As an economic hub and financial centre, Singapore is well connected to the major regions. So we are leveraging on our strengths, experience and contacts to build partnerships and create growth opportunities. To enhance our connectivity and enlarge our economic space, we have concluded 11 FTAs, including with the US, India, Japan, South Korea and Australia. We are negotiating 11 more, including with China and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). Many MNCs, investors and businesses are making use of Singapore’s connectivity to reach out to the region and beyond. Financial services are a prime example. Japanese financial institutions have made inroads into the Middle East. Interest has centred on servicing Asian investors – primarily project financing and loan syndication. I encourage you to take a wider perspective – consider making commercial banking, corporate finance, capital-market services and private-banking services part of your long-term growth strategy. There are many opportunities for you to use Singapore to reach out to the Middle East. You could explore possibilities for collaborating with Singapore-based financial institutions with strong know-how. You could also start discussions with the Middle Eastern banks and players present in Singapore. I would also like to encourage you to use Singapore as a regional hub to conduct your investment activities. Let me give you some idea of what we’re building here. Allow me to share with you the results of the 2006 Asset Management Survey. There are three broad trends worth noting. First, total assets under management (AUM) have grown robustly over the last six years.

Jean-Pierre Danthine: Market developments, Swiss monetary policy and foreign exchange reserve management Introductory remarks by Mr Jean-Pierre Danthine, Member of the Governing Board of the Swiss National Bank, at the half-yearly media news conference, Berne, 16 June 2011. *  *  *  In my remarks, I would like to examine three topics. First, I will comment on developments in the international financial markets. Then I will briefly address the situation in the Swiss franc money market and the implementation of monetary policy. Finally, I will talk about the management of the foreign exchange reserves. Developments in the international financial markets Developments in the international bond, share and foreign exchange markets are mixed and, as before, characterised by relatively high volatility. The relatively favourable global economic developments and the fact that the balance sheets and the liquidity situation of corporations outside the financial industry are in relatively good – in some cases very good – shape are having a positive effect. By contrast, the balance sheets of many governments reflect the consequences of crisis measures and increasing structural debt problems. Thus, in recent quarters, the financial markets have presented a mixed picture. Signs of an improvement in the prevailing mood have been followed by setbacks attributable to the serious impending challenges. At the beginning of the financial crisis, these were mainly concentrated in corporations’ balance sheets. Since then, the market has increasingly shifted its focus towards the risks associated with government debt.