quality and affordable financial services to a regional sme client base. it is paramount for smes to embrace these technological enhancements. this includes the adoption of end - to - end supply chain management solutions that integrate the production and financial flows of sme activities, allowing for greater expansion into regional production networks. together with digitalisation, the financial integration process will catalyse the convergence of institutional frameworks across asean countries to create a more effective regional financing ecosystem. such institutional infrastructures and instruments include credit guarantee schemes and credit and collateral registries. another example is the asean sme working group ’ s methodology for the asean benchmark for sme credit rating to facilitate the establishment of credit bureaus in asean member states. through these credit bureaus, as estimated by the asian development bank. bis central bankers ’ speeches financial institutions would have wider access to reliable credit records of smes, thereby increasing the access to financing for the smes. the promotion of deeper financial inclusion can be regarded as the final mile in enhancing and enriching the regional financial integration process. the asean finance ministers ’ and central bank governors ’ meeting in march this year elevated financial inclusion as a regional policy priority. indeed, asean will continue to coordinate and intensify efforts to advance financial inclusion, including addressing cross - border financing issues for sme trade financing and investments. this is critical to ensure the benefits of regional integration are experienced by all in the region. conclusion while the future for asean looks promising, asean businesses, including smes, need to consider and explore an asean strategy and to view asean as an increasingly integrated market. having such regional or international perspectives may prove to be a game changer for smes, paving a path towards sustained growth, increased job creation, and higher innovation capacity. a crucial element in the asean economic agenda is the development of the sme sector which will contribute to stronger and more equitable growth in the region. the next frontier for smes is to emerge as regional players that are not constrained by the domestic consumer base. smes possess the potential to participate in global production networks by riding on asean ’ s intrinsic strengths and prospects, multiple sme - focused policy initiatives as well as the continued wave of regional financial integration. this will allow for the transition for smes to benefit immensely from the ongoing regional economic and financial integration and thus contribute towards a balanced and sustainable growth of our region. bis central bankers ’ speeches

norwegian economy is high. household consumption has continued to increase despite high inflation and higher interest rates. the employment rate is high and employment has risen further so far this year. the labour market is tight. economic growth has nevertheless slowed recently. unemployment moved a little higher in april, and the number of job postings has declined. chart 5 : wage growth has risen the tight labour market has led to a pick - up in wage growth. wage growth last year was the highest since 2011, with a further rise expected this year. the outcome of this year's wage settlement so far suggests that annual wage growth will be slightly higher than we projected in march. higher wage growth means higher business costs and could lead to higher prices for domestically produced goods. the krone depreciation will generate higher costs for imported goods ahead. chart 6 : further rate rise likely in june the committee assesses that a higher policy rate is needed to dampen inflation. since the publication of our march projections, overall economic activity has been broadly as expected. excluding energy prices, consumer price inflation has also moved as projected. higher wage growth and the krone depreciation will contribute to keeping inflation elevated ahead. if the krone remains weaker than projected or pressures in the economy persist, a higher policy rate than envisaged earlier may be needed. the future policy rate path will depend on economic developments, but we will most likely raise the policy rate again in june, at which time we will also present updated forecasts for the norwegian economy. 2 / 2 bis - central bankers'speeches