largely driven by increased domestic demand, and further spending on infrastructure to address present shortfalls and facilitate economic expansion. imf has projected asia to grow by 5. 7 % in 2013, and 6. 0 % the following year, exceeding the outlook for the global economy. 5 growth in asia over the medium term will be supported by continued urbanisation, favourable demographics and increased intra - asian trade and investment. second, multilateral islamic finance agencies are making steady headway in addressing issues that contribute to some fragmentation of the islamic finance industry. work by the ifsb in setting international standards and best practices for the industry is providing greater uniformity of regulatory environment for islamic financial players globally. the international islamic financial markets ( iifm ) is collaborating with isda and industry players to develop standardisation of islamic financial products, documentation and related processes that will facilitate cross - border islamic hedging, risk management and money market activities. efforts by the accounting & auditing organisation for islamic financial institutions ( aaoifi ), islamic “ the new silk road : asia and the middle east rediscover trade and investment opportunities ”, research department, kuwait china investment company ( kcic ), january 2011. ibid. “ economic growth moderates across middle east ”, imf survey, may 21, 2013. “ world economic outlook ”, imf, april 2013. bis central bankers ’ speeches development bank and malaysia ’ s international shariah research academy ( isra ) in research and fostering dialogue between shariah scholars from various jurisdictions are also narrowing the differences in views on shariah issues in finance. as work on all these fronts progress, this will encourage greater interest internationally to participate in cross border financing and investment activities. the prospects for cross - border islamic finance are already very bright. we are beginning to see cross border sukuk issuance within asia, as well as between middle east and asia. as early as 2010, malaysia ’ s khazanah issued a s $ 1. 5b sukuk in singapore, while japan - based nomura issued 2 - year $ 100m sukuk in malaysia. last year, taking advantage of favorable currency swap rates, singapore listed companies natural resources and golden agri tapped the malaysian ringgit ( mr ) sukuk market. in the last two years, two gcc firms, abu dhabi national energy company and kuwait - based gulf investment corp issued mr sukuk in malaysia. there is considerable scope to issue more

with the dynamism that has characterized this industry in the last decade. together, you have achieved much ; but you should not rest on your laurels. we still have a long way to go in terms of reaching out to many more of our entrepreneurial poor. the challenge for rural banks, therefore, that are at the forefront of our microfinance movement, is to further widen and deepen the reach of microfinance to liberate our industrial entrepreneurial poor from poverty. this challenge can be surmounted by strong and vibrant banks that are committed to continuously upgrade their capacity, uphold performance standards, and adhere to best practices at all times. key areas of governance, efficiency, risk management, sustainability and quality of operations should be continuously developed and strengthened. this should lead to sound and well - managed institutions that can take advantage of market opportunities while adequately managing associated risks. in this regard, mabs banks seem well positioned to take on this challenge. anchored firmly on your commitment to sustainable microfinance, we have seen how your policy of zero tolerance to delinquency, emphasis on adequate internal controls and investments in systems and human capacities have resulted in positive gains for your member banks. on the part of the bsp, we will continue to look at ways in which banks can have a wider scope for their microfinance operations. we will remain responsive to the changing demands of the industry by maintaining a positive enabling policy and regulatory environment for microfinance. in addition, we will continue with our major reforms toward a more robust financial system and in fostering greater competition aligned with international standards within our banking sector. our regulations will continue to focus on critical areas of strengthening board and institutional governance, improving bank ’ s balance sheets and upgrading risk management systems. we at the bangko sentral look forward to continuously working with rbap to achieve our common goal of local economic development by creating opportunities for entrepreneurship, nourishing local enterprises and building prosperity in the countryside through microfinance. thank you all and good morning. mabuhay ang microfinance!