position of intense personal interest because the recent resignation of don brash of the governorship of the reserve bank of new zealand leaves me - so i am told - with the doubtful distinction of being the longest - serving central bank chief in the region. don brash, who has a reputation for making original career choices, has reportedly gone into politics a precedent which, let me stress, i have no intention of following. stan and steve have followed what the imf would no doubt refer to as a “ two - corner solution ”. since leaving the imf earlier this year, stan has firmly anchored himself to one of the world ’ s largest banking and finance groups as its vice - chairman. i will not name the bank here, because the hkma is currently a tenant in a building that bears its name. to avoid giving the impression that the hkma is a subsidiary of that bank, we have always tried to pretend that the building is called something else, by refraining from mentioning the name on our stationery, or to deliverymen or taxi - drivers, or to anyone else. it is sufficient to say that the bank in question is this year celebrating its 100th anniversary in hong kong. steve has gone to the opposite end of the two - corner solution by entering the floating world of academics and consultants. since leaving the reserve bank of australia six months ago, he has taken up an appointment as adjunct professor at the national centre for development studies at the australian national university. he also works as an economic consultant, mainly, i understand, on asia - related topics. whatever corner stan and steve have chosen, the important thing is that they will continue to give their expertise to the region through organisations which, though very different, have an important presence in asia. they are also here to share that expertise with us today. so without further delay, let me welcome them both and call first upon our speaker, dr stanley fischer, to deliver the fifth hkma distinguished lecture. dr fischer, please.

of the benefits, as well as the dangers, of globalisation. in hong kong, where controls of this kind are not practical because of the realisation that global links supply our lifeblood, we have taken a different approach. we have chosen to enhance policy credibility through greater transparency and through strengthening and tightening up our rule - based monetary system. my third observation is that those who said that the asian crisis was the death knell of asia as an economic force - and there were many of them - seem to have been wrong. there has been remarkable resilience, even in the worst - hit economies, and a will to reform and restructure that has helped put a number of economies back on their feet even during a time of global economic downturn. progress has not been evenly spread throughout the region, and there are still causes for anxiety. but, as the world economy shows signs of recovery, the prospects for the region, if not dazzling, look somewhat brighter. it is now my great pleasure to introduce our speaker and discussant. from the late eighties until very recently, stan fischer has been very much at the centre of world economic and financial crisis - and its solutions - first at the world bank and then as first deputy managing director and subsequently senior adviser at the imf. he has played a practical role - often a crucial one - in addressing, preventing and resolving crises, and he has written extensively on the subject. asia, no less than other regions of the world, has benefited from his expertise, and we are very honoured to have him here to talk about the lessons that can be learned from the recent crisis. steve grenville served for 20 years with the reserve bank of australia, and was deputy governor of that bank from 1996 to 2001. before joining the reserve bank, he served in the oecd in paris, and before that he spent time with the imf in indonesia. he played a pivotal role during the asian crisis, and was instrumental in australia ’ s involvement in three of the larger support packages in the region. it is a great honour to have him here as discussant today. stan and steve are old friends of mine. i therefore think it is right for me to comment on the positions in which they now find themselves after careers totalling around 40 years in central banking, and to try to see if this sheds any light on the eternal question : “ what happens to central bankers when they cease to be central bankers? ” i speak from a