zeti akhtar aziz : why asia? asia ’ s prospects and how emerging markets shall shape the region ’ s future keynote address by dr zeti akhtar aziz, governor of the central bank of malaysia, at the management association of the philippines ( map ) luncheon seminar : “ why asia? asia ’ s prospects and how emerging markets shall shape the region ’ s future ”, manila, 2 may 2012. * * * it is my great pleasure to be here in manila to give this luncheon address. let me thank the management association of the philippines for the invitation to speak here today on asia ’ s future prospects ; why asia and how will emerging asia shape the region. opportunities in asia are now boundless. key in generating these opportunities are the economic flexibility of the region, the diverse nature of the region that has generated the potential to leverage on regional complementarities, and the demographic advantages of the region. these opportunities are also being enhanced by the significant payoffs gained from a decade of reforms, and the intensification of regional economic and financial integration that is now taking place and resulting in a more connected and cohesive region. despite being at different stages of development and operating in different economic systems, the benefits are also increasingly being more widely shared. finally, the region has also benefited immensely from the resilience built, and more recently, from having the policy flexibility to minimise to the effects of the recent global financial crisis. let me elaborate on these prevailing trends that are shaping emerging asia ’ s future. asia ’ s growth prospect is very much underpinned by the transformative momentum that has, for a number of decades, brought emerging asia to its current growth trajectory. the economic flexibility of emerging asia has enabled most of the economies in the region to adjust to the changing conditions and to shift resources to new areas of comparative advantage. emerging asia has demonstrated that it has not been weighed down by structural rigidities and impediments. capital and labour mobility has been strengthened by the economic and financial reforms that have resulted in the shift towards greater market orientation and liberalisation. changing economic structures and transformation within specific sectors, including the participation in cross border production chains, have been gaining significance. emerging asia has also been able to leverage on technology to push beyond prevailing frontiers. firms in emerging asia are also increasingly innovating and allocating resources to research and development, and becoming leading players in their various respective industries. an equally important economic shift that is taking place

26 may 2022 keynote speech at asifma china capital markets conference edmond lau, deputy chief executive, hong kong monetary authority onshore market development 1. good morning. i ’ m delighted to join you virtually at this year ’ s china capital markets conference. first of all, let me take this opportunity to thank asifma for organising this event and inviting me to speak. 2. today ’ s agenda focuses on onshore market developments. i would like to share my thoughts on the significance of recent developments in onshore capital markets, as well as the opportunities for international investors. 3. mainland capital markets are experiencing a period of significant growth, with onshore equity and fixed income markets currently the second largest in the world. however, international investors ’ exposure to china ’ s capital markets remains relatively small. only around 4 % of onshore equities and 3 % of onshore bonds are owned by foreign investors, which is low by international standards and far smaller than china ’ s weight in the global economy. 4. we are pleased to see the mainland ’ s continued commitment to open up onshore capital markets in recent years. the latest developments to facilitate foreign investors ’ access to the onshore markets and adopt international standards have been encouraging and welcomed by the industry. let me highlight a few of them here. 5. first, with the removal of foreign ownership limits, global financial institutions are able to further expand their footprint in china by taking majority or full ownership in their onshore subsidiaries. the domestic credit ratings industry has also gradually opened up to foreign players to create a level playing field. 6. secondly, mainland authorities have continued to enhance foreign investment channels, such as combining the qfii and rqfii schemes and simplifying the application process. the inclusion of etfs in the stock connect and linkage between the interbank and exchange traded bond markets will expand the product range for international investors participating in the onshore equity and bond markets. 7. thirdly, china ’ s financial markets have moved towards closer integration with global standards. a milestone development is the recent adoption of a legal framework to bring the onshore futures and derivatives markets under better regulation and in line with international best practices, such as recognising the enforceability of close - out netting. foreign institutions may also choose to sign isda agreements with onshore counterparties in respect of otc derivatives transactions in the interbank market. 8. the liberalisation of the onshore capital markets has resulted in