at the equivalent of usd262. 5 million. a second foreign currency tranche is expected to be launched later in the year which is open for participation of international investors. in relation to this, malaysia maintains a liberal foreign exchange administration regime where investors are freely able to obtain ringgit and foreign currencies to fund their investments. there continues to be free mobility of inward and outward movement of funds relating to both foreign direct investment and portfolio investments. having developed a comprehensive islamic financial system that is supported by the legal, shariah and regulatory infrastructure, the islamic financial landscape has been liberalised with the entry of new international players. in addition, the foreign equity ceiling in islamic financial institutions has also been raised to a maximum of 49 percent as part of the effort to promote strategic alliances. new licences are also being offered for international islamic banks and international takaful operators to conduct the full range of islamic banking business or takaful and retakaful business in international currencies. these institutions may be established as a branch or subsidiary and are accorded a tax holiday until 2016. these entities may be 100 percent foreign owned and have the freedom on employment in these financial institutions. to facilitate foreign employment, an " executive green lane " is being accorded to expedite applications by expatriates for long - term employment. having a sufficient pool of best talent has been key to the development of an islamic financial hub in malaysia. in 2006, the international centre for education in islamic finance ( inceif ) was established as part of malaysia's commitment to human capital development in islamic finance. inceif, which has an international faculty and students from more than 40 countries, is envisaged to produce high quality islamic finance professionals and specialists not only to meet the domestic requirements but also for the global islamic financial industry. the malaysian economy has for several years now been on a steady growth path. in 2006, malaysia launched the ninth malaysia plan to be implemented in the period 2006 - 2010. one of the objectives of the plan is to achieve developed nation status in 2020. while the government has allocated usd53. 4 billion for development under this plan, the economy will continue to be private sector driven. sectors emphasised in the plan are the high - technology, knowledge - based and skills - intensive activities, and the services sector. under the ninth malaysia plan, several new growth regions have also been identified for integrated development. the first growth area launched is the iskandar malaysia

jurgen stark : taking stock – where do we stand in the crisis? speech by mr jurgen stark, member of the executive board of the european central bank, at the bmw ( bayerische motoren werke ) stiftung herbert quandt, washington dc, 15 april 2010. * * * ladies and gentlemen, introduction : macroeconomic developments and outlook in autumn 2008, the world economy entered the worst financial crisis and the deepest recession since the great depression. both monetary and fiscal policies responded vigorously to this exceptional situation and contributed to the emergence of a recovery in the course of 2009. hence, after falling last year, global activity is expected to grow by around 4 % this year, while global trade is expected to grow by almost 6 % ( imf january weo update ). strong growth in emerging market economies in asia is a major driving force behind these figures, while growth in many advanced economies is forecast to be weak. questions can be raised as to whether such an uneven pattern of the recovery will prove sustainable. in the euro area, recent information indicates that the recovery has continued to expand in the first few months of this year. looking forward, euro area growth is expected to remain moderate, owing to ongoing balance sheet adjustments in the private sector, weak prospects for the labour market and low capacity utilisation. available growth forecasts for 2010 put it at, on average, around 1 %. the crisis is also expected to have lasting effects on our economy, as both the level and the growth rate of potential output are most likely reduced for a longer time. turning to price developments in the euro area, according to eurostat ’ s flash estimate, annual inflation increased to 1. 5 % in march, from 0. 9 % in february. this was higher than expected. while this does not change our assessment, it is important to understand whether the surge in inflation in march is temporary or more lasting in nature. this is difficult to assess without a breakdown of developments in the overall hicp, which will only become available tomorrow ( 16 april ). however, it seems reasonable to consider energy and food prices as the main drivers behind the higher than expected inflation outcome in march. looking ahead, we expect inflation in the euro area to remain moderate over the policyrelevant horizon. the outcome of our monetary analysis confirms the assessment of low inflationary pressures over the medium term, with money and credit growth remaining weak. at the same time, we need to monitor price developments in the more dynamic regions