reserve bank of malawi remarks by dalitso kabambe, phd governor at the inaugural financial inclusion indaba and launch of the national strategy for financial inclusion at bingu international conference centre ( bicc ) lilongwe 27 july, 2017 the secretary to the treasury, mr. ben botolo ; senior private sector development economist, world bank country office, mr e chilima ; the deputy governor, economics and regulation, reserve bank of malawi, dr grant kabango ; representatives of all development partners here present ; representatives of finmark trust ; senior government officials here present ; chief executive officers and representatives of financial institutions ; representatives of non - governmental and civil society organizations here present ; distinguished guests ; ladies and gentlemen : i am delighted to be part of this indaba where the country ’ s strategy for financial inclusion for the period 2016 to 2020 is being launched. firstly, i wish to agree with other speakers that this meeting could never have taken place at such an opportune time other than this. our country has just weathered off some of the major shocks of our time. first was the historic devaluation in 2012, then cashgate in 2013 which led to withdrawal of general budget support and then the effects of climate change in 2015 and 2016. as a result of these shocks, inflation persistently remained high over the years, interest rates were also high, kwacha was volatile and public debt soared. however, the malawi economy has now weathered off these shocks. the economy is now steadily recovering. inflation, at 11. 3 percent is now the lowest in 7 years, and is expected to be in single digit very soon, kwacha has been stable for the past 15 months and is expected to remain so. foreign exchange reserves are at 3. 3 months of imports and are expected to remain above 3 months of imports. lending rates are now on a downward trajectory and growth which was subdued in the previous years is expected to rebound to 4. 5 percent or higher this year. these are all hallmarks of a recovering economy. the indaba therefore is coming at such an opportune time that we can discuss how we can consolidate these gains going forward and deepening of financial inclusions is one such option to support the needs of a growing economy. the case for financial inclusion can never be over emphasized. the country has many people who are not yet reached with financial services. the strategy being launched today therefore highlights what can be done to ensure that all malawians regardless of their geographical disposition

transactions in the offshore markets. 7. as i said earlier, the pace of the development of offshore rmb business and markets also crucially depends on the third factor, that is the role that the private sector can and should play in the process. it is not likely that a market can thrive just with policy headroom and financial infrastructure. banks and other financial institutions must develop their capability to satisfy their customers who have a need or an interest in using rmb. trading companies need trade finance in rmb. corporates investing in china need direct or indirect financing in rmb and asset owners need a variety of rmb financial products. many of them need to use instruments to manage or hedge their rmb exposures. all these rmb related financial services and products can only be developed by the markets and financial institutions because they are closest to their customers and understand their needs best. that is why it is so important for the hkma to collaborate with our official sector counterparts in australia to create this private - sector led dialogue. the first dialogue was held in sydney in april last year, which was highly successful. i am very pleased that it is hong kong ’ s turn to host the second dialogue and i am confident that it will be equally if not more successful. i note that today ’ s dialogue has a very rich agenda and i look forward to hearing useful and practical ideas and suggestions on what the private sector can do on its own or in collaboration with the official sector to further develop the offshore rmb markets in australia and hong kong. 8. thank you very much. bis central bankers ’ speeches