haruhiko kuroda : keynote speech - asean + 3 economic cooperation and financial stability forum keynote speech by mr kuroda haruhiko, governor of the bank of japan, at the asean + 3 economic cooperation and financial stability forum, held by the asean + 3 macroeconomic research office, singapore, 2 december 2022. * * * introduction good morning, everyone. it is an honor for me to send this video message for the inaugural asean + 3 economic cooperation and financial stability forum. this is especially because i have been involved in orchestrating crisis responses and enhancing regional cooperation in asia throughout my career. i would like to congratulate director li and the asean + 3 macroeconomic research office ( amro ) for organizing this forum as it provides a platform for policy makers, experts, and international financial institutions to exchange insights on macroeconomic and financial stability issues. this year, 2022, marks 25 years since the asian financial crisis. one of the important lessons of the crisis is that a crisis in one country can rapidly spread to other countries and lead to a vicious cycle of economic shrinkage in the region. the asian financial crisis showed us just how important it is to enhance policy dialogue and establish networks of cooperation across the region. this forum will certainly help further strengthen the foundations of such regional cooperation. i. global economic developments and outlook i would like to start by talking about the global economy based on the bank of japan's recent assessment. the global economy has recovered moderately on the whole, but slowdowns have been observed, mainly in advanced economies. asian economies have recovered on the whole, as domestic demand has continued to improve with progress in the resumption of economic activity. however, growth in exports has decelerated, particularly in itrelated goods. as for the outlook, although the impact of covid - 19 and supply - side constraints is likely to wane, the global economy is expected to slow toward 2023, albeit with variation across countries and regions. this will likely occur due to the impact of global inflationary pressure, policy interest rate hikes by central banks, and the situation surrounding ukraine. apart from china, economies in the asean + 3 region are likely to decelerate gradually, with external demand slowing and prices rising, although the resumption of economic activity is expected to underpin domestic demand. in 2022, the rate of global inflation is expected to exceed that of 2021, and then decline in 2023. this price forecast

as helping market participants formulate appropriate market practices spanning from execution to settlement. these activities are conducted from the viewpoint that payment and settlement systems provide the foundation for the stability of the financial system and the sound development of the economy. looking to the future of payment and settlement systems, central banks are expected to contribute to economic growth and financial stability not only by improving their own payment services but also by helping financial institutions enhance services provided by those institutions. iii. bank of japan ’ s initiatives : present and future next, i would like to explain the bank ’ s initiatives in four areas at present and in the future. they are namely ( i ) to build the new boj - net and extend its operating hours, ( ii ) to consider improving cross - border transactions, ( iii ) to support enhancing retail payment services, and ( iv ) to support shortening the jgb settlement cycles. let me explain these items in turn. a. new boj - net and extension of its operating hours at present, the bank is in the middle of building the new boj - net. since its inception in 1988, the environment surrounding the boj - net has been changing dramatically. on the back of financial globalization and innovation in information technology, people involved in major payment and settlement systems around the world have been making efforts to strengthen the it infrastructure to cope with the diversified needs in transactions and settlement. on the part of financial institutions, connecting their computer systems directly with the boj - net has become widespread, and this enables those institutions to realize straight - through processing ( stp ). moreover, a cross - border linkage among payment and settlement systems has become more widespread, as exemplified by the enlargement of cross - currency pvp transactions through the cls and the cross - border linkage of securities settlement systems. it is against this background that the boj - net needs to meet the diversified needs in response to the enlargement of the network structure and the globalization of financial transactions. the new boj - net, which is due to be in full operation in october 2015, is based on several overarching principles. 3 first, we employ the latest information technology to enrich our services and improve convenience for our customers in the future. second, the new bojnet is designed to accommodate greater flexibility so that it can respond to ongoing and future banking needs and market developments. last, but not least, it enhances accessibility, allowing longer operating hours, in light of the global