Complex language is these days more likely to breed mistrust than mystique. Expert opinion has become a source of scepticism rather than reassurance. The well-directed Tweet has displaced the well-argued speech, the Facebook “like” the approving newspaper review, the smiley-faced emoji the hand-written thank-you note. 58  That change in the nature of public language – shorter, simpler, shriller - puts an even greater premium on institutions making themselves understood, despite (indeed, because) of the technocratic task with which they are charged. That means speaking in words and sentences that land rather than levitate with the public, that connect rather than divide public opinion, that illuminate rather than darken public debate. So how well do central banks fare on that front? Earlier this year, the Campaign for Plain English, a militant band of grammarians, turned its attention to the Bank of England MPC’s Monetary Policy Statement. This statement is intended to be a simplified and sanitised account of the MPC’s judgements. The Campaign for Plain English described it as “worthless, impenetrable waffle” and “gobbledygook”. Reading between the lines, I am not sure they liked it. These views are instructive, but subjective. More objective measures have been developed, however, that enable us to measure the linguistic complexity of written and spoken material. For example, some of the more widely-used of these metrics are based on word and sentence length, the use of different word types etc. 57 58 59  59  These metrics can be applied to central bank publications.

Besides accessing global capital, a listing on the Singapore Exchange also helps the companies create overseas brand awareness and broaden shareholder base. It is an effective enabler in assisting the Chinese companies to pursue their international business strategies. Today, there are 143 Chinese companies listed on the Singapore Exchange. These Chinese listings cover a wide range of industries, including manufacturing, services, real estate, transportation, pharmaceutical and many other rapidly growing industry sectors. Particularly, some Chinese companies have chosen to leverage on Singapore’s competitive advantages in certain sectors including real estate and shipping. In the real estate sector, Singapore has attracted Yanlord Land Group, a leading developer of high-end residential properties in China, and CapitaRetail China Trust, the world’s largest China REIT, to list in our equity market. Yangzijiang Shipbuilding and Cosco Corporation, China’s largest shipbuilders, have also chosen Singapore as their international listing destination. Regional growth I expect Chinese companies’ regionalisation efforts to continue, notwithstanding the recent market volatility. The recent subprime crisis in the United States has dented investors’  BIS Review 46/2008  1  confidence but it is important to take a longer term view. The medium and long-term fundamentals of Asian economies are strong, driven in no small part by China’s economic engine. I believe we will continue to see strong intra-regional trading volumes and wealth creation. As the Asian economies grow, opportunities will arise in the capital markets for financing Chinese companies’ regionalisation, if not, globalisation efforts.