Furthermore, the seasonal effect of domestic agriculture production supply was stronger this year, leading to further reduction of food items annual inflation. During 2011, consumer prices in Albania were subject to supply shocks, materialised in high imported prices. This effect was more moderate during July–August and, in the absence of sudden shocks, it is expected to subdue even further in the months ahead. Moreover, second-round effects are contained, under the influence of controlled expectations of economic agents on inflation. The domestic economic setting produced controlled inflationary pressures. Aggregate demand slowdown led to spare capacities of production factors and controlled long-term inflationary pressures on the economy. Therefore, core inflation was 2.9% in July, showing a downward trend, and was close to our inflation target. New economic data obtained in September are scarce. Following our earlier analysis and based on new available information, the Bank of Albania deems that the Albanian economy continued to grow during 2011. Economic activity relied primarily on public spending and exports surge, while the private sector demand had a slow positive performance. Consumption and investments were supported by crediting, but their upsurge is conditioned by hesitation to spend. Following the revised budget, the fiscal behaviour during the last two months is characterised by lower spending pace and lower budget deficit increase. Fiscal stimulus was present in the first quarter, while in the following months the fiscal policy was more contained, which is reflected in lower annual deficit increase.

Singapore has signed MOUs with Australia and Chile and has an arrangement with New Zealand to develop and deploy low-emissions solutions and technologies, which could potentially be adopted and scaled globally. Second, mobilising transition finance. According to McKinsey, achieving net zero in Asia by 2050 will require about $ trillion in capital annually. As a leading global financial centre in Asia, Singapore can play a key role in mobilising this capital. Let me highlight two areas. One, blended finance. Many sustainability projects in emerging markets pose risks that are not commensurate with their expected returns. We need catalytic capital to improve project bankability and crowd in private sector capital. We also need to recycle capital by taking loans off bank balance sheets and structuring them in a form that institutional investors can participate in. The Singapore Pavilion will feature innovative blended finance solutions and highlight our efforts to synergise public, private, and philanthropic capital. Two, credible disclosure and transition plans. We must give investors confidence to invest in the transition, especially given concerns around "greenwashing". Corporates and financial institutions must therefore develop and disclose credible transition plans that are in line with science-based sectoral pathways. Singapore has been contributing to international efforts towards comparable sustainability disclosures and sound climate data and metrics. Third, developing sound carbon markets. Carbon markets play a complementary role to channel funds to emission reduction and removal projects that would otherwise not have received funding. Singapore can play a useful role as a facilitator of carbon market services in Asia.