. though much work is required on the corporate sector in the march toward modernization of the thai economy, the government and the central bank also have vital roles in maintaining stable economic environment and providing the required infrastructures to allow the private sector to drive forward to create wealth and prosperity. several long - term plans have been made in the past couple years. on the macroeconomic front, the bank of thailand has adopted inflation targeting as a framework of our monetary policy since may 2000. it may be a little too early to claim our success, but the results thus far have been encouraging. long - term interest rates of the interpolated 14 - year government bonds were reduced from 8. 3 percent at the beginning of 2000 to currently at 6. 1 percent. inflation remained subdued and will stay within the target range during the next two years. the maturity of state enterprise debentures offered in the market increased from a maximum of 7 - year in 1998 up to 20 years in 2000, reflecting greater confidence on the long - term economic stability. on the financial system level, we are drafting a new financial system master plan in cooperation with stakeholders and representatives from other regulators within thailand such as the sec as well as the department of insurance. this will provide a new and vibrant financial system whose survival will be judged by the value added it creates and delivers to the clients. and these will ensure adequate provision of financial services as required by the new economic environment. as for the current economic policy, we are not yet out of the crisis. the economy recovered from a 10. 8 percent contraction in 1998 and posed a 4. 2 percent and 4. 3 percent in 1999 and 2000, respectively. nevertheless, the global slowdown, particularly from our main trading partners such as the us and japan who account for roughly 35 percent of our exports, have complicated our tasks. here, it is the lack of confidence in the overall economic conditions that is the main problem that prevents the resumption of business lending. earlier this week, the government announced its plans to put in place additional fiscal stimulus for the fiscal year 2002, as well as programs to stimulate domestic spending. these include new measures to utilize excess liquidity in the banking sector to further enhance economic activities, to increase investment through a matching fund, as well as to retrain the workforce. these should provide the much - needed economic stimulus to the corporate sector. prosperity of our nations rests on the hard work of the corporations, for what really matters in the long run is your

equity raised through ipos globally in 2017 were in the asia pacific. • investors now have a wide array of asian assets to choose from. as asian companies gain market share globally, investing in asian companies has become more attractive. • asia ’ s share of companies with market value of more than us $ 10 billion stands at 30 %, compared to 20 % just ten years ago. investors in asia are also looking to private markets for investment opportunities. • asian companies are choosing to stay private for longer and becoming more receptive to venture capital ( vc ) and private equity ( pe ) financing. • asia is already a major destination for vc and pe investments. • last year, vc and pe investments into asia reached us $ 160 billion, accounting for 30 % of global investments, surpassing europe for the first time. • with close to 7, 000 start - ups in southeast asia alone, there are opportunities abound for private investments in the region. http : / / www. imas. gov. sg / news - and - publications / speeches - and - monetary - policy - statem... 21 - 07 - 18 connecting global markets supporting asias growth page 3 of 7 the demand for infrastructure financing in asia is outpacing countries ’ funding capacity. • according to the adb, asia will need around us $ 1. 7 trillion annually in infrastructure financing between now and 2030 to sustain economic growth. • currently, more than 90 % of infrastructure investment is financed by governments. • this is not sustainable if the demand for infrastructure is to be met. the challenge for governments in asia is this : to make infrastructure more attractive to private capital. • at their recent meeting in singapore, asean finance ministers agreed to accelerate infrastructure development through mobilising private capital. this means mainstream infrastructure financing as an asset class. • the prospects are good. there is a strong pipeline of projects in the transport and energy sectors, diversified across the asean countries. • we have seen some early success. • for instance, the debut of project bond issuance by pt paiton, indonesia ’ s second - largest independent power producer, reflects growing demand for asian infrastructure debt. singapore is well positioned as a gateway to investment opportunities in asia. • we offer a world class financial centre, with a sound regulatory framework and business - friendly environment. • with its pan - asian reach, singapore is an ideal location for investors to set up base and tap on opportunities in the region. let me highlight two things singapore