##ative importance of financial inclusion, the central bank of malaysia act 2009 states that promoting a sound, progressive and inclusive financial system as one of the primary functions of the bank. this has provided a clear mandate and legislative power for the bank to advance the financial inclusion agenda. the financial inclusion mandate of the bank is further reinforced by the financial sector blueprint 2011 – 2020, which charts the future development of the malaysian financial system. it details the bank ’ s holistic approach toward achieving greater financial inclusion. an important evolution in the advancement of our financial inclusion strategies is the increasing focus on data and measurement. success can only be celebrated if it is proven by visible developments that is felt on the ground. hence, one of the cornerstone recommendations under the financial sector blueprint is the development of a financial inclusion index, a framework to measure accessibility to financial services as well as its bis central bankers ’ speeches usage and quality. our performance on this agenda has therefore been measured, consistent with our drive for accountability and excellence. further policy initiatives have included the introduction of agent banking which has enabled 99 % of malaysians today to enjoy convenient access to safe, reliable and affordable financial services. international efforts to enhance financial inclusion measurement internationally, there is an emerging common understanding that measurement is an essential policy tool for implementation. in this regard, the alliance for financial inclusion, a network of central banks and financial regulators from 96 countries, has provided an important platform in advancing the global agenda of financial inclusion measurement. with the sasana accord, which was agreed upon in 2013 during the global policy forum held here in sasana kijang, afi members underscored the importance of measuring the progress of financial inclusion using a common set of measurable indicators. this accord has formulated the measuring tools for the monitoring of key performance indicators ( kpis ) that has assisted policy makers in implementing and refining strategies to assist the underserved. immense progress has also been made in gathering accurate and timely data for financial inclusion kpis. traditionally, financial inclusion data has been scarce as they have depended on national user surveys. in this regard, the global findex has made a very significant contribution to financial inclusion policymakers and practitioners, as it is a database of more than 150, 000 survey responses from more than 140 countries across the world. with the data from the global findex, which is updated every 3 years, we are now able to compare in a consistent manner the financial inclusion performance across countries and analyse trends over time. the availability of country

dollar petronas sukuk and bond took approximately one month, from structuring the instrument and date of submission to the authorities, to book building and the issuance date – reflecting the efficiency of the malaysian market. prior to this, malaysia has also seen wide ranging ringgit - denominated issuances by nonresident issuers. multi - nationals, foreign corporations and multilateral agencies such as the international finance corporation, international bank for reconstruction and development, and the islamic development bank have successfully issued sukuk in malaysia. all these issuances garnered overwhelming response from resident and non - resident investors as reflected by the oversubscription of these sukuk issuances. the liquidity and tradability of these ringgit issuances have been supported by the diverse range of players in the domestic islamic financial system and the increasing demand from foreign investors. the establishment of cmh marks a further milestone in the development of the islamic financial system under the mifc initiative, sustaining the continued evolution and the development of islamic finance. i wish to acknowledge the endorsement of the ministry of plantation industries and commodities and the support by the malaysian palm oil board, malaysian palm oil association and malaysian palm oil council as well as the cpo industry players towards this initiative. on this occasion, i wish to take the opportunity to congratulate the team at bursa malaysia, bank negara malaysia, the securities commission and the market players for their perseverance in concluding this project that was started two years ago and in making it a reality today.