, china securities regulatory commission ( csrc ) and china insurance regulatory commission ( circ ). mas and cbrc currently hold annual meetings to exchange views on regulatory cooperation and market developments. mas also plans to step up its engagements with csrc and circ in areas of common interest. these initiatives clearly indicate the increasing importance and connectivity between the financial markets of our two countries. certainly, we hope for more of such bilateral collaborations as china continues the progressive internationalisation of its financial market and currency. mas therefore sees great value in establishing a physical presence here to facilitate such future cooperation and regular interactions. similarly, we hope that this mas office can also cater to the needs of the larger chinese financial community by enhancing understanding and contacts with singapore and the regional markets, as thereby contribute in our own small way to the continued development of china ’ s financial sector. bis central bankers ’ speeches concluding remarks on behalf of all my colleagues in mas, i would like to express our strongest appreciation to the people ’ s bank of china for their approval and support for mas ’ representative office in beijing. we look forward to taking full advantage of this milestone collaboration to deepen our financial and economic cooperation and take our bilateral relations to new heights. thank you. bis central bankers ’ speeches

prices my third point is that it is important to respond appropriately to rising asset prices, including in the housing market. following the recent financial crisis, major central banks reduced policy interest rates to historical lows. credit growth in this region has recovered strongly, in singapore and other asian economies. there is a danger that systemic risk can develop and crystallise in a number of ways. for instance, low interest rates may encourage risky borrowing and lending practices, to create a build - up of leverage in households ’ and banks ’ balance sheets. capital flows into asia can also contribute to higher bank leverage, as well as asset price inflation, with the risk of sharp corrections in asset prices should these capital flows reverse quickly. past experiences have shown that when highly leveraged asset markets correct sharply, they can lead to enormous stress on the banking system and significant collateral damage on the real economy. the views among central bankers have therefore increasingly shifted towards the need to take pre - emptive measures at an early stage. the global experience with monetary policy, however, suggests that broad policy instruments like exchange rates and interest rates have very significant collateral effects, and are often subject to long and variable lags before impacting asset markets. instead, it is preferable to consider a greater reliance on macro - prudential tools and other administrative measures targeted at specific asset markets such as property, in an environment of strong capital inflows and domestic economic growth. this will allow the central bank to better achieve its financial stability objective, as well as serve as a counter - cyclical tool to dampen excessive credit growth and price increases. but macro - prudential policy cannot be a substitute for sound macroeconomic policies. monetary and fiscal policies need to continue to focus on correcting macroeconomic imbalances, with macroprudential policy focused on ensuring that systemic risk is well - contained. in singapore and elsewhere in the region, authorities have implemented measures such as loan - to - value ( ltv ) ratios and buyer / seller stamp duties to prevent the formation of asset price bubbles. our approach in singapore has been targeted and incremental. measures are focused on discouraging short - term speculative activity that can distort underlying prices, while encouraging greater financial prudence among property purchasers. where supply constraints can be ameliorated to relieve cost pressures in the housing, commercial and industrial property segments, the government has done so directly. bis central bankers ’ speeches conclusion i have highlighted a few issues and challenges arising