banking services. this is likely to force existing banks to consider how to further upgrade their services, and better make use of technology in their offerings. the result, i hope, will be a more innovative and globally competitive banking sector in hong kong, offering customers more diversified and efficient services. technology use is a means to an end 20. last but not least, we should bear in mind that the use of technology is a means to an 2 / 5 bis central bankers'speeches end, and not an end by itself. most people appreciate new technology for what it can do to improve their lives. they don ’ t really care whether the algorithms or the chips are amazingly innovative. to achieve wide adoption, any innovation has to offer users a “ unique value proposition ”. in plain language, the consumer wants to know “ what can it do for me? ” 21. take mobile payment as an example. this has rapidly taken off for retail payment in mainland china and some other places. in hong kong and other markets, people already use credit cards and e - payment systems like octopus, so mobile payments will grow more slowly. the point is that mobile payment technology is only the means to an end. the hong kong consumer will ask : “ what can it do for me? ”. mobile payment operators will need to give them an answer to that question – in addition to what current payment means like octopus can do, are they adding further value through new services like cross - border remittances or enhancing customer value through loyalty programmes. looking ahead 22. i hope you can see that we have moved ahead since three years ago, when some of you were telling us that the hkma was a big hindrance to fintech development. i am happy to say that the hkma is widely recognised locally and internationally for our proactive stance in fintech adoption. more importantly, hong kong is recognised for its much more mature fintech ecosystem, thanks to the adoption of technologies by banks, asset managers, insurers and other financial institutions here. so, what ’ s next? 23. to the general public, fintech has already brought significant changes to payments, banking and financial management. these new products and services will continue to improve and evolve. at the same time, technology adoption by financial institutions and regulators is likely going to bring another wave of changes. at first, this will probably be about efficiency gains in their internal operations. but in the long - run it may lead to profound changes in the

save, many of them for the first time. at present, these microentrepreneurs have accumulated savings of p 5. 2 billion. in addition, the microfinance sector has become a market for microfinance products like micro - insurance and micro - housing loans. because of the significant strides we have made together, the philippines is considered a global leader in microfinance. for five years in a row – between 2009 to 2013 — the global survey on microfinance by the economist intelligence unit ( eiu ) ranked the philippines as number one in the world in terms of regulatory framework for microfinance. eiu has since amended its survey to measure financial inclusion. in this survey we also rank as a global leader : in 2016, the eiu ranks peru and columbia as the top two, while the philippines and india are third in the world and first in asia with the most conducive environment for financial inclusion. 1 / 3 bis central bankers'speeches improvements in overall access to financial services in the philippines is also reflected in the world bank findex, the global database for financial inclusion. it said formal account ownership among filipino adults increased from 26. 6 % in 2011 to 31. 3 % in 2014, with higher growth among low income and less educated segments of our population. ladies and gentlemen. our cma awardees for this year are among the most diverse set of winners, coming from a range of industries. 1 but they have two things in common : 1 ) they demostrate how financial inclusion and microfinance can unlock opportunities and 2 ) they serve as catalysts for the development of their ventures in various areas. indeed, our efforts to build an inclusive financial system result in better access to financial products and services that empower individuals and enterprises to seize economic opportunities. and we continue to develop enabling policies and regulations to reach unserved and underserved markets. last march, for instance, we issued bsp circular 908 or the agricultural value chain financing framework which aims to address agricultural credit risks by shifting the focus of lending from individual farmers and fisherfolks to the whole value chain. this will benefit microenterprises that are involved in value chains as it provides an opportunity to open up credit to all the players in the chain. 2 as designed, the avcf framework not only addresses financing constraints of small players but also allows them to take on other challenges such as access to markets, business development, and technology. in other