management solutions and the expansion into regional production networks. such support for the growth of smes can bring substantial benefits to financial institutions as smes evolve into larger corporations. role of the government while the economy is powered by private initiatives, governments have a critical role in providing an enabling environment for private enterprises to thrive. in most economies which have a successful sme sector, the government has had a major role in coordinating the support and in strengthening the capacity of smes and providing an enabling environment for smes to thrive. in malaysia, a comprehensive approach has been adopted by the government. in 2004, the national sme development council ( nsdc ) was established by the government to formulate broad policies and strategies aimed at creating an enabling environment for the comprehensive development of smes across all sectors. the council, chaired by the prime minister is the highest policy making body for sme development in malaysia and brings together more than 15 ministries and 60 agencies under a coordinated national strategy. to implement the policies of the council, the sme corporation malaysia ( sme corp ), a specialised government agency, was established in october 2009 to ensure the effective implementation of sme development programs under three broad strategic thrusts : strengthening the enabling infrastructure, enhancing capacity and capability of smes and enhancing access to financing. for the year 2010, a total of 354 programs, with a financial commitment of rm6. 02 billion is being implemented to develop high performance and resilient smes. to strengthen the financial infrastructure for smes, bank negara malaysia has implemented wide ranging measures. the restructuring and consolidation of the banking sector following the asian financial crisis as well as the financial reforms and capacity building efforts taken over the years, including enhancing corporate governance and strengthening risk management practices, had strengthened their capacity to provide more diversified financial services to smes. the deregulation of the financial sector including the new interest rate framework allowed for flexible pricing to reflect the risks and it also promoted increased competition in the financial system. encouraging banking institutions to establish advisory units to support smes also reinforced increased access to financing. these have been reinforced by the establishment of the credit guarantee corporation to provide credit guarantees to smes to facilitate their access to financing from financial institutions. an sme credit bureau and the central credit reference information system ( ccris ) complements the infrastructure that is in place for sme financing by collating vital credit and transaction information that enable smes to build their credit reputation from a wide range of informational sources. the bank also

zeti akhtar aziz : new platform to serve the islamic financial industry keynote address by dr zeti akhtar aziz, governor of the central bank of malaysia, at the launch of bloomberg ’ s enhanced islamic finance platform, kuala lumpur, 21 february 2011. * * * it is my pleasure to join you this morning at this launch of the bloomberg enhanced islamic finance platform. this development is timely as islamic finance is envisioned to continue to make great strides in this new decade. such an information platform is an important element for the more efficient functioning of the islamic financial markets in the international financial system. in this recent ten years we have seen significant developments in islamic finance in both our domestic and the international financial system. in this more challenging and uncertain environment, islamic finance has demonstrated its resilience and viability and has sustained its growth momentum. today, with the increasing internationalisation of islamic finance, its continued growth and expansion will very much depend on extensive information which can be efficiently accessed. bloomberg has for two decades been serving the islamic financial community providing access to news offerings and timely data and information. the initiative today to enhance its islamic finance platform is thus a highly welcomed development. the seamless flow of information in the islamic financial markets is integral to facilitate the efficient price discovery process and maintain the vibrancy of the islamic financial industry. data and news that transcends boundaries in real time are important for not only investors and financial institutions but also for researchers and scholars in islamic finance. it will contribute towards enhancing competitiveness, product innovation and strengthen the international financial inter - linkages. as we enter this new decade, the challenge for the world is to sustain the economic recovery. while there continues to be many problems still to be addressed in the developed world, most emerging economies have continued to do well. in malaysia, our economy recorded a strong growth of 7. 2 % in 2010 driven by strong domestic demand and our stronger economic and financial linkages with other emerging economies. an important part of this recovery is the strong recovery in private investment as capacity utilisation increases and as the dynamic nature of our economy presents new investment opportunities in new growth areas. for the islamic finance industry, the year 2011 is set to be an exciting period. the global sukuk issuance in the year 2010 surpassed that of the previous year by more than 20 per cent. against this positive growth, renewed confidence of investors and issuers is evident. in 2011, the sukuk issuance is projected to