changeover in 2002 and their value has almost tripled since the end of the changeover period. with this success story in mind, we are confidently looking forward to the anniversaries to come, which will be marked by the full consolidation of the euro and its further adoption by new member states. 2. the euro exhibition today we inaugurate the euro exhibition here in barcelona. the exhibition was previously on display to the public in bratislava to mark the cash changeover in slovakia. other locations on its journey throughout europe will follow. the primary objective of the euro exhibition is to give the public at large the opportunity to gain a thorough overview of the euro banknotes and coins and to raise its awareness of their security features. it features, inter alia, modules on the history of money, the design elements of euro banknotes and coins and the functioning of banknote security features. it also includes a range of interactive elements to raise the visitors ’ attention via touch screen applications such as games, films or security feature showcases displaying counterfeit banknotes. you are cordially invited to make use of all the elements which will contribute to make your visit a learning, interesting and amusing experience at the same time. you will certainly notice that the euro exhibition features a common design : the “ ages and styles of europe ”. as you know, there are windows and doorways depicted on the front of each euro banknote and bridges on the back. these architectural elements symbolise communication and connection between the people of europe and between europe and the rest of the world. furthermore, bridges are regarded as a means to connect the past with the future, symbolising thus the way to a common european future. a children ’ s corner has been established to meet children ’ s special expectations. it refers to our children ’ s booklet, specially drafted for primary students. to ensure that the children understand and enjoy the story in their mother tongue, the spanish translation of the story was tested in colegio san jose de getafe, madrid, which we appreciate very much. it is a pleasure for us to present this booklet to the public in the newly translated versions for the first time in spanish and in all co - official languages. the booklet tells an exciting short story, set against the realistic background of a counterfeit case and explains, in an appropriate way for children, how to verify the authenticity of a euro banknote. as an additional educational benefit, its multilingual format can arouse the children

not see using the opr as a good tool to defend the ringgit. instead, raising it to match or exceed the increases in the us federal funds rate would harm the economy. capital controls would also hurt our investment landscape and economy by deterring new and much needed investments from coming in, besides potentially causing capital flight. 3 / 5 bis - central bankers'speeches then, what more can we do? one strength that we have is our external asset position. malaysia's foreign reserves are decentralised, comprising both the traditional and formal international reserves held by bnm and the foreign assets of corporates, glics and other asset managers. after the asian financial crisis, as the economy recovered and the ringgit was unpegged, we received substantial inflows from our sustained current account surpluses and portfolio investments. from usd70. 5 billion in 2005, by 2010, the international reserves grew to usd106. 5 billion. while this was certainly a welcome trend, was this the best use of a country's savings? the central bank invests in low risk and hence low yielding foreign assets. wouldn't it be more productive for the country if instead, these savings were invested in higher return investments and assets by corporates and glics? so it was. this was followed by a more liberal investment abroad regime which led to the accumulation of foreign assets by corporates and glics that we see today. from usd185. 3 billion in 2010, foreign assets held by corporates and glics grew to usd409. 5 billion at end - 2023. this enabled many to diversify their businesses and investments and generate extra returns by investing abroad. however, many of these investments are much less liquid than what a central bank would hold. this means that it is still the central bank who must step in at the first instances to provide foreign currency liquidity to the market when needed, which we currently do. nonetheless, these facts underscore the need for the private sector to do its part in ensuring and supporting flows back into the market when these pressures prolong. and, if the situation really prolongs, resident banks and corporates may need to mobilise their holdings of external assets too. ladies and gentlemen, finally, beyond repatriation and conversion of foreign income or foreign assets, there are business decisions that companies can make now which, in the long run, would help us and set the stage for greater res