that is taking place. following a decade of significant economic and financial transformation, asia has emerged as a major growth centre in the global economy. asia now accounts for one third of world output and 28 % of world trade. this progress and development has created employment and improved living conditions, lifting millions out of poverty. while asia is one of the most diverse regions in the global economy, it has been able to take advantage of the complementarities in the region to generate significant expansion in intra - regional trade, intra - regional investment activities and increased intra - regional financial flows. vision of asia this award speaks to the growing importance of asia within the world economy. allow me to touch on three major trends in asia that are likely to influence asia ’ s role in the world as we advance into the future. first, the role of the growing cumulative domestic demand in asia for the regional and global output. second, the role of asia in the more efficient intermediation of funds mobilised in asia arising from the more pronounced regional financial integration. third, is the policy strategies being adopted by the region to address challenges and the model for the management for international relations. the economic transformation of asia in this decade has resulted in asia becoming an important source of cumulative demand in the global economy. rising incomes, low unemployment, a young demographic structure that has higher propensity to consume, relatively low level of household debt and policies to encourage consumption have spurred consumption demand. other measures being initiated include putting in place social safety nets in the form of schemes and programmes for education, healthcare, retirement and unemployment benefits. this has not only resulted in significant expansion of the retail trade sector in the region but asia is increasingly becoming an important consumer in the global economy. private investment activity has also resumed following a period of excess capacity due to overinvestment prior to the asian financial crisis. there are also plans for massive investment in infrastructure development in the region. while asia has the internal capacity from its high savings to finance these investments, the resulting higher import demand that these investments will generate will contribute to the further unwinding of the global imbalances. this stronger domestic consumption and investment demand in asia is also being supported by the strengthened and more developed financial systems. the relatively low level of leverage of the corporate sector and the continued access to financing support this trend. while regional economic integration has always been part of the asian economic landscape, regional financial integration has been a more recent phenomenon. while regional financial integration will facilitate the already

horizons for the future of insurance – augmenting protection with prevention lastly, it is also imperative to augment the future of insurance to include risk prevention. insurers and takaful operators have always played this role. for years, the industry has provided consumers with loss prevention advice for commercial lines. ways and demands on risk prevention, however, are evolving. we expect to see a collective shift in the role of the industry from loss reimbursement to loss control and prevention in the upcoming years. the future of augmenting protection with prevention can be distilled through three pillars : first, by creating awareness of current risk levels second, by suggesting a change in behaviour and third, by offering incentives for changes in behaviour the first two pillars are closely linked and is typically in the form of real - time risk mitigation as well as early warning systems. for instance, prevention triggers such as missed safety task notifications and water leakage alerts to activate emergency repair services can help prevent accidents. telematics can also connect insurers and farmers to data from weather systems for potential safety warnings. however, raising awareness of risky behaviour and how to address them are not enough. it is also fundamental to encourage people to instigate real and sustainable changes in behaviour. jonas salk, one of the first successful medical researchers to develop polio vaccines once said that " the reward for work well done is the opportunity to do more ". insurers and takaful operators can leverage consumers'perception of the value of rewards by nudging them to adopt safer and healthier behaviours. elements of 4 / 6 bis - central bankers'speeches gamification and behavioural economics can also be integrated – for example, a driving score leader board can motivate drivers to collect higher scores by adopting safer driving behaviours. we recognise that many of these successful models require tie ups and expertise beyond traditional business lines. to cater to these new digital realities, the bank has been proactive in ensuring our regulations are adapted regularly. revisions to our outsourcing and risk management in technology policies in recent years encourage various forms of digital partnerships to be explored, with a focus on understanding the nature of risks, having in place effective controls and being facilitative of the innovation. we continue to review the relevance and applicability of these policies to ensure they remain fit for purpose. for the industry, it is important for traditional players to continuously explore partnerships with various institutions such