is you who will be using these financial and infrastructure linkages. i would therefore urge you all to tap onto this tremendous opportunity that is arising by, for example, • venturing abroad to invest in new markets in asean ; • expanding your businesses through our linked capital markets ; and • taking part in the new regional logistics based sector. ladies and gentlemen, 16. i am very pleased to learn that tomorrow you as representatives of 36 banks from asean + 3 countries will be signing the “ bangkok declaration ” to bolster your mutual cooperation. this demonstrates that the private sector has already taken the cue from us in the public sector to tap on opportunities in the region. i congratulate you all in advance and hope that other industries would follow suit. thank you very much for your attention. bis central bankers ’ speeches

only make the scenario far reaching. without the resuscitation of investment, thailand ’ s potential growth rate will likely fall to a lower path. the same study also points out the impact of demographic change on thailand ’ s future growth. by 2026 - 2035, the economy ’ s potential gdp growth rate under the balanced growth path assumption is projected to fall to 4. 8 - 5. 4 % due to ageing population. moreover, the study finds that measures such as attracting foreign workers and raising the retirement age from 60 to 65 have only small impact at boosting the economy ’ s long - term growth and that the key to maintaining high growth rate lies in enhancing productivity growth rather than trying to squeeze out more hours from the aging population. while improvement in educational and skill attainment of the labor force and de - bottlenecking of inefficient sectors such as improvement in the logistic system and water management for irrigation are most obvious policies, financial deepening must not be neglected. it is the efficiency of resource allocation which includes funds and capital that enhances economic productivity, hence, raising the economy ’ s long - term growth potential. this is the focus of the rest of my talk to which i now turn. ladies and gentlemen, as you know, the fundamental function of financial markets and intermediaries is to channel funds from those who have a surplus of savings to those who have a deficit. if financial markets are functioning efficiently, they contribute to an optimal allocation of resources, reduce the cost of capital, and allow for risk - sharing and risk - diversification. well - developed and efficient financial markets contribute to higher productivity growth because they are better at channeling capital from sectors in decline to those with growth opportunities, in a process of schumpeterian “ creative destruction ” that ultimately drives economic growth. having efficient resource allocation is particularly important now for the thai economy, given the ongoing structural shift in relative prices of commodities and asset prices which render some businesses obsolete while opening up many other new opportunities. indeed, the vast body of research over the past decade strongly suggests that improvements in financial developments precede and contribute to economic performance. in other words, the widespread desire to see an effectively functioning financial system is warranted by its clear causal link to growth, macroeconomic stability, and poverty reduction. as for the specific form of financial market development, it is also well accepted by policymakers that economies that have well - developed banking sectors and capital markets are advantageous to