600 million ) of bri bonds in may this year. b. asian project bonds. this year, we witnessed the successful return of project bonds into asia ’ s bond market after more than a decade of absence. indonesia ’ s second largest independent power producer, pt paiton energy, received more than usd 9 billion in orders for its usd 2 billion issue ; a demonstration of increasing sophistication and growing demand of investors. debt capital market teams in singapore including dbs and hsbc lead arranged the deal. c. offshore rupee denominated bonds. in may, the national highways authority of india issued the largest offshore rupee denominated bond to date and listed the bond on the singapore exchange. the inr 30 billion ( usd 465 million ) bond will be used to finance road network development in india. there is a well - trodden path for issuing offshore rupee denominated bonds out of singapore, including ntpc ltd and indiabulls etc., and follow the journey that we are on with the offshore rmb bond market. iii. channelling capital towards catalysing adoption of sustainability practices alongside the greater push towards the mainstreaming of green financing, we are witnessing an unprecedented surge in green bond issuances, globally and in asia. over 12. the last five years, global green bond issuances grew over 150 % to reach usd 845 billion in 2016, with asia contributing around 40 % of that. the market continues to register strong growth in 1h2017, with over usd 606 billion in issuance. 13. singapore is building a sustainability - focused financial sector. we have placed great emphasis on capacity building to ensure that our financial institutions understand the technicalities of sustainability standards. as an example, the investment management association of singapore ( imas ) in april 2017 issued a public statement endorsing its commitment to sustainability considerations and expressing support for global and local standards such as the united nations principles for responsible investment ( pri ) and the singapore stewardship principles for responsible investors ( ssp ) in april 2017. with sustainability - focused mandates gaining traction in parts of asia, singapore is supporting our asset managers to develop relevant solutions and skills in their investment processes to support this growing and strategic segment, such as the imas - wwf responsible fund managers masterclass, with the first run this november. in june, mas launched the green bond grant scheme to nurture the growth of the green bond market and enlarge the supply

“ return - to - basics ” investor demand. following the global financial crisis, investors have become more averse to the unknown risks embedded in complex financial instruments. islamic finance, with its stronger emphasis on transparency, price certainty and risk - sharing, can benefit from this renewed demand for more basic investments, from muslim and non - muslim investors alike. integrating islamic finance with global finance the third, and perhaps most important, challenge that islamic finance must overcome is its present fragmented state. islamic finance currently suffers from low economies of scale. the overall size of islamic assets is still less than 1 % of the global financial system. being smaller and relatively young, islamic finance currently offers fewer product choices for consumers and less comprehensive risk management options for institutions. cross - border investment flows are also constrained by differing interpretations of permissible transactions under bis central bankers ’ speeches shariah principles. the isolated pools of islamic liquidity in each market restrict opportunities for more efficient allocation of capital across consumers, industries, and jurisdictions. islamic finance must become more integrated with the global financial system. the industry must expand beyond its traditional markets to include a wider range of financial institutions, investors and consumers. this means islamic finance must strike roots in the key international financial centres of the world. these centres can contribute to islamic finance in several ways. first, market liquidity. the broad and deep investor pools in international financial centres offer an opportunity to channel non - traditional sources of funds into islamic finance. in singapore, for instance, several local and foreign issuers have successfully tapped the capital markets using islamic instruments. the demand comes from not just singapore but a diverse group of international investors across asia and europe. many of them are conventional investors, attracted by the credit quality and yields. second, capabilities in global financial markets. islamic finance should leverage on the capabilities and strengths offered by conventional financial markets in international centres, to augment the range of shariah - compliant products. take for example the market for real estate investment trusts, or reits. singapore has grown over the past decade to become the largest reit market in asia outside of japan. building on this strength, players in singapore have established the world ’ s largest shariah - compliant reit, which draws in conventional and islamic investors around the world. third, opportunities for interaction and collaboration. as islamic finance gains prominence, conventional financial institutions increasingly want to be involved to tap these opportunities. financial centres like singapore serve as intersecting nodes where islamic financial institutions collaborate with their conventional partners to