rates rose and the evidence we had suggested that there was an accompanying tightening in the terms and conditions of new lending.
This lowers the aggregate pool of capital that might be needed by the banking system. If this pool of capital is large enough to accommodate future crisis needs, private sector capital insurance may offer a better cost/risk trade-off than self-insurance. As history shows, however, this is a not inconsiderable “if”. Further work would be needed to establish what size insurance scheme would genuinely augment the capital pool. 5. Conclusion  Over the course of the past 800 years, the terms of trade between the state and the banks have first swung decisively one way and then the other. For the majority of this period, the state was reliant on the deep pockets of the banks to finance periodic fiscal crises. But for at least the past century the pendulum has swung back, with the state often needing to dig deep to keep crisis-prone banks afloat. Events of the past two years have tested even the deep pockets of many states. In so doing, they have added momentum to the century-long pendulum swing. Reversing direction will not be easy. It is likely to require a financial sector reform effort every bit as radical as followed the Great Depression. It is an open question whether reform efforts to date, while slowing the swing, can bring about that change of direction. References Bagehot, W (1873), Lombard Street, a Description of the Money Market, Henry S. King and Co. Publishers.

With such technology, they tend to increase the opportunity in creating more values from the traditional services that we have been offering; not just in a higher valueadded way but in a more scalable way, using technology to increase the footprint of the medical tourism and wellness services. The fourth area might seem a bit far-fledged but it is something that has been constraining Thailand’s ability to grow in the way that other countries have grown. That is the  Page 9 of 11  link again between digital work-from-anywhere technology and our stalled or delayed urbanization. Thailand, oddly enough, is a country where level of urbanization, the percentage of population lives in large cities, is extremely low given our level of development. We are here in Bangkok so we might not feel that because here in Bangkok and Eastern Seaboard are all very crowded. However, the urbanization is all here in Bangkok and the second- and thirdlargest cities are all close to Bangkok. In contrast, the pattern of other countries, especially those that have grown quite rapidly, is largely due to the substantial growth of the urban middle class. People are coming to the cities as they want to live the middle-class urban lifestyle. This drives domestic consumption growth in a lot of countries in the region like Indonesia or even for the countries that are more developed compared to Thailand like South Korea and Malaysia.
Unlike an individual borrowing money, government borrowing can be rolled over and increased over such an extended period that repayment becomes a problem for the next generation not the present one. Sadly, this kind of behaviour is rather common and widespread. It is hard to imagine a reasonable person wanting to maintain a good lifestyle now by borrowing huge amounts of money which can only be repaid by his or her children or grandchildren. In other words, allowing or asking governments to spend beyond their means for an extended period of time is tantamount to society mortgaging the income and livelihood of our future generations. Such action is irrational and irresponsible, but it’s happening all over the world. No wonder some people have  2  BIS central bankers’ speeches  posed the question – if this is the kind of world we’re living in, is it really worth saving? Can central banks save the world? “Yes and no” 9. Rather than trying to answer this metaphysical and provocative question, let me quickly return to the subject of my remarks today: can central banks save the world? The short answer is “yes and no”. 10. When a financial crisis occurs and the financial system is facing imminent meltdown, as happened in the wake of the collapse of Lehman Brothers in 2008, shockwaves in the form of a severe credit crunch normally follow as banks and other financial firms lose confidence in each other and hold on to whatever liquidity they can.

In the US, for example, public debt increased by $ trillion from the end of 2008, with the ratio of public debt to GDP rising from about 74% to the current 100%. Another striking example was Japan where the public-debt-toGDP ratio surged from an already precarious level of around 190% in 2008 to almost 240% in 2012, and is expected to rise even further to over 250% by 2020 along with still more fiscal stimulus under “Abenomics”. In terms of private-sector debt, while the US and the UK underwent more significant private-sector deleveraging, most European countries showed little progress on the reduction in private-sector indebtedness. The weak peripheral countries aside, even in core countries like France, the private non-financial sector debt ratio increased sharply from about 200% of GDP at the end of 2008 to 230% of late. 7. There are many narratives on why this trend of rising indebtedness has occurred. Perhaps the financial “deepening” had made credit much easier and cheaper for many households and corporates to obtain. Or, financial innovation in the form of securitisation and financial derivatives, such as CDS and CDOs, enabled leverage to be amplified and distributed throughout the financial system and beyond. But, the cause of this alarming trend is not the issue. The point I wish to make is that most people had become insensitive to the excessive levels of indebtedness and leveraging, and the resulting imbalances and vulnerabilities that had built up prior to the Global Financial Crisis and the European Sovereign Debt Crisis.
Indeed, apart from assuring the rule of law, Smith saw two other functions for government: “the duty of protecting the society from the violence and invasion of other independent societies” and the “the duty of erecting and maintaining certain public works and certain public institutions, which it can never be for the interest of any individual, or small number of individuals, to erect and maintain”. Against the backdrop of these brief reflections on the great Adam Smith, let me turn back to the specific question put to us. I have no doubt that together with a functioning rule of law and limited government intervention, free markets in general and financial markets in particular are the optimal path to the promotion of wealth. I am equally convinced that responsible behaviour has the best chances of flourishing in an environment of economic opportunities and rising standards of living. Trust clearly enhances the rule of law as there will never be enough courts to permanently monitor all market transactions. Modern means of communication and transparency, in turn, are trust-enhancing. Think of seller and purchaser ratings on many internet auction sites. Now, let me conclude my remarks with a final and in my view crucial note of caution. As Charles Kindleberger demonstrated convincingly in his 1978 book Manias, Panics and Crashes, financial markets are prone to phases of irrationality and exaggeration. Such market disequilibria lend support to the need for the rule of law and the utility of limited government intervention in a number of areas.

I also firmly believe that the process must be carried out with pragmatism and completely in tune with reality rather than based on a theoretical scheme or vision. * Mr Chairman, ladies and gentlemen, we are living through an extremely difficult period of economic history. I am nonetheless firmly convinced that in France and Europe we have both the tools necessary to help us out of this crisis and the necessary vision to guide our actions. The public authorities have shown their willingness to shore up the financial system. It is now essential that the system proves to be dynamic and takes the initiative, as it has in the past, so that the credit that is essential to the economy is available in sufficient quantity and quality. I am sure that Crédit Agricole will, as it has in the past, muster the necessary energy for the benefit of our economy. Thank you very much. 6  BIS Review 130/2008
We’ll miss great British architects of our projects, like former Chancellor Sir Kenneth Clarke, whom I can personally testify to how much he contributed. What we do sometimes regret is when Britain’s vibrant debate on European issues verges on schadenfreude in relation to our own projects and ambitions. Take, for instance, Sir William Cash, a long-standing Conservative Member of Parliament, who at a debate on euro membership in 1997, insisted that “the euro would be extremely weak” and that “we are heading for disaster.” Fourteen years later, in 2011, Bill Cash wrote that “the Euro with its one size fits all approach and the uniformity demanded by the EU simply cannot work... The survival of the euro itself is in question due to its structural shortcomings and the inherent workings of monetary union.” Well, here we are, more than a decade later, and the euro is still alive and kicking. Not only has the euro survived, but it is recognised and used globally, including outside its own borders as both a store of value and a means of trade. The single currency has also proved remarkably stable, with inflation averaging 1.7% since its inception in 1999, compared with 4.9% during the two decades before. The euro has therefore helped to protect the purchasing power of European citizens, which has increased by 15% since 1999. Page 3 sur 9  Moreover, the euro is not simply an elite project as is frequently charged.

Lawrence Williams: An evolving financial services landscape in the Caribbean Welcome remarks by Mr Lawrence Williams, Governor of the Bank of Guyana, at the 30th Annual Conference of the Caribbean Group of Banking Supervisors, hosted by the Bank of Guyana, Georgetown, 24 May 2012. *  *  *  Chairman, Caribbean Group of Banking Supervisors, Mr. Ramnarine Lal Hon. Minister of Finance, Dr. Ashni Singh, M.P. Hon. Minister within the Ministry of Finance, Bishop Juan Edghill, M.P. Deputy Governor Bank of Guyana, Dr. Gobind Ganga Banking Manager, Mr. Leslie Glen Conference Delegates Special Invitees Members of the Media It is indeed an honour for the Bank of Guyana to host the 30th annual conference of the Caribbean Group of Banking Supervisors under the theme “Regional supervisory imperatives in an evolving financial services landscape”. I wish to welcome all of the visiting delegates to our shores. I acknowledge the presence of the delegates from thirteen of the sixteen CGBS membership. Though our region is small, we are geographically dispersed and travelling to some territories can be a bit of a challenge. I am therefore pleased at the representation and sincerely hope that your stay will be pleasant and memorable.
However we need to go further. Potential solutions To address these challenges four potential solutions have been discussed in various fora. The first is to establish supervisory colleges. The idea is to create specific standing committees for each individual cross-border banking group with representatives from the relevant supervisors. The recently proposed operational networks of the Committee of European Banking Supervisors (CEBS) can be seen as a first step in this direction. This is a good start but also generates a series of problems. The supervisory framework becomes very complex and scattered. Which supervisors should be part of which college? It could also undermine the likelihood of equal treatment among banks. The second is to enhance the home country’s responsibility, by giving the home supervisor additional powers not only for the group but also for all its foreign subsidiaries. One agency would thus get the responsibility for assembling information, formulating a joint assessment and coordinating decisions for all subsidiaries as well as the group level. A general problem with this solution is that it does not address the conflicts of interest. Will the home country authorities take the situation in the host countries fully into account in their decisions? How will host countries that do not share the assessment or disagree with the decision act? Also, will the authorities in a host country be willing to delegate such responsibilities to an authority in another country? BIS Review 96/2006  3  A third proposed solution is an extension of the second alternative.

With the emergence of truly cross-border banks the question is how to share the burden. To what extent would the taxpayers in one country be willing to support the depositors in another country? And to what extent would the depositors in the second country be willing to rely on the potential future support of the taxpayers in the first country? A similar problem applies when a central bank considers providing emergency liquidity assistance to a cross-border bank. Such funding is inherently risky. If not, the market would typically be able to provide the funding. Such assistance is also likely to affect the entire banking group. What happens if a bank is systemically important in one smaller country but not in another perhaps larger country? The smaller country will probably have greater incentive to save the bank but may end up paying for the entire group, if the larger country refuses. Also, there are conflicts of interest if the bank is reconstructed. Any such reconstruction is risky and it is therefore uncertain whether the taxpayers would be willing to take these risks in another country. A third challenge is how to achieve joint assessments. In Europe, there is an agreement to share views and assessments if there is a crisis. However in my opinion, that is not sufficient. In a crisis, most countries are likely to present assessments that support their national interests.
Even though we do not consider it particularly attractive (since we have an open capital account) or efficient – and those are the reasons why we have not used it in the last 15 years – its use cannot be ruled out under exceptional circumstances. Our powers as a financial regulator also include other dimensions that some countries have used as part of their prudential toolkit. For instance, the CBC determines the level of reserves to be kept by banks that take deposits from the public during an operating cycle (reserve requirement) and the interest yield of such resources. Several jurisdictions (e.g. China and Peru) have controlled credit growth and currency composition by imposing differentiated reserve requirements. Moreover, the CBC has the authority to regulate the relations that should exist between assets and liabilities of commercial banks, which have led to our standards of liquidity and market risks. In a nutshell, our current regulatory and legal framework, as well as the actions of financial regulators and supervisors, including the Central Bank of Chile and the Superintendency of Banks and Financial Institutions, contains elements that are consistent with a financial stability and macroprudential approach, and grants powers that may be used with these purposes if deemed necessary. 5. Final thoughts  The recent financial crisis was a reminder, especially for the developed world, of how costly a financial crisis can be and how important it is to minimize their probability of occurrence and costs, by explicitly safeguarding financial stability.

For example, hybrid working arrangements have become the norm, while the gig workforce has risen sharply in prominence. As a nation, our aspiration to become a high-value economy would necessitate Malaysia to reduce its reliance on a low-cost, labour-intensive economic model- one that discourages productivity enhancements, depresses wages, and perpetuates the creation of low-skilled jobs. This would require two critical factors: First, is the economy and firms that create high skilled jobs. In Bank Negara Malaysia’s recent publication, it is argued that for this to happen, we need to have a conducive ecosystem to attract high quality investments that will contribute towards increasing our economic complexity and thus generate high-value, high-paying jobs. Second, we must also be in a position to provide sufficient number of skilled workers and talents to meet the need of the industries and the economy. In line with our focus today on learning and development, let me spend a bit of time on the second factor, that is on talent development. Joseph E. Stiglitz, the Nobel Laureate in Economic Sciences once said, “Development is about transforming lives of people, not just transforming economies”. To thrive in the new economy, policy strategies must tilt towards understanding the ‘future of work’ and future proofing the workforce. The World Economic Forum reports that by 2030 wide-scale investments in upskilling can boost global GDP by USD 6.5 trillion and lead to the net creation of 5.3 million new jobs globally.