leasing regulatory framework which will assist in creating the enabling environment for this new financial tool to prosper in seychelles. further work on the development of the regulatory and supervisory framework for financial leasing is ongoing and will continue to progress as the industry develops and grows. over these two days, you will be taken through the initiatives taken by the central bank and other policy makers to introduce and develop leasing in seychelles. it is important to consider that while the authorities will devote resources and work towards establishing mechanisms that will support financial leasing as a means of alternative finance, the need for all stakeholders to work in partnership remains fundamental for the successful development of leasing in seychelles. collaboration with both the public and the private sectors is essential to foster this enabling environment. your participation in this forum strengthens the importance of this partnership. i hope that you take the opportunity to discuss, debate, and share ideas and experiences which will allow us to translate these consultations into actions which will realise the potential of financial leasing in seychelles. allow me to stress that in consideration of today ’ s economic environment and realities, the focus on financial leasing in seychelles is happening at an opportune time. we have gone a long way in the transformation of our financial sector which has supported the economic reforms. our economy continues to grow. it is time now to look beyond the present financing opportunities and develop alternatives and new possibilities to achieve greater economic and inclusive growth. as you are aware, access to finance is a major constraint for the development of smes globally, as is the case in seychelles, particularly in consideration of some of the requirements for securing traditional financing through loans. in comparison, financing through leasing provides less constraints in terms of requirements and eligibility criteria. it creates the possibility for smes to expand their access to short and medium term financing. hence leasing is an alternative mechanism to facilitate access to finance. it enables the use of capital equipment, in particular for new enterprises without credit track records and with limited possibilities to provide collateral. of note, the beneficiaries of financial leasing are not only smes but the advantages associated to this type of lending translate into gains also for the public and private sector such as investment opportunities for local and foreign companies and creation of new job opportunities. ladies and gentlemen, our initiatives and engagements towards the development of a thriving leasing market would not have been possible without the support and commitment of our faithful partners. i wish to conclude my remarks with a few words of acknowledgement. on behalf of the central bank, i wish to

important to promoting the efficient functioning of the markets and thus facilitate cross border capital flows thereby strengthening global financial integration. however, it can be observed that in most jurisdictions that have islamic financial institutions, islamic money and capital markets remain relatively less developed. consequently, islamic banking institutions face the challenge in their day to day management of cash, arising from the lack of a comprehensive islamic interbank market with highly rated short - term tradable instruments. without access to such a market, it is difficult for these institutions to manage their short - term liquidity needs in an efficient and effective manner. this would in turn require them to maintain a larger amount of liquidity compared to their conventional counterparts. in malaysia, such markets exist and have been key to facilitating liquidity management. coordinated initiatives across jurisdictions can be taken to foster the development of an efficient and vibrant international islamic financial market. the ifsb task force on liquidity management reflects a concerted effort to explore measures needed to develop the liquidity management infrastructure and framework for the islamic financial institutions. notwithstanding the effort by the task force to look into the pertinent issues, islamic financial institutions are encouraged to promote innovation in the development of a broader range of islamic financial market instruments. these include instruments with equity ownership features, islamic asset - backed securities, the inclusion of permissible forms of credit enhancements as well as shariah - compliant risk mitigating instruments. it is also essential that there should be sufficient availability of liquidity to support the intermediation of funds in the islamic financial system. central banks must therefore have sufficient islamic financial instruments at their disposal to manage the liquidity conditions in the islamic financial system. secondly, is the international cooperation to ensure financial stability of the international islamic financial system. this will also involve partnerships between international financial centres in promoting financial stability. a robust and effective regulation and supervision of islamic financial institutions is key to preserving financial stability. the current ongoing global financial and economic crisis has highlighted the structural weaknesses in the global financial regulatory and supervisory framework. co - operation between regulators across jurisdictions is vital in containing potential systemic risks that have extended beyond the national and regional boundaries. in the case of islamic finance, a rigorous and well developed legal, regulatory and shariah framework is being put in place. such a regulatory framework also needs to govern market practices by the islamic financial institutions. this will involve the implementation of the prudential standards that have been issued by the islamic financial services board, the ifsb. the ifsb also has