increased intra - regional economic and financial activities is already taking place. the economic integration is supported by the strong demand from the growing middle class asian population, which is projected to reach 3. 3 billion by 2030. the intra - regional trade in asia now represents more than 50 percent of total trade in the region, increasing from 32 percent in 1995. intra - regional investment activities have also been on a rising trend. with the strong economic fundamentals and the positive growth prospects of asia, international and regional financial institutions are also now shifting their focus into the region. with the high savings rate in asia, and of its massive requirement for infrastructure development, the region would benefit significantly from more effective and efficient intermediation of asia ’ s surplus funds. indeed, intra - regional cross - border portfolio investments have already increased to 28 percent of total assets holdings in 2011 compared with 21 percent in 2001. the gains from greater regional financial integration will be farreaching as it will not only bring about a more efficient allocation of resources in the region but it will act as a catalyst for greater regional economic growth. over the coming years, as bis central bankers ’ speeches growth experienced in the developed economies is expected to remain slow in the aftermath of the financial and debt crisis, the growth performance of asia is expected to continue resulting in the region becoming a more important component of the global economy. asian funding markets have also remained highly accessible during this period with asian names enjoying strong demand and attractive funding costs at a time when the developed countries funding markets have tightened. during this more challenging time, asian sovereigns such as indonesia, philippines, thailand, sri lanka, vietnam and malaysia continue to successfully tap the market and to issue bonds with tenure up to 30 - years. in addition, as financial markets in asia become more developed, the markets now have the capacity to transact large quantities with cost effective pricing. in 2011, malaysia issued the first 10 year global sovereign usd sukuk, with the issuance size of 2 billion, under an innovative shariah principle of wakala which recorded the lowest absolute yields achieved by an asian sovereign for a new usd issuance. another recent landmark issuance on the domestic front is by plus berhad, the largest toll operator in malaysia, with the issuance of a record size of rm30. 6 billion programme, equivalent to usd9. 7 billion, with maturities ranging from 5 years to 27 years. the depth and breadth of asian capital markets have drawn investors to expand

singapore's code of corporate governance. the code was last reviewed in 2005 and took effect for all agms held on or after 1 january 2007. the code has served us well. however, this financial crisis has thrown up valuable lessons on corporate governance. members of our media, academia and the corporate and financial sector have also been suggesting possible improvements, and several overseas jurisdictions have also completed or are in the process of updating their own codes. it is therefore timely for us to embark on another review. in determining the scope of the review, the council could consider the suggestions for improvements from stakeholders, and developments in other jurisdictions, taking into account the local context where relevant. higher standards for banks & insurance companies this financial crisis has shown that the failures of financial institutions with significant operations can destabilise the entire financial system, and severely disrupt economic activities. mas'approach has been to require high regulatory and prudential standards for locally incorporated banks and life insurance companies as well as standards of corporate governance that are more stringent than what they have to observe as listed companies. locally incorporated banks and significant life insurers are required to comply with the corporate governance regulations which are mandatory as opposed to the code which is applied on a " comply or explain " basis. the corporate governance regulations also impose more stringent requirements regarding the composition of boards and board committees. mas is in the midst of reviewing the corporate governance framework for locally incorporated banks and insurers. the review will focus on the effectiveness of risk management at the board level, including the role played by boards in safeguarding the safety and soundness of their institutions and in addressing market conduct risks. this would include a review of the board's role in setting remuneration policies to manage risks effectively and the need for the board to comprise members with relevant expertise and experience in the technical, financial and operational aspects of risk management of the various lines of business of the financial institution. mas will also review the need to further tighten the definition of independence by requiring the nominating committee to consider the length of service on the board as an additional criterion in determining the independence of a director. with regards to remuneration practices, mas has done an initial assessment of the practices of our local banks against the principles for sound compensation practices issued by the financial stability board. we support the idea of aligning compensation with appropriate risktaking. as the core issue is the holistic management of risks across the institution, mas will, in our implementation of these