the global economy, volatile commodity prices, and the continuing financial turmoil, conventional wisdom says that it will be. nevertheless, i believe that together we have the capacity to ride out the challenges before us. the key is to manage the factors that are within our control, to maintain a positive mindset, and to capitalize on our time - tested resiliency and ability to innovate amidst challenging times. and don ’ t forget, our economic fundamentals continue to be a source for optimism. this includes sustained economic growth, slowing inflation, declining interest rates, record high international reserves, balance of payments surplus, a competitive peso and a stable banking system. in the end, the challenge in 2009 for the banking sector is to quickly act on the painful lessons of the global financial crisis. it is simply far too convenient to point at the complexities of structured products, the over - leveraging, or the fundamental dilemma with market greed. all these were necessary inputs but together they are not sufficient to explain where the world is today. more importantly, debating the whys and wherefores will have its place, but at this juncture we need to act decisively with conviction, in unison, and move forward. ladies and gentlemen, while the global prognosis for 2009 is daunting, the bangko sentral continues to believe that the philippines remains in a position of relative strength as we navigate through these difficult times. what we do to consolidate our gains rests squarely on us. in the case of the philippine banking community, i am confident it will prevail and remain sound and stable. on behalf of the members of the monetary board, i thank all the sectors represented here tonight for their continuing support : the banking community ; the legislative, executive and judicial branches of government ; the private sector, the diplomatic corps, the academe, the media, our special guests, and our partners in bilateral and multilateral agencies. together, let us offer a toast to our continuing partnership in sustaining economic growth in our country and improving the quality of life of filipinos. cheers! finally, before it becomes totally unfashionable, let me take this opportunity to wish all of you blessings of good health, success, and prosperity this new year. mabuhay! thank you all and enjoy the rest of the evening.

together with others aimed, for instance, at increasing competition in product markets, or at making it easier for rural residents to move to china ’ s cities, should help the economy to rebalance away from investment and towards domestic consumption. from a global point of view, that is a welcome step. efficient domestic financial markets are also a prerequisite for a further liberalisation of crossborder financial flows, in particular investment flows. currently, opportunities are limited to a number of quota - based investment schemes. in december 2013, the governor of the people ’ s bank of china ( pboc ), mr zhou xiaochuan, confirmed that cross - border investment transactions will be gradually liberalised and the quota - based system in use today ultimately abolished. nonetheless, market participants should not expect the opening - up process to be absolutely smooth, and neither should they think that periods of increased volatility can be entirely avoided. they should keep a close eye on and adequately provide for the risks inherent in the onshore renminbi asset exposures they take. integrating the renminbi in the global financial system let me now turn to the internationalisation of the renminbi. the scope for its usage in international trade transactions is significant as china accounts for around 9 % of global trade in goods and services, surpassed only by the united states, which accounts for around 12 %. according to market participants, a third of china ’ s total trade will be settled in its currency by 2015. in addition, several other important developments have increased the usage of renminbi for investment purposes : ( i ) the currency is already available to the corporate sector. apart from accumulating the currency through trade, companies can also issue renminbi - denominated bonds in hong kong ( also known as dim sum bonds ) and borrow renminbi directly from banks in hong kong ; ( ii ) the pboc has already concluded currency swap agreements with 24 foreign central banks, totalling about cny 2. 6 trillion ( around €317 billion ). on 8 october 2013 the ecb and the pboc established a bilateral currency swap agreement with a maximum size of €45 billion ; ( iii ) offshore renminbi centres are progressing quickly ; and ( iv ) domestic financial markets are continuing to develop. the large state banks have all been listed, the number of institutional investors is rising and the market is becoming more diversified and liquid, paving the way for further participation by foreign investors. bis central