a wider suite of risk management tools would address the needs of a larger pool of investors, which would in turn facilitate more investments into china ’ s capital markets. to support the belt and road initiative, there is room for shanghai and singapore financial institutions to develop a comprehensive financial architecture to support the wide range of financial needs related to the initiative. a. first, both can work together to encourage greater use of capital markets and direct financing channels. to incentivise the use of bond markets for financing purposes, mas introduced the asian bond grant scheme in nov 2016, for first - time asian bond issuers. to make it more attractive to tap international bond markets, the scheme offsets up to 50 % of issuance costs arising from engaging related legal, arrangement and credit rating services. shanghai and singapore financial institutions can work together to encourage chinese corporates to leverage the scheme and access direct financing for their bri projects overseas. b. second, the bri also presents a good opportunity for promoting sustainable financing, given the potential negative environmental impact from unsustainable forms of infrastructure 2 / 3 bis central bankers'speeches development. china leapfrogged into top position as the largest issuer of green bonds globally in 20161. there is much that singapore can learn from. to encourage green bond issuances, mas introduced the green bond grant scheme in march of this year to offset the costs of external reviews required for issuing sustainability - oriented bonds. together, shanghai and singapore can grow the global green bond market and play important roles in furthering sustainable financing. c. third, there is also room for shanghai and singapore insurers to provide better insurance coverage of bri projects. bri projects can leverage insurance pools or consortiums to manage risk exposures of large - scale infrastructure projects. shanghai and singapore insurers can participate in regional insurance pools to provide more comprehensive coverage for a wider range of risks, while introducing new projects that would enhance the profitability of these insurance pools. 5 in the fintech space, shanghai and singapore can collaborate in creating a conducive eco - system for fintech companies and start - ups. the need for collaboration arises from the fact that technology companies are dynamic and continually looking to internationalize their businesses. for example, cxa group, a health technology start - up established in singapore, is expanding its services to china and is planning to partner shanghai zhongheng insurance brokers for its china expansion. there is scope for collaboration to enhance

together. this conference is a good example. the singapore international reinsurance conference has become asia ’ s version of the baden - baden meeting and the monte - carlo rendezvous. it is a key platform for insurance players not just to share knowledge, but also to negotiate renewals and explore opportunities for collaboration. foster a conducive business environment finally, i will touch on our efforts to foster a conducive business environment for insurance. there are two critical success factors. the first is talent. the insurance industry already has in place some good talent development programmes at the undergraduate and fresh graduate levels. • take for instance, the global internship programme ( gip ) offered by the general insurance association. this is a structured internship programme which gives selected undergraduates exposure in general insurance companies both locally and overseas. mas, in partnership with the industry, has recently developed an insurance talent development framework, which maps out training and career progression pathways for both new entrants and existing insurance professionals. new industry - wide programmes will be launched in 2014 across a spectrum of roles and seniority levels. at the entry level, we will have two programmes. • the insurance executive assistant programme ( ieap ) will prepare diploma holders for junior entry - level positions. it will complement the gip, which is targeted at university graduates. • the insurance management associate programme ( imap ) will place and train top - tier fresh graduates through a structured apprenticeship programme. for existing industry professionals, there will also be two new programmes. • the insurance specialist programme will deepen participants ’ specialist and technical knowledge in key functions such as underwriting and claims, as well as in specialist lines such as trade credit, political risks, aviation and marine risks. • the hi - po leader programme will provide those with leadership potential with a series of programmes to prepare them for senior management roles in the insurance industry. the second critical success factor is regulation. strong prudential and regulatory standards have always been a source of singapore ’ s competitive advantage as a financial centre. through promoting sound risk management and a safe environment, regulation fosters confidence in the industry and helps attracts business. bis central bankers ’ speeches singapore was one of the early movers to a risk - based supervisory and capital framework for insurance, in 2005. since then, mas has been actively refining the regulatory framework and approach. we are currently undertaking a comprehensive review to enhance the risk - based capital framework, taking into account evolving international standards and market developments. in particular, we are