, causing a contraction of 5. 2 % in curacao whilst the effect of the closing of only the isla refinery would mean that the real gdp of curacao would contract by 2. 5 %. private consumption will drop because of lay - offs, which is a result of a decline in activities in other important export sectors, namely tourism, wholesale & retail trade, and transportation. meanwhile private investment will drop since no investments will be taking place at the isla refinery. public consumption will contract as the government will receive less tax income. exports will drop and will result in lower foreign exchange revenues due to the decline in the refining fee, transportation activities, tourism activities and re - exports by the free - zone companies. imports will decline as well, due to a decline in domestic spending, less tourism spending, less free - zone re - exports and no import of goods and services by the isla refinery. the inflation rate will increase as the non - oil merchandise imports from venezuela will be replaced by imports from other countries at a higher price. the unemployment rate will rise with 0. 5 %. the international financial services sector has been an important pillar of the economy of curacao since the 1930. however, over the past twenty years, the sector has experienced a gradual decline due to among other things, the termination of the tax treaty with the united states and the abolishment of the us foreign withholding tax. also, increased competition from taxexempt jurisdictions has affected our international financial services sector. one of the main tax measures that had an impact on the sector, was the enactment of a new fiscal regime in 2001 to be in full compliance with the policies of the oecd for fair tax practices. the nfr ended the distinction between onshore and offshore entities. however, institutions that already existed in 1999 have been given a transitional phase of 20 years to be able to adapt to the new offshore regime. after the exemption period, offshore companies will be subject to the onshore tax regime. this grandfather clause will end in 2019. these pie charts depict the total foreign exchange income from the export of goods and services by economic sector. although its contribution has declined over the past 20 years ( 6 % compared to 18 % ), the international financial services sector still remains an important economic pillar of curacao. overall, the sector represents approximately 6 % of the total gdp of curacao. the sector provides labor intensive high - skilled employment to more than 1, 000 persons and

regtech from the trade - off between the need for organizations to stay compliant with the rapidly changing regulations and the need to remain profitable, while suptech is focusing on the challenges faced by supervisory agencies2. the payment infrastructure is one of the examples where innovation has developed quickly with payment tools available directly through an app on a smartphone or even on a smartwatch nowadays. the issuance of central bank digital currency, which is a digital version of cash, could be seen as a natural consequence of the broader process of digitization of the financial system. in a world where assets are being traded electronically and payments are being made with smartphones, should there only be room for physical cash? central bank digital currency ladies and gentlemen, distributed ledger technology is currently reshaping the financial system and is here to stay in one form or another. if this financial revolution is not embraced by regulators, private players will continue to innovate and drive the development of alternative 1 / 3 bis central bankers'speeches technologies, new payment methods, and digital currencies. central banks need to become active shapers in the current debate to fulfill their mandates and drive change as active agents rather than passive bystanders. given some of the shortcomings of cryptocurrencies pointed out by the bis, some people have supported the idea of central banks issuing their own digital forms of currency as more stable and reliable alternatives to cryptocurrencies. let ’ s face it : a central bank digital currency could overcome the volatility risks of an unbacked asset with no intrinsic value. in addition, central banks are in better position to develop a robust financial infrastructure that provides a secure environment for both domestic and cross - border transactions. with the recent shift in the interest of central banks, it is not unthinkable to assume that digital cash will one day dominate the payment infrastructure. financial innovation ladies and gentlemen, as i noted a few minutes ago, the fintech industry is designing new services that better adapt to users ’ needs in order to expand its business. in doing so, fintechs try to find the right balance between the opportunities in the market place and the financial regulation they have to comply with. however, fintech will aim at enhancing profitability and, therefore, may not have the right incentives to reach a socially viable equilibrium. the greatest challenge for central banks is to find the right balance between the clear benefits that financial innovations have on growth and identifying and mitigating the associated