remains closed. and although the talf has been successful, it is a short - term facility that was only intended to give the markets and policymakers time to restructure the securitization model to make the securitization markets more viable going forward. the recent g20 agreement calls for a retention of risk, or " skin - in - the - game " approach for asset securitizations. it also calls for higher capital standards and a leverage ratio for all banks. if the risk retention requirements, combined with accounting standards governing the treatment of off - balance - sheet entities, make it impossible for firms to reduce the balance sheet through securitization and if, at the same time, leverage ratios limit balance sheet growth, we could be faced with substantially less credit availability. i'm not arguing with the accounting standards or the regulatory direction. i am just saying they must be coordinated to avoid potentially limiting the free flow of credit. we will learn more about the impact of the new accounting rules on securitization activities as banking organizations implement the new standards. we will also learn more about the impact of our regulatory capital regime on securitization activities as we evaluate the responses to our proposed changes to the regulatory capital guidelines. in the past, accounting rules and regulatory capital guidelines have been drivers for how the securitization model has been structured. as policymakers and others work to create a new framework for securitization, we need to be mindful of falling into the trap of letting either the accounting or regulatory capital drive us to the wrong model. this may mean we have to revisit the accounting or regulatory capital in order to achieve our objectives for a viable securitization market. a healthy economy needs an array of tools for financial intermediation and we need to be careful not to be overly punitive to this particular tool. we just need to focus on providing the appropriate incentives, oversight, and accountability. conclusion the financial crisis has certainly highlighted the need for a safe and stable financial system. to promote confidence and attract capital to the system, we need financial statements that provide maximum insight into the financial condition and risk positions of financial intermediaries. we need supervisory oversight and regulatory constraints, such as regulatory capital, that provide safeguards and incentives that support our objectives of prudent provision of credit and sustainable economic activity. and the accounting and supervisory frameworks need to recognize and support all viable forms of financial intermediation regardless

the large non - resident indian community and facilitating their fund raising activities from singapore. the middle east has a combined gdp that exceeds asean ’ s. post 9 / 11, the middle east is increasingly looking towards asia in order to reduce its dependency on the west. there is a window of opportunity for us to play a bridging role. singapore will host the inaugural meeting of the asia - middle east dialogue ( amed ) in june next year. to expand our economic space and strengthen political relations, i have visited several countries in the middle east and will visit more next year. mas should continue to work with other government agencies to deepen our engagement with the middle east. the market estimates that of the us $ 1. 3 trillion in middle east private wealth invested overseas, less than 10 % is invested in asia. some us $ 100 billion or more could flow into regional markets to tap diversification benefits. this presents an opportunity for the asset management companies and capital markets industries here to develop investment funds and structured products, including islamic financial products, to manage a portion of this wealth. maintaining excellence in a riskier environment our second priority is maintaining excellence in our core central banking functions in a riskier environment. in recent years, the external environment has become more volatile and complex. at the same time, our economy has been undergoing significant structural adjustments. we must ensure that the formulation and conduct of monetary policy continue to be robust and flexible. we will further strengthen our monetary policy formulation process by enhancing our forecasting, surveillance and research capabilities. we intend to reinforce our macro - econometric model by introducing new features that will enable us to better assess the impact of risks on key sectors and relationships in the economy. in the area of surveillance, we have started an intensive industry consultation process as part of our exchange rate policy review. we will continue to fine - tune this process. to enhance our understanding of the economy, we are constructing a flow - of - funds framework to get a better understanding of financial flows across different sectors of the economy. changes and increased volatility in financial markets also pose challenges for the implementation of monetary policy. singapore dollar capital markets have grown enormously over the last five years. foreign participation has gone up. more foreign investors are likely to participate in our markets when singapore government securities are included in the world government bond index next january. our market surveillance must broaden as the mix of market participants becomes more diverse. as the volume of trade in singapore dollar securities increases,