pioneering work will be launched to explore an effective pattern to combine policy and commercial financial support for the rural economy. participation of social capital in the restructuring of small and medium - sized financial institutions will be encouraged. with strengthened supervision and capital base, financial institutions with various ownership structures will be cultivated. deposit insurance system will be improved in order to develop a deposit insurance system compatible with chinese situation. i would also like to take this opportunity to give you a brief introduction of the people ’ s bank of china shanghai head office. the pbc shanghai head office was established on august 10 this year ; its establishment will promote the development of shanghai as an international financial center, take advantage of the first - hand contacts with the financial markets, and enable the central bank to better serve the financial markets. as an integral part of the pbc headquarters, the pbc shanghai head office will perform its functions under the guidance and authorization of the pbc headquarters, and is mainly responsible for the implementation and management of part of the central bank ’ s business. the goal is to build shanghai head office into “ two platforms, one window and one center ”, namely, the platforms for the open market operation and the monitoring of financial markets, an important window for international exchange and cooperation, and a center for some financial services and related researches and development work. by far, the construction of shanghai head office is undergoing smoothly, i hope through joint efforts by all relevant parties, shanghai head office will play an active role in boosting financial market construction, promoting the efficiency of central bank ’ s financial services, and creating a better financial environment for enterprises. finally, i wish this conference a complete success. thank you.

shamshad akhtar : inclusiveness, growth and gender equity speech by dr shamshad akhtar, governor of the state bank of pakistan, at the world economic forum, davos, 24 january 2008. * * * 1. growing theoretical and empirical evidence across the world has now confirmed that “ policy - inclusiveness ” is a prerequisite for benefits of economic growth and development to trickle down smoothly and speedily to the marginalized and vulnerable segment of population. global and regional efforts launched over the last decade or so have paid off. world has made decent inroads in reducing level of poverty and financial exclusion, tracking and monitoring global and regional poverty and its dimensions and developing better understanding of the nexus and transmission mechanism of inclusiveness, growth and gender equity. 2. in my remarks i propose to lay out the size and dimension of the exclusion with focus on women and make the point that gender inequalities exacerbate exclusion of large segment and level of exclusion aggravates gender inequity itself. 3. to address “ exclusion ” there is need to nurture policy inclusiveness, ensuring robust campaign of financial inclusion to broaden access to finance, while launching supportive development strategies and programs that enhance the viability and sustainability of the financial services provided to the vulnerable groups. size and dimension of exclusion 4. with better global monitoring mechanisms it is now well established that “ women are poorer and disadvantaged relative to men ”, as : • nearly 70 % 1 of the one billion of world ’ s poor living on less than $ 1 a day are women and half a billion live in asia. this number goes up to 1. 4 billion if one applies $ 2 a day definition for poverty ; • women make up 65 % of the world ’ s illiterate 2 ; and • women get paid less and hold less than 6 % of senior management positions 3 etc. 5. feminization of poverty is overwhelming and perennial gender inequality results in “ inequality trap ” which ends up reproducing other types of inequalities. this statement of the world bank ’ s global monitoring report, 2007 captures well the qualitative dimension, complexity and enormity of problem and the associated challenges of tackling gender inequalities which have trapped women in poverty. 6. notwithstanding, significant reduction in poverty incidence in recent years, albeit at different pace across the world, is impressive. population growth and economic cyclical factors however add annually to the