Taking into account the distinct characteristics and specificities of Islamic finance, the effective implementation of these standards will contribute towards maintaining the soundness and stability of Islamic financial institutions. Liquidity management in the international Islamic financial system has also been strengthened with the establishment of the International Islamic Liquidity Management Corporation (IILM) in 2010 that will contribute towards facilitating efficient liquidity management and cross-border flows by Islamic financial institutions. On the domestic front, in Malaysia, the upcoming issuance of a ringgit denominated Mudharabah Certificate for  BIS central bankers’ speeches  1  liquidity management purposes by the central bank is the introduction of a new profit sharing instrument that is expected to contribute towards increasing the range of instruments in the global Islamic short term securities market. With returns that are linked to the performance of the underlying asset and tradability in the secondary market, it is expected to draw significant interest of international investors. Moving forward: transformative changes to grow beyond numbers The efforts taken to strengthen the global financial infrastructure of Islamic finance thus far have provided a solid foundation for the growth and internationalisation of the industry that is underpinned with soundness and stability. While the rapid growth of Islamic finance, attests to its resilience and competitiveness, the challenge before us is also to enhance its capacity to contribute towards inclusion and more balanced economic growth. Statistical numbers and projections are important performance indicators and benchmarks for the industry.

Prasarn Trairatvorakul: Outlook for Thailand at a time of economic uncertainty Speech by Dr Prasarn Trairatvorakul, Governor of the Bank of Thailand, at the Thomson Reuters Forum, Bangkok, 21 February 2012. *  *  *  Distinguished guests, Ladies and Gentlemen, It is my pleasure to be the keynote speaker at this Thomson Reuters forum. This is a special opportunity for me to share my views on the “Outlook for Thailand at a Time of Economic Uncertainty.” At the outset, I would like to highlight that the Thai economic outlook for 2012 is likely to be strong in terms of projected GDP growth while pressure on inflation should be well- contained. Having said that, I know that all of you, especially those in financial markets, are well aware that in today’s fast-paced world we cannot be complacent. Positive outlooks, such as the one I just described, may change quickly. Today, my speech will focus on laying out the challenges, my assessment of the challenges, and our policy options going forward. First, let us turn to the challenges. Last year 2011 was a year of regaining poise and balance for monetary policy. One year ago, the global recovery had started to gain traction. Capital flows had begun to stabilize and became less uni-directional. The balance of risks had started to shift away from growth to inflation. As a result, the Bank of Thailand (BOT), and indeed, the majority of central banks in the region, normalized interest rates throughout most of the year.