discussed the subject of poverty eradication through human capital development. the purpose of the financial inclusion advisers programme was to provide practitioners and regulators in the area of financial inclusion with practical ideas via the sharing of knowledge and experiences on developing institutional structures, creating an enabling environment and enhancing financial literacy. the ideas and experiences shared could then be contextualised to the prevailing local conditions to enhance financial inclusion. this proposal was welcomed by the members and resulted in the first financial inclusion advisers programme conducted in lusaka, zambia in april 2009. the success of this inaugural programme hosted led us to this second programme hosted here in malaysia with the support of jica. jica has long been involved in capacity building in the african continent, and we look forward to collaborating in the future in this area of building more inclusive financial systems. the malaysian experience on the financial inclusion agenda in malaysia, the commitment to the financial inclusion agenda is reflected in the new central bank of malaysia act 2009 which incorporates financial inclusion as an objective of the central bank. with the enactment of the act in november of 2009, the central bank has imbedded in the legislation the financial inclusion agenda to ensure that future generation of central bankers will continue to direct efforts to building an inclusive financial system. additionally, the central bank in the process of formulating a new blue print for the financial sector for the next decade. this blueprint would also ensure the development of a more inclusive financial system. the results of the financial inclusion measures thus far have shown positive results. in 2009, the penetration of deposit accounts and loan accounts in malaysia are 3, 300 deposit accounts per 1, 000 adults and 1, 100 loan accounts per 1, 000 adults respectively, which is amongst the highest in the world. this high level of financial inclusion is the result of conscious policies to build a progressive and inclusive financial system. the strategies implemented have generated six characteristics of the financial system. first, a business environment that allows a diverse range of financial service providers to thrive and compete. this environment has led to the creation of commercial financial institutions with differentiated strategies based on their strengths and the delivery of a broader range of products and services that meet the diverse needs of consumers and businesses. the financial system also includes foreign financial institutions through a series of sequenced liberalisation measures as well as development financial institutions, cooperatives and government agencies that complement the domestic commercial banking institutions. this approach leverages on the innovation and the implementation capabilities of the private sector and the diversity and dynamism of competitive markets. at

bank of japan ’ s march report of recent economic and financial developments1 bank of japan, communication, 10 march 2000. * * * the bank ’ s view japan ’ s economy has recently started to improve. the economic environment surrounding private demand continues to improve, as seen in the increase in corporate profits. however, clear signs of a self - sustained recovery in private demand have not been observed yet. with regard to final demand, housing investment and public investment are decreasing moderately. recovery in private consumption continues to be weak through lack of notable improvements in employment and income conditions. meanwhile, business fixed investment, which had been on a downward trend, seems to have almost leveled off. net exports ( real exports minus real imports ) continue to follow an upward trend due to an upturn in overseas economies. reflecting such developments in final demand, industrial production continues to rise, and an increase in corporate profits is becoming distinct. in this situation, corporate sentiment continues to improve. regarding the employment condition, the decrease in the number of employees is slowing. however, the improvements in corporate profits and sentiment have not stimulated business activities of many firms, because these firms still strongly feel that they have excess capacity and employees and that they should reduce their debts to restore financial soundness. in addition, efforts by firms to reduce personnel expenses have prolonged the severity of households ’ income conditions. as for the outlook, public investment is likely to pick up reflecting the progress in the implementation of the supplementary budget for fiscal 1999. this, along with the favorable financial environment created partly by the bank ’ s monetary easing, is expected to continue underpinning the economy. moreover, the positive impact on domestic production of the recovery of overseas economies is likely to continue for some time, having favorable effects on corporate profits and spending, and then on household income and consumption. by contrast, it is highly probable that housing investment will continue to decline moderately. in the corporate sector, restructuring is gradually improving profitability to some extent, and some firms in high - growth sectors are inclining toward increasing capital spending. many firms, however, are expected to maintain a cautious stance toward fixed investment based on their modest prospects for sales. it seems that the appreciation of the yen since the summer of 1999 will have an adverse effect on corporate profits in the near term. in these circumstances, future economic developments still require careful monitoring in spite of the continued improvements in the environment for private demand. furthermore, it is important to promote structural reform in order to facilitate a recovery in