contribution of all economic players to guaranteeing them. these messages, which constitute the main topics of this quarterly report, will be further elaborated below. * * * the global context that outlined albania ’ s economic development over this period has recovered, however the financial markets and investor sentiment remain highly volatile. global economy continued to recover in the second quarter of 2010, being largely driven by the rapid economic growth in emerging economies and the fiscal and monetary stimulus in advanced economies. the euro area is showing signs of stable growth but our main trading partners, italy and greece, are performing less positively. despite the higher demand, the worldwide negative output gap has yielded low inflationary pressures, which are expected to persist in the medium run as well. however, this positive setting is still incomplete as long as unemployment remains high in the majority of countries. public debt figures are weighed down further by the fiscal burden contracted as a result of the high - cost government measures undertaken over the last two years to fuel the economy, while the fiscal room has narrowed down substantially. concerns over fiscal sustainability, particularly in some euro area countries, have been also reflected in the performance of financial markets, which featured higher risk premia and elevated profit margins. against this global background, official statistics show that the albanian economy has experienced a rebound in growth. following the decline of gdp in the last quarter of 2009 and the weak economic activity in the early months of 2010, the available data on the real and monetary sector suggest that the albanian economy posted positive growth rates in the first half of the present year. according to instat ’ s preliminary data, gdp grew 2 % y - o - y in the first quarter of 2010. the growth in foreign demand was reflected positively in the performance of industry, which grew 27. 5 % for this period. on the other hand, the slower domestic demand was manifested in moderate growth rates of services and progressive contraction in the construction sector. the more positive performance of gdp in the first quarter of 2010 finds more support in the qualitative data. the economic tendency indicator particularly increased 4. 6 points versus the previous quarter, though remaining well below its long - term average. along with other indirect indicators, like credit growth trend and the higher pace of budget revenue, business and consumer expectations for the second quarter of the present year suggest that economic growth posted similar rates to the first quarter. in absence of timely data on the performance of demand components, our analyses based on quantitative and qualitative indirect indicators suggest that domestic demand

darryl chan : opening address - 36th annual avcj private equity and venture forum opening address by mr darryl chan, deputy chief executive of the hong kong monetary authority, at the 36th annual avcj private equity & venture forum, hong kong, 14 november 2023. * * * allen [ lee, publisher of avcj ], tim [ burroughs, managing editor of avcj ], ladies and gentlemen, good morning. and a warm welcome to our visitors! i am very pleased to join the 36th avcj private equity and venture forum. it is great to see so many senior investors, advisors, and regulators from the global private equity community. in particular, it's heartening to see this avcj flagship event returning to hong kong. welcome back! last tuesday, in this same room, the hkma held the global financial leaders'investment summit, hosting 300 global financial leaders in a series of inspiring and engaging dialogue on issues that have far - reaching implications for the global financial system. private market was one of the focus areas that attracted immense interest. it is therefore most timely that today so many great minds in the industry gather here to deep dive into this exciting space, sharing insights and ideas. today i would like to share with you how we look at the opportunities in the asia pacific region for the private equity industry. i would also like to update you on what we have been doing here in hong kong to offer a competitive platform for this industry, both in terms of more specific policy support and the opportunities offered by some latest strategies adopted by the government to pave way for the long - term growth of the wider economy. let me start with the regional context. lately the global private equity industry has inevitably been affected by factors such as rising interest rates, slower growth, lacklustre ipo sentiments, and geopolitical uncertainties. yet, asia remains an attractive market for deal sourcing and fundraising. let's look at some numbers from various sources, including avcj. in the past decade, asset under management in the apac private markets has grown at a compound annual growth rate of 23 %. this was twice as fast as north america and europe. apac private equity firms currently manage a total of 3. 2 trillion us dollars, making it the second largest private capital market behind north america. the dry powder in the region rose to a record level of 676 billion us dollars as of 2022. closer to this part of the world