gang and i have worked closely over the years. the pboc and mas have a longstanding relationship of mutual trust and financial co - operation. this relationship deepened during yi gang's tenure as pboc governor, especially in digital finance and sustainable finance. in 2018, pboc and mas signed a fintech cooperation agreement to promote joint research and collaborative projects in areas such as digital and mobile payments, distributed ledgers, and digital currencies, focusing on use cases such as cross - border payments and trade finance. in 2022, pboc and mas formed a joint china - singapore green finance task force to strengthen our cooperation in green and transition finance, and to facilitate collaboration between our public and private sectors towards a lowcarbon future. yi gang will speak to us today on china's perspective on central bank digital currencies. china is at the forefront of digital payments and in the development of digital currency. since the pboc started piloting the e - cny in 2019, the programme has expanded to cover 26 cities across china, with more than 13. 6 billion digital yuan in circulation. pboc is now beginning to experiment with cross - border applications of e - cny. ladies and gentlemen, please join me in welcoming dr yi gang to deliver the 11th mas lecture. 2 / 2 bis - central bankers'speeches

to better outcomes for consumers. take for example, an ex - cancer patient who has beaten the illness into remission. normally, this person will find it very difficult to renew or take on new insurance. through better health data insights and more sophisticated underwriting capabilities, new products could be developed to bridge the insurability gap for this group of consumers. hence data science will have an even more important place for risk underwriters and actuaries. another potential innovation is in the use of blockchain or distributed ledgers to collect information or health records by linking the insurance provider with the customer and other intermediaries. these can also be used to minimise fraud risks and the need for back - and - forth information verifications. 2 / 5 bis central bankers'speeches apps in our smart devices can also change the ongoing relationship between an insurer and the insured. purchasing an insurance policy has traditionally resulted in a transactional relationship. after client on - boarding, the ongoing contact between the insurer and the insured is limited to premium payment and processing of claims. many people do not see a need to meet their insurance agents regularly to review their coverage. some, i am told, even shun calls from their agents. new insurance apps can transform the insurer - policyholder relationship into a broader partnership. the insured person can benefit from various lifestyle information, healthy living tips and other information, emerging trends, advisories on new products and various service options. these can include transactional services such as the option to buy additional insurance based on new needs – all done digitally. claims can also be an automated self - service process, with expedited settlement based on digital submissions of proofs. the use of chatbots can also support a customer by providing on - demand standard reports or for other procedural or contract information. i read that in some countries, new insurtech players now offer universal all - in - one “ plug and use ” insurance cover. they use ai - enabled insurance platforms that allow a person to key in his details – like his health statistics, occupation, business and personal travels, his car, family, home and home possessions, pets and so on – and get all the insurance that he needs under one policy that can be flexibly adjusted across the difference risk coverage over his life cycle. what this does is to make the customer experience more pleasant and fuss - free. it should be evident that insurers can and must leverage data and digitisation to