in promoting sound financial planning among malaysians. i trust that the distinguished speakers will share their valuable insights and experiences to provide you better clarity on the opportunities as financial advisers. on that note ladies and gentlemen, i wish you a successful and productive seminar. we look forward to your contribution to the further growth and development of the financial services industry. thank you.

sustain and prosper. apart from the growing appetite of our consumers for more sophisticated products and services, another factor which had prompted the introduction of financial advisers into the financial services sector was the country ’ s relatively low insurance or takaful penetration rate. over the period 2000 to 2007, the market penetration rate, measured in terms of the number of life insurance policies in force as a proportion to the total population, increased from 31. 5 % in 2000 to 40 % in 2007. notwithstanding its wider reach of the market, life insurance coverage remained relatively low compared with the more developed markets in the region such as japan, korea and singapore, which have penetration rates of more than 80 %. the relatively low market penetration coupled with rising household incomes and high savings rate suggest a very positive outlook for the malaysian insurance sector to grow extensively and presents tremendous opportunities for financial advisers to serve the malaysian consumers. with increased uncertainty prevailing in the global economic outlook and in the financial markets, effective financial planning will assume greater prominence at both the retail and corporate levels. households, in particular, will benefit from financial planning in order to be more self - reliant and resilient against the increased volatility in the financial markets. it is envisaged that the financial advisers would be able to play a role in providing financial solutions to consumers on how best to manage their wealth efficiently and effectively. financial advisers will help mobilise the country ’ s financial resources to generate growth and further develop our insurance and takaful sector specifically and the financial system generally. it involves actively engaging individuals within our community to participate more fully in the economy as well as reaching out to the marginalised community and bringing them into the mainstream financial system. it has now been three years since the financial adviser framework was first introduced. we are encouraged to note that consumers ’ needs and demands continue to evolve to the extent that financial products and services must now be tailored to meet individual requirements. being independent from any product provider or manufacturer, financial advisers are indeed in a unique position in terms of capability and capacity to compare and tailor - made various financial products in order to get the best deal for their customers. such unique position underscores the importance of the financial advisers ’ role in providing value - added service to consumers as they can expect financial advisers to provide financial advice on needs - based approach rather than merely product - push approach. ultimately, this will contribute to a higher standard of professionalism in the sale of life insurance products and preserve public confidence in