in 1999 to 25 % in 2011. against this backdrop, asean financial markets had also grown significantly in tandem. in particular, the asean fixed income markets, are instrumental to support the growth of intraregional trade, financing and investment in infrastructure. asean fixed income markets have expanded by more than six folds since 2000, and now stand impressively at usd1. 1 trillion. the size of asean local currency bond markets is now five times larger than the total usd - denominated bonds issued by asean entities, indicates the growing maturity, resilience and the important role of domestic bond markets in each economy. the compounded annual growth rate in asean local currency bond issuance has been 12. 9 % since 2003. the regional individual markets have experienced growth rates ranging from 5. 3 % to 42. 2 %. these figures are very encouraging. the potential is enormous. a relatively new area of growth for asean bond market is infrastructure financing. infrastructure investments in asia, by some estimates, will amount to a staggering usd8 trillion, over the next decade. asean bond markets can play a big role in bridging this long term financing needs given that most economies within the region are bank - dependence for long term financing. not only the bis central bankers ’ speeches economy would be better served by a new source of funds, but the risks of depending on the banking sector for long term financing would be greatly reduced. however, formidable challenges still exist. the financial linkages between asean fixed income markets are insignificant and intra - regional investments by asean investors are still small. malaysia, the largest fixed income market in asean, has seen a fair share of nonresidents participation and investment. despite the growth of our fixed income market and the substantial non - residents investment, the participation from other asean countries is limited. it would be a fair guesstimate that this is similar in other asean fixed income markets. within the asean region, more than 90 % of cross - border portfolio investment flows are still with advanced economies outside asia. for reserve management, bank negara malaysia has for a number of years invested in both usd and local currency denominated asian bonds. it has been an enriching experience investing in these markets. the many years of experience in our neighbours ’ financial markets has enabled us to have a hands - on understanding on the regulatory environments and nuances of the asia local currency debt markets. for example, liquidity is a challenge in most markets, including the malaysian, for some iss

examples will be discussed this morning to illustrate the lessons learned from such inspections. for instance, acpr staff examined distribution channels in which there are a number of intermediaries between the customer and the producer ( bank or more often insurer ). the questions that we are asking today are simple. but they are important for the sector as a whole. do all intermediaries provide value added to the customer? how can we guarantee the customer a reliable and efficient chain, irrespective of its organisation? to enhance practices, the acpr also has a flexible legal tool, the recommendation. i believe that this instrument is useful for prevention. recommendations are intended to change or guide the behaviour of professionals. it helps them to identify and actually integrate what is expected of them in terms of consumer protection. generally, the area of business practices is one in which it is quite conceivable that some best practices can be defined by the players themselves. to do this, dialogue is required as well as commitments that are binding enough to be enforced. the aeras agreementwhich aims to facilitate access to credit for people with serious health problems, is a good example and i would like to thank mr emmanuel constans, chairman of the aeras mediation committee and member of the acpr college for having agreed to present today the changes in this agreement. iii / lastly, our supervision of business practices must increasingly take account of developments in technology and in changes in europe. i believe that it is important, not only for the acpr but also for the market, to anticipate these changes wherever possible. european legislation that is recent or in the process of being adopted calls for the standardisation of customer information. this is the case for the packaged retail and insurance - based investment products ( priips ), the directive on credit agreements relating to residential immovable property ( carrp ), and the insurance distribution directive ( idd ). also, under the aegis of the amf, with which we share a joint unit that is efficient at bis central bankers ’ speeches supervising business practices, there is the markets in financial instruments directive ( mifid ). european legislation recasts the obligations of product distributors to include in particular the concept of independent advice in the sectoral directives. it also makes changes to the obligations of product manufacturers by imposing a product design process that takes account of the interests and characteristics of the targeted customers. lastly, extensive work on the delicate subject of the compensation