an explosion of entrepreneurial energy across asean. 2 / 7 bis central bankers'speeches the region has seen the rapid rise of well capitalized, innovative businesses such as grab, go - jek, and tokopedia. with a growing middle class and widespread urbanisation, the consumer, technology, and health care related sectors are expected to grow rapidly in asean. growth companies in these areas are scaling up and internationalising, which requires raising new capital – with a growing volume coming from private markets. singapore is a natural gateway to private market opportunities in asia. singapore has a diverse ecosystem of 240 global and regional pe and vc managers. they managed s $ 220 billion of assets as of 2018, up 15 % from the year before. entrepreneurs from across asia are coming to singapore to raise capital for their expansion. singapore itself has become a thriving launch pad for tech start - ups, and is a natural hunting ground for the next unicorn. a vibrant pe and vc ecosystem is critical for the ongoing technological and digital transformation of singapore and asean. deep and diverse private markets offer investors an opportunity to tap on the returns potential of asia ’ s growth companies. this is why mas has made the growth of the private market ecosystem a key plank in its industry development agenda, and put in place various supporting initiatives. first, mas has simplified the regulatory framework for vc managers. we have streamlined the admission criteria and business conduct requirements. this has facilitated faster time - to - market for vc managers, and increased access to financing for start - up and growth stage businesses. second, mas is working with industry players to establish private market platforms in singapore to help match asian growth companies with international investors. last year, capbridge platform obtained mas ’ approval to operate its private securities exchange as a recognised market operator in singapore. third, mas launched in november last year a programme to allocate us $ 5 billion of its own funds as part of its investment portfolio into the private markets asset class. these funds will be placed for management with top global pe and infrastructure fund managers who are committed to deepening their existing presence or establishing a new and significant presence in singapore. there has been keen interest from pe and infrastructure managers, and mas has already funded a few managers who have met our investment and developmental objectives. mas ’ total commitment to pe and infrastructure funds under this programme is currently just over us $ 550 million. fourth, mas is partnering enterprise singapore to host “ deal fridays ” – which are basically curated events to match emerging growth

that third - country banks establishing subsidiaries will benefit from the level - playing field in the euro area. this may possibly be even a competitive advantage compared to other financial centers such as the uk. concerning ratings, i really am curious whether the ssm will provide more confidence in the european banking sector and thereby lead to better ratings for ssm banks. these are only some of the topics i am looking forward to discussing in the following panel. thank you. bis central bankers ’ speeches