lim hng kiang : meeting the challenges of the globalised economy opening remarks by mr lim hng kiang, deputy chairman of the monetary authority of singapore, at the 36th seacen governors'conference, singapore, 31 may 2001. * * * honourable governors distinguished guests and delegates ladies and gentlemen introduction it gives me great pleasure to bid you a warm welcome to the annual conference of the governors of the south - east asian central banks. this is the 36th conference and reflects the close ties and strong co - operation that central banks and monetary authorities in the region have forged over the last 30 years. seacen economy / recent financial developments this year's conference is held amid concerns of a global economic slowdown. after expanding by an average rate of 7. 3 % in the year 2000, prospects for regional economies are set to slow this year. average real gdp growth for the east asian economies is projected to fall to around 4. 5 % for 2001. the slowdown will be due largely to the cyclical downturn in the us economy, as well as the global electronics industry, both of which will hurt regional exports. due to its very open nature, east asian economies are susceptible to the current global downturn in external demand. the us is the largest export market for most of the seacen economies, with export shares averaging 20 %. in terms of goods structure, electronics accounts for over 20 % of total exports in all east asian economies. exacerbating the downturn is the continued economic weakness in japan, the second largest market in the region. reflecting the weak external environment, export growth in many seacen economies has fallen sharply. this has also undermined domestic demand. challenges for asia concerns over the slowing growth in the us and the much weaker japanese economy have hit regional currencies. since end - 2000, regional currencies have seen higher volatility. while the greater flexibility of exchange rates has reduced the risk of large speculative attacks, such fluctuations are not without risk. the challenge facing policymakers is how to ensure the greater exchange rate flexibility does not lead to greater financial system fragility. aside from macro - prudential risk, financial regulators also faced challenges arising from the rapid changes in the global financial landscape. in particular, advancement in technology, investors'demand for shareholder value and customers'demand for integrated financial supervision have accelerated consolidation and globalisation of financial institutions and markets. the boundaries of the banking, insurance and securities industries are less clearly defined.

inflation has been running persistently below 2 percent, the fomc ’ s statement on longer - run goals and monetary policy strategy, revised in august 2020 and reaffirmed in january, is available on the board ’ s website at https : / / www. federalreserve. gov / monetarypolicy / files / fomc _ longerrungoals. pdf. italics added for emphasis. see powell, “ new economic challenges, ” p. 11, in note 10. - 9appropriate monetary policy will likely aim to achieve inflation moderately above 2 percent for some time in the service of keeping inflation expectations well anchored at our 2 percent longer - run goal. our january postmeeting statement on monetary policy implements this new framework. 13 in particular, we expect that it will be appropriate to maintain the current accommodative target range of the federal funds rate until labor market conditions have reached levels consistent with maximum employment and inflation has risen to 2 percent and is on track to moderately exceed 2 percent for some time. in addition, we will continue to increase our holdings of treasury securities and agency mortgage - backed securities by $ 80 billion and $ 40 billion per month, respectively, until substantial further progress has been made toward our maximum - employment and price - stability goals. the broad responsibility for achieving maximum employment seventy - five years ago, in the wake of wwii, the united states faced the challenge of reemploying millions amid a major restructuring of the economy toward peacetime ends. 14 part of congress ’ s response was the employment act of 1946, which states that “ it is the continuing policy and responsibility of the federal government to use all practicable means... to promote maximum employment. ” 15 as later amended in the humphrey - hawkins act, this provision formed the basis of the employment side of the see board of governors of the federal reserve system ( 2021 ), “ federal reserve issues fomc statement, ” press release, january 27, https : / / www. federalreserve. gov / newsevents / pressreleases / monetary20210127a. htm. see joseph t. glatthaar ( 2018 ), the american military : a concise history ( new york : oxford university press ). for a discussion, see aaron steelman ( 2013 ), “ employment act of 1946, ” in federal reserve history, https : / / www. federalreservehistory.