zeti akhtar aziz : internationalisation of islamic finance – bridging economies welcoming address by dr zeti akhtar aziz, governor of the central bank of malaysia, at the global islamic finance forum 2012, kuala lumpur, 19 september 2012. * * * this is a decade of profound change in the global financial landscape. the world is also being confronted by the repercussions of the ongoing global financial crisis. despite this more challenging global financial and economic environment, islamic finance has continued to remain on its growth trajectory. for islamic finance, it has been a defining period. its rapid growth and the intensification of its internationalisation in this decade is now enhancing its role in strengthening international economic linkages between different parts of the world. it is my great pleasure and honour to welcome you this morning to this third global islamic finance forum ( giff ) 2012. first of all, let me express our gratitude to the honourable deputy prime minister of the republic of turkey, his excellency mr. ali babacan for accepting our invitation to deliver the public lecture at our gathering here today. we are most honoured by your presence and we immensely look forward to your address. islamic finance : fostering global linkages in this new era, in which the international dimension of islamic finance has gained significance, islamic finance has continued to demonstrate its viability and competitiveness in this more liberalised and globalised financial environment. the total islamic financial assets size now has surpassed us $ 1 trillion – following unabated growth from the mid - 1990s. there are now more than 600 islamic financial institutions operating in more than 75 countries. increasingly, existing islamic banking institutions are expanding their operations with presence in new jurisdictions. this is resulting in increased cross border financial flows. there has also been increased international participation in islamic financial markets. since the late 1990s the sukuk market has emerged as an important form of intermediation in islamic finance. it has been instrumental in the financing structures for infrastructure projects, investments in the utilities sectors, in particular for water and power projects, and in the services sector, in education, healthcare and transportation. islamic finance essentially offers clear value propositions to both global issuers and investors. for issuers, there is access to new sources of funds and liquidity. and in introducing a new asset class, investors gain from portfolio diversification and new investment opportunities that are aligned to productive investment activities. internationalisation of islamic finance : mutually - reinforcing benefits islamic finance draws its

muhammad bin ibrahim : charting new frontiers – financial advisers the future keynote address by mr muhammad bin ibrahim, deputy governor of the central bank of malaysia, at the inaugural conference of the association of financial advisers “ charting new frontiers – financial advisers the future ”, kuala lumpur, 31 october 2012. * * * i would like to congratulate the association and its members for your commitment, which has resulted in the successful formation of the afa to champion and promote the interests of all licensed financial advisers in malaysia. the formation of afa is most timely, and marks a significant milestone in the progressive maturing of the financial advisory industry. since the introduction of fas in 2005, we have seen commendable growth within the industry, with the number of licensed fas rising from 2 to 17, and the number of licensed fa representatives increasing from 17 to 229 today. the formation of the afa is timely as it provides a platform to encourage greater collaboration among fas to instill greater professionalism among its members and i expect the afa to play an important role in coming up with clear strategies to propel the financial advisory sector towards greater progress and growth. developments in the insurance and takaful sectors there are some broad developments within the economy and the financial sector that will expand the opportunity for growth in the provision of independent financial advisory services. first, the insurance and takaful sectors have seen positive and continuous growth over the last five years, with total insurance premiums transacted and takaful contributions recording an average annual growth of 4. 9 %, with annual growth peaking at 13 % in 2010. in terms of insurance penetration, in 2011, 67 out of 100 malaysians had some form of life insurance or family takaful coverage as compared to only 59 out of 100 malaysians in 2006. this means there remains a large untapped segment of the population with no life insurance or family takaful protection that the profession can further develop. second, in terms of distribution channels, the agency force is still the dominant intermediation point for the insurance industry. at present, the market share of financial advisers as a delivery channel is still low and therefore, the prospect of growth is tremendous. the prominence of the agency force as a delivery channel of choice for the distribution of life insurance business is evidenced from the more than 10 % growth in the number of life insurance agents enrolled between 2006 and 2011. consistent with the increase in the agency force, the expenditure dedicated to maintain this