lim hng kiang : singapore ’ s significance in asia against the background of global financial crises keynote address by mr lim hng kiang, deputy chairman of the monetary authority of singapore and minister for trade and industry, at the 5th annual citi asia pacific fixed income investor conference, singapore, 28 january 2008. * * * distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen, good morning and a very warm welcome to everyone here today, especially to our guests from abroad. i am very pleased that citi is holding its annual asia pacific fixed income investor conference here in singapore for the second time. i am confident this conference will serve as an excellent platform, through the dynamic discussions and exchanges of views, to conceive fresh ideas and to establish new business relationships. the landscape of the asian bond markets has evolved rapidly over the last ten years. the asian financial crisis in 1997 / 98 has highlighted the need to develop deep and liquid domestic bond markets ; to serve as an alternative source of financing and to alleviate the overdependence of short - term or foreign currency bank borrowings to meet long - term funding needs. the over - concentration of credit risks within the banking sector in 1997, entailing currency and maturity mismatches, contributed to the severity and contagion of the crisis. when the crisis broke, turmoil in the currency markets quickly spread through the stock market, the corporate and banking sectors. but, asia made a remarkable recovery. following the crisis, the asian governments strengthened the macroeconomic fundamentals and put in place structural and fiscal reforms. the strong economic development in china and, then, india also helped to propel the region ahead. today, the asian economies growth rate averages around 8 %. businesses have repaired their balance sheets and have started to invest again after purging out the excesses of the 1990s. this is reflected in the asia ( ex - japan ) domestic bond markets, with a significant increase of almost five times in size from us $ 760 billion to more than us $ 3. 6 trillion ; far exceeding the global growth rate, which has doubled since 1997. having said that, the global financial markets today are facing yet another crisis. ten years ago, asia was at the centre of the storm. however, this time round, the financial market turbulence started in the us and europe and then spread throughout the world. the challenges facing the capital markets show that the banking system is intertwined with the capital markets more intricately than was previously believed. while the

project bonds. we have also put in place a ppp framework to encourage public private participation in singapore infrastructure projects. with this, we have successfully tendered for the ite college west and the singapore sports hub, the first and the largest sports facilities infrastructure ppp in the world. we believe these initiatives will bring business opportunities for the debt capital market community based in singapore. singapore prides herself to have established the reputation of a trustworthy and reliable financial centre, build on political stability, strong legal system, and a sound regulatory and supervisory framework that raises disclosure standards, fosters market discipline, and provides for greater transparency. as a regional hub, singapore is also well connected to the rest of the world through our extensive network of ftas, including australia, india, japan, south korea and the us. over 600 local and foreign financial institutions based here are able to access the growing pool of investors and opportunities ; fueled by the strong performance of asset management activities in singapore. the diversity in the sources of funds flowing into and through singapore has also broadened, with increasing financial flows coming from south asia and the middle east. we have also taken the proactive and responsive approach to changes in the marketplace ; having constant dialogues with institutions and listening to market players, like yourselves, to create a conducive business environment for financial institutions to operate in singapore. as part of our efforts to offer a broad range of financial products and services as an international financial centre, we are also constantly reviewing our policies to ensure a level playing field for the development of islamic financing. beyond the financial industry, singapore is also committed to building a vibrant and cosmopolitan society that offers high quality of life with world - class facilities for education, healthcare, housing and recreation – an attractive city for global talents to work and live in. let me conclude. asia has made remarkable progress and i believe the outlook for the region remains positive. in the middle of difficulty lies great opportunity. asia will continue to develop strong and sustainable fundamentals in order to enhance the robustness of our financial systems for the asian bond markets to become a truly global asset class. on that note, i wish you a very successful and fruitful conference. thank you.