1990s, the developed countries – most notably those in europe – accounted for around 60 per cent of south africa ’ s trade. since then our export markets have diversified, with countries in africa and asia gaining in prominence. around 25 per cent of our total exports are sold in asian markets. india and china ’ s rise in the global economy has been one of the main reasons for the rise in the demand for commodities. the two currently account for around 13 per cent of south africa ’ s exports. the normalisation of international relations also involved a programme to gradually phase out exchange control. up to march 1995 the so - called financial rand system applied to investment by non - residents. this not only inhibited outflows of financial capital, but also inflows. with the abolition of the financial rand system in march 1995, the country moved from two prices for foreign currency to a single price, thereby removing a dispensation prone to abuse, fraud and corruption. moreover, while the door was opened for capital movements in both directions, it so happens that, subsequently, inflows have exceeded outflows quite substantially. the confidence in ourselves which was demonstrated by liberalising capital flows has been rewarded. further exchange control reforms of the past 15 years include allowing south african individuals to invest money abroad, or as foreign - currency denominated investments with south african institutions. the applicable allowance was raised over time and currently the maximum amount per individual is r2 million. a more liberal approach has also been adopted as far as investment by south african companies abroad is concerned. such investments have contributed to development, competition and growth on the african continent and elsewhere. furthermore, a number of prominent south african companies have been allowed to shift their primary listing to foreign securities exchanges, thereby making it easier for them to borrow money or issue shares in those markets. people who had previously illegally built up foreign assets were also granted amnesty to declare and legalise such asset holdings. numerous persons made use of this opportunity. south africa seems to have benefited considerably from the greater freedom – with greater responsibility – which its citizens enjoy in the international arena. both foreign assets and liabilities have risen considerably. foreign currency markets have become more liquid. under these circumstances the south african reserve bank has also been able to work down its oversold forward position in the market for foreign currency – its international liquidity position has changed from a negative us $ 25, 2 billion at the end of 1994 to a positive us $ 36, 9 billion at

of defence is required. the recent crisis has shown that a systemic crisis may quickly pose a threat to institutions that are actually sound. systemic risk, however, cannot be dealt with by microprudential supervision alone. regarding the establishment of an effective macroprudential toolset, important measures are still due. our major concern in this respect is the too - big - to - fail issue. efforts are being made by the fsb to present an approvable base solution to the g20 summit. essential details, however, will have to be finalised afterwards, in particular the formal definition of “ systemically important financial institutions ” ( sifi ’ s ). in order to find a credible solution to the too - big - to - fail problem strong political commitment would act as a helpful support. taking the time constraints into account, i want to conclude my remarks. nevertheless, i do not want to fail to mention that macroprudential surveillance has to go beyond the focus on individual national institutions. close cooperation at the european and international levels is indispensable in order to supplement microprudential supervision with a systemic view. the establishment of the esrb is an important step in the right direction. now the challenge for its members is to make it a success. thank you very much.