. conclusion 27. let me now conclude. asia ’ s financial systems and institutions are facing considerably less pressure for financial restructuring and regulatory reform in the current crisis. while asia has not emerged unscathed, significant structural changes made after the asian financial crisis have enabled the region ’ s financial systems to weather this crisis relatively well. 28. but there is no room for complacency. even as we recognise the need to continue development of our financial markets, considerable risks and policy challenges still remain for the region. mas will continue with our three pillar approach of sensible rule - making, effective supervision and partnership to achieve the desired outcome. 29. we should take advantage of the global reform agenda to strengthen our regulatory and supervisory regimes, consistent with international standards and best practices, but at the same time, doing it in a manner that is sensitive to our regional environment and needs. i am confident that with financial supervisors and the industry working together in partnership, we can further enhance the resilience of our financial system to better serve the economic aspirations of asians going forward. i wish you a fruitful conference. thank you.

heng swee keat : international reform agenda – singapore ’ s challenges opening keynote address by mr heng swee keat, managing director of the monetary authority of singapore ( mas ), at the asian banker summit, singapore, 19 april 2010. * * * introduction 1. good morning. it gives me great pleasure to join you today at this 11th asian banker summit. 2. the inaugural asian banker summit was held in singapore about 10 years ago. at that time, asia was staging a strong recovery from the financial crisis which shook the region in 1997. today, we find ourselves at a similar inflection point. emerging from the crisis 3. the worst of the global financial crisis appears to be over. global financial conditions have since improved markedly and prospects for the world economy have brightened. asia ex - japan is leading the recovery, with its gdp already surpassing the precrisis level by nearly 8 %. for the whole of 2010, the region is expected to grow by 8 % over the previous year. the singapore economy has rebounded strongly and is expected to grow by 7 – 9 % this year. 4. while the immediate outlook is positive, we need to remain vigilant. the structural headwinds to growth in advanced economies remain. the transition from government - led stimulus to sustained private - sector driven growth may be more difficult in those economies which face rising sovereign debt levels. as global liquidity conditions are normalised – following the unprecedented easing of interest rates by major central banks – financial markets could experience bouts of volatility as a range of asset classes are repriced and this could impact negatively on various interest - sensitive industries. 5. in addition, the reform of the global financial system has to be carefully thought through, calibrated and sequenced. it is important that regulatory reforms do not become politicised, with a rush to adopt simple rules that seem to solve the problems. specific measures, each of which is sensible, may collectively create unintended outcomes and stymie the nascent economic recovery. in this regard, the basel committee ’ s quantitative impact studies will provide an important basis for us to take a more holistic view of the required changes. 6. so far, most of the discussions have been framed around the theme of “ how do we prevent a similar crisis from happening again. ” clearly, we must look back and learn from the crisis. but we must not fight the last war. we must also look forward.