of payment systems. several public sector initiatives aim to achieve an efficient, safe and integrated post - trading market infrastructure in the european union. the ecb is closely involved in this work through its participation in the clearing and settlement advisory and monitoring expert group ( cesame ) and in the legal certainty group. let me also mention here – as an important development in 2006 – that, at the european commission ’ s request, the european industry associations for exchanges and post - trading infrastructures and their members signed a “ european code of conduct for clearing and settlement ” last november. the ecb also participates in the related monitoring group that is chaired by the commission. i now turn to the function that we describe as “ acting as a catalyst for private sector activities ”. by this we mean that in areas such as standard - setting and the establishment of common infrastructures, cooperation between private agents of the financial sector is as necessary as competition. however, cooperation may fail to materialise without the support of a catalyst. the ecb and the entire eurosystem can play such a role, on account of the competence and objectivity and the numerous contacts with market participants. the short - term european paper ( step ) initiative promotes the development of a pan - european short - term paper market through market players ’ voluntary compliance with a core set of standards encompassed in the step market convention. this convention was signed on 9 june 2006. since then, 32 step - compliant programmes, amounting to eur 166 billion, have been launched under the step label. the ecb has supported the step initiative since its inception in 2001. during the preparatory phase, the ecb facilitated coordination among market players, contributed to the step task force of the financial markets association aci and provided legal assistance. the eurosystem ’ s ongoing contribution to the step market focuses on two main activities. first, until june 2008, the ecb and nine of the eurosystem ’ s ncbs will provide technical assistance to the step secretariat concerning the step labelling process, whereby the ultimate responsibility for granting and withdrawing the step label fully rests with the step secretariat. second, the ecb regularly produces statistics on yields and volumes in the step market and publishes them on its website. from next week onwards, daily statistics will be made available. following the publication of these yield statistics, the step market will be accepted as a non - regulated market for collateral purposes in eurosystem credit operations. turning to research and monitoring activities, i would like

because by international standards the regional equity and bond markets are small and fragmented. we made some headway four years ago with the chiang mai initiative ( cmi ), which saw the expansion of existing multilateral currency swap arrangements to include all 10 asean members, as well as the conclusion of 16 bilateral swap arrangements, totalling us $ 36. 5b in combined facility. when the cmi was launched in may 2001, it was agreed that finance ministers should review the initiative 3 years after implementation. so it would be timely this year, for asean finance ministers together with our “ plus - 3 ” counterparts to consider what and how the review of the cmi could be done. we should also explore further avenues of cooperation. for example, we may develop greater linkages between stock exchanges in the region, or harmonise standards and conventions so as to make it easier for investors to operate across the capital markets in the region. in such initiatives, we do not have to wait for all asean members to be ready. once two or more asean members are ready to make the move, they can work together as pathfinders for the whole region. conclusion globalisation has presented many challenges to asean, but it has also created many opportunities. integrating our economies requires hard work, political will and often, tough decisions. asean is determined to overcome the challenges, and embrace globalisation to benefit the lives of our people. governments will need to lead the way, by implementing sound policies that foster development and growth. foreign investors too will play a key role, by supporting good policies and exploiting the full potential of our markets. once the people of asean are aware of the larger challenges that the region is facing, i believe they will support the agenda for economic cooperation which will improve their lives. on this note, let me now declare the 8th asean finance ministers meeting open. i wish you meaningful and fruitful discussions.