companies with investors seeking private market opportunities. deal fridays began last month and will take place every friday until the singapore fintech festival cum singapore week of innovation and technology in november. 3 / 7 bis central bankers'speeches last year, mas surveyed angel investors, family offices, and venture capitalists to try to get a sense of how much money is potentially on the table. by their own account, there is about us $ 12 billion in total available for direct investment into asean start - ups during 2019 - 21. we hope that deal fridays can encourage the deployment of this capital. sleeping well : investing for retirement with ageing demographics next, sleeping well – or securing sufficient funds for retirement. safe investment is needed for retirement planning, as the world ’ s population ages. populations are ageing across most countries. 2018 was a milestone of sorts : for the first time in human history, persons aged 65 or over outnumbered children under 5 years of age. the rate of demographic ageing will be particularly rapid in asia. the proportion aged 65 or over in east and southeast asia is expected to increase from 11 % in 2019 to 24 % in 20504. as people live longer and the workforce shrinks, individuals will face an uphill struggle to fund longer retirements. retirement planning should thus start young. starting early gives you more time to reap the benefits of compounding interest. financial institutions are providing a range of retirement solutions. insurers are selling products that encourage regular savings, in order to receive a steady stream of income during one's retirement years. according to life insurance association, the number of such policies taken up last year in singapore increased by about 50 %. there are also unit trusts that provide a regular monthly dividend. mas has issued the singapore savings bonds, or ssb in short, to provide a flexible risk - free investment option for investors to diversify their portfolio for retirement. last year, we doubled the individual limit for holding ssbs to s $ 200, 000, due to the increased appetite for safe investments. across asia, the focus is shifting from pure wealth creation to wealth preservation and wealth bequest. succession planning and intergenerational wealth transfer have moved up the agenda. a growing number of affluent families are consolidating their wealth through trusts and family offices, to optimise investment and legacy planning. singapore is an ideal place for families to set up such structures. there is political and economic stability, a clear regulatory regime, a comprehensive network

feature of singapore ’ s role as an international financial centre, just as wealth management and fintech have become. we have made some early moves to promote sustainable investing and mobilise private capital for environmentally - friendly projects. the introduction of the green bond grant scheme two years ago is an example. the grant aims to level costs associated with issuing a green bond versus that of a conventional bond and to promote the adoption of internationally accepted standards on sustainability. to - date, some s $ 6 billion worth of green bonds has been issued here by local and foreign companies. 6 / 7 bis central bankers'speeches this year, mas expanded the green bond grant scheme to include social and sustainability bonds. the grant is now renamed as the sustainable bond grant scheme. we also lowered the minimum issuance size requirement for the scheme, which will allow more qualifying issuers to gain access to the grant. but there is much more to do, to make singapore one of the premier global centres for sustainable investing. let me quickly cite two priorities. first, enhancing the disclosure of climate - related risks and opportunities. this is necessary to enable investors to channel their funds to sustainable enterprises and projects. the singapore exchange ( sgx ) has introduced the comply - or - explain sustainability reporting requirement for listed companies in 2016. second, building industry expertise in sustainable finance. we need to enhance the level of knowledge in sustainable finance amongst industry professionals as well as companies that are reporting on their sustainability practices or looking to issue green bonds. mas is working with partners, such as the institute of banking and finance, sgx, the asia sustainable finance initiative and our universities, to introduce capacity building courses in sustainability for finance professionals and officers of listed companies. conclusion let me sum up. investing – by its very nature – is an activity that focuses our mind on the future. i have sketched three probable investment themes, by no means exhaustive and by no means certain. the rise of private markets offers an opportunity for investors to achieve higher returns within the context of a well - diversified portfolio that also includes traditional assets. if we can manage the higher risks of investing in these markets, we can eat well. ensuring financial security in old age is becoming a growing imperative amidst demographic change. if we can start saving and investing for retirement early enough and wisely enough, we can sleep well. mitigating as well as adapting to climate change is likely to be one of the central issues in the future. if we can invest with a view to that