4 percent for 2021. japan's economy also is likely to improve gradually from the second half of this year. however, as i mentioned earlier, while the impact of covid - 19 remains, voluntary efforts to prevent infections will continue to constrain economic activity, and thus the pace of improvement is expected to be only moderate. i have pointed out that, in a transition phase, it is necessary to pay attention to the impact of a significant economic shock brought about by infectious diseases on firms'and households'stance on spending. on this point, it is inevitable that corporate profits, employment, and income will be affected by covid - 19. however, in response to the impact of covid - 19, the government has conducted economic measures with a project size of 234 trillion yen, which largely exceed the size of measures taken at the time of the global financial crisis. in addition, as i will explain later, the bank has made efforts to support financing and maintain stability in financial markets by enhancing monetary easing to a large extent. these responses by the government and the bank have provided strong support for sustaining businesses and employment. i will elaborate on this, focusing on both the corporate and household sectors. let me start with the corporate sector ( chart 3 ). corporate profits have deteriorated, reflecting the decline in sales due to covid - 19. in this situation, pressure that reduces business fixed investment seems to be strong, mainly for sectors that are severely affected by covid - 19. that said, looking at the business fixed investment plan in the june tankan, business fixed investment is expected to remain positive on an annual basis for fiscal 2020. although it is necessary to pay attention to the possibility that figures for the business fixed investment plan will be revised downward if uncertainties over covid - 19 continue, the investment is likely to be steady at this point compared with a significant decline in corporate profits. based on anecdotal information from firms, they are likely to continue to undertake many of their medium - to long - term projects, such as research and development ( r & d ) and it - related investments. this is because the financial positions of firms became more sound after the global financial crisis, and many firms have adequate financial capacity to undertake necessary investment for growth areas even when they are faced with severe stress. in addition, together with the measures currently taken by the government and the bank to support financing, financial institutions have been actively responding to meet firms'increasing demand for funds, and

' s broader objective of advancing sustainability. in context for this roundtable, green sukuk can further catalyse the development of the sustainable economy moving forward through various government initiatives mainly through national energy transition roadmap ( netr ) which is estimated to require up to rm1. 85 trillion in financing by 2050. 1 / 4 bis - central bankers'speeches malaysia's pioneering role in islamic finance has not only fostered the growth of domestic islamic finance but also established malaysia as a global hub for shariahcompliant finance, attracting investors from around the world. the expansion from traditional islamic finance to the issuance of green sukuk is a natural evolution of malaysia's leadership in this field. leveraging its extensive experience and wellestablished infrastructure, malaysia is well - positioned to be at the forefront of the global green sukuk market. in this regard, malaysia remains a centre of innovation with numerous groundbreaking initiatives, including the issuance of green sukuk. notably, malaysia pioneered the first green sukuk with tadau energy sdn bhd, issued in july 2017. so far, the majority of green sukuk issuances have originated from malaysia. as of july 2024, out of a total of 291 green sukuk issued globally, 262 were from malaysia. as a result, malaysian investment banks are highly regarded for their advisory roles in green sukuk issuances. further to that, malaysia also continues its regional leadership in sri sukuk, with yearto - date issuance of fourteen sri sukuk totalling rm1. 5 billion while since the launch of the sc's sri sukuk framework1, total outstanding sri issuances have approached rm27. 3 billion2. the country also contributes significantly, accounting for 25 % of the total issuance of asean green, social, and sustainability bonds and sukuk amounting to us $ 49. 1 billion3. this is a strong foundation. the current ecosystem is already well - positioned to further facilitate green sukuk issuances in malaysia. the securities commission ( sc ) has established a robust framework and incentives to support these issuances and their development. additionally, bank negara malaysia ( bnm )'s foreign exchange policy ( fep ) has always been facilitative of sukuk issuances in malaysia by residents. for issuances by non - residents, the bank is exploring initiatives to offer fe