economic activities in 2010. the objective of monetary policy is to foster growth by encouraging further declines in interest rates as inflation declines and inflation expectations diminish. this will set the stage for the private sector to access credit at relatively cheaper costs to pursue productive ventures while the central bank works to preserve macroeconomic and financial stability requisite for economic growth. 19. as we move towards an era of low and stable inflationary environment, access to credit for productive activities will improve and businesses must begin to map out strategies to improve efficiency and reduce operating costs in order to stay competitive. i will encourage the incoming executives of the agi to promote strategies that will ensure that our local industries stay competitive especially as the ghanaian economy continues to integrate into the global economy. 20. to conclude, let me state that the primary objective of the central bank is to pursue sound monetary and financial policies aimed at price stability and the creation of an enabling economic environment for sustainable economic growth. together with members of this association and the private sector at large, we must collaborate to achieve the common objective of sustained economic growth. 21. i wish the new agi executives good luck as they embark on their period in office. thank you.

i am well aware that there are those both at home and abroad who argue for adopting an inflation target or a numerical definition of price stability. in this regard, let me reiterate that when nominal interest rates are constrained by the zero bound and financial institutions are not performing their intermediary function sufficiently, we cannot expect the transmission mechanism of monetary policy to function properly. under such circumstances, it is hard to believe that the adoption of inflation targeting would increase the effectiveness and enhance transparency regarding the future conduct of monetary policy. i believe that the current policy commitment is most effective in enhancing the transparency of monetary policy and stabilizing the expectations in the market. it clarifies under what conditions and for how long the bank intends to maintain the framework of its current quantitative easing policy. in addition to enhancing transparency, we need to strengthen the transmission mechanism of monetary policy in the area of corporate finance. in this regard, the bank has begun purchasing assetbacked securities backed by private sector corporate debt. the credit markets in japan have traditionally been dominated by bank lending. however, given a situation in which banks'ability to take risks is constrained, we need to expand the markets for asset - backed securities and other such credit instruments, which are not susceptible to fluctuations in banks'capital levels. to date, the bank has purchased about 200 billion yen of asset - backed securities and asset - backed commercial paper. we hope that our efforts will contribute to the further expansion of the asset - backed securities market by raising awareness of its advantages among financial institutions and investors as well as encouraging the origination of asset - backed securities in the market. earlier this month, the bank initiated a series of workshops with a wide range of market participants on how best to coordinate efforts to improve the markets for asset - backed securities and other similar credit instruments. our current framework for quantitative easing coupled with measures to strengthen the transmission mechanism of monetary policy will improve the financial environment within which firms and banks engage with the structural problems. it will thus facilitate the japanese economy's return to a sustainable growth path and also bolster the efforts to overcome deflation. since the strategy of the bank of japan relies on the efforts of the private sector, this policy may take time to pay off, but it is the most effective way of tackling the roots of the structural problems. in closing, i express my sincere hope that the current momentum for recovery in both europe and japan will be successfully translated into sustainable economic growth.