shocks. but asian foreign policymakers have been quick to respond. to reduce reliance on exports, many asian countries have taken measures to rebalance their economies towards domestic demand. the growing asian demand will help support the global economic recovery ; and in the longer term, contribute to the growth of our global economy. 6. going forward, it is widely expected that asia will continue to lead the global recovery. investors are confident of asia ’ s prospects due to sound economic fundamentals and fiscal strength. the booming asian economies will present many investment opportunities. in particular, infrastructure financing is likely to be a major driver of demand for investments. the asian development bank estimated that usd $ 8 trillion worth of infrastructure spending is needed in the 10 years leading up to 2020 to support asia ’ s growth. the demand for capital investments driven by the growth in asia ’ s real economy will support the development of the region ’ s capital markets. as investors continue to invest in asia, the depth, accessibility and efficiency of asia ’ s capital markets will continue to improve. bis central bankers ’ speeches with proper balance, the continuing inflows of funds, improvements in capital markets and growth in the real economy will create a self - reinforcing virtuous circle. 7. along with the rise of asia, singapore will continue to enhance our position as a global - asia financial and business hub. as a well - connected international financial centre, singapore can be the base for global players to tap into opportunities offered by a rising asia. to do that, we will build on our strengths in areas such as trading, asset management and infrastructure financing. we will also continue to emphasise the importance of strengthening risk management, enhancing transparency, as well as build depth and diversity in the offering of financial products and services. let me cover these areas in turn. 8. first, in the area of strengthening risk management. in the context of the capital markets, we have been building the necessary infrastructure to help market participants better manage their risks. there has been greater concern over counterparty risks since the financial crisis. this fear of counterparty default dented global trading and interbank lending activities. to allow market participants to better manage their counterparty risks, the singapore exchange launched a new clearing service for otc financial derivatives in 2010. this is the first such service in asia. 10 international and local banks have since signed up with sgx to clear their otc financial derivatives, and there are intentions to expand the product suite going forward. this

jacqueline loh : strengthening shanghai - singapore cooperation – anchoring stability and seizing opportunities welcome address by ms jacqueline loh, deputy managing director of the monetary authority of singapore, at the 3rd singapore - shanghai financial forum, singapore, 12 april 2017. * * * shanghai municipal government, deputy secretary general mr jin xingming shanghai municipal financial services office, director general dr zheng yang distinguished speakers and guests ladies and gentlemen introduction good morning, and welcome to the 3rd singapore - shanghai financial forum. it is a great pleasure to welcome our good friends from shanghai, as well as our strong representation of local stakeholders joining us at the forum today. uncertainty is the new world order the second edition of the forum was held in november last year. since then, global economic activity has firmed, led by robust consumption in the us and a pickup in china ’ s underlying growth momentum. the eurozone and japan have also registered steady expansions on account of stronger domestic demand and exports, respectively. concurrently, the turnaround in commodity prices last year, followed by an it upswing in q4, have improved the prospects for emerging markets, including the trade - dependent economies here in asia. a range of indicators have picked up in tandem with the strengthening of manufacturing and trade in the region, and forward - looking surveys reaffirm a continued mild improving trend into 2017. within the region, domestic demand has generally been resilient and overall growth this year will receive additional support from the stronger performances of export industries. 3 yet amid this cautious optimism, we should acknowledge the continued unevenness in the strength of the expansion across regions in the global economy, as well as the persistence of policy uncertainties, which will weigh on firms ’ long - term spending commitments. we are also confronted with the seeming rise of nationalism and growing populism which can have unpredictable effects on policies and growth. against this backdrop, the uncertainty over trade policies and the future of the multilateral trading system is another area of concern of trading nations in asia, as it comes at a time when important underlying structural shifts in global production and trade arrangements are already taking place. 4 in the financial sector, the advent of fintech – driven by unprecedented mobility, connectivity and computing power – possesses the potential to fundamentally change the way intermediation takes place in the financial sector. indeed, it seems that continuous shifts and unrelenting changes are the defining characteristics of the future economic and financial landscape. finding opportunities amidst uncertainty while some degree of uncertainty is inevitable in