investors managing institutional savings to come here and those in need of funds to raise them here. the opportunities in this region, in particular in china, are enormous, and international investors would have a preference to operate in markets in which the rules of the game are transparent and familiar to them, and are of internationally accepted standards. and that means coming to hong kong. 8. the banking market in hong kong is of course a very international one, with a total of 182 licensed banks, 151 of which are incorporated outside hong kong. 81 of the largest 100 banks in the world are licensed in hong kong. collectively they provide a wide range of banking and other financial services, not just for hong kong but for the region as a whole. the banking sector of hong kong is reputed to be amongst the most efficient and profitable in the world. 9. hong kong ’ s debt market, which has developed quite rapidly in the past eight years, is also playing a significant role in the region. financial intermediation through the debt market is still relatively underdeveloped in the region, but the prospects are good. as the very substantial savings of the region is increasingly institutionalized through the establishment of provident funds and pension funds, the demand for debt securities would grow, perhaps much faster than that for banking and equity instruments. at the same time, the huge investments envisaged for the development of the physical infrastructure in the region will require much debt financing, thus increasing the supply of debt securities. with the first class infrastructure in our newly developed debt market, hong kong is in a very favourable position to take advantage of these good prospects. 10. hong kong ’ s equity market is of course one of the largest and most liquid in the world, and, notwithstanding recent volatility, is the favourite market for institutional investors and for those wishing to raise funds. one popular area recently is, of course, the use of hong kong ’ s stock market for raising funds by chinese state - owned enterprises. up to late october, 38 enterprises from the mainland of china have made their initial public offerings in hong kong in the form of the issue of “ h ” shares. these shares were bought by investors both in hong kong and overseas. it is important to note that when mainland enterprises sought to be listed on the hong kong stock exchange, they are required to comply with all the listing rules and other relevant regulations in hong kong. no favouritism or preferential treatment has been or will be given to mainland companies

the availability of a european safe asset could help banks reduce their excessive holdings of domestic sovereign bonds on their balance sheets. and we have a relevant experiment going on now, which should provide useful information on the pros and cons of a european safe asset. i am referring to the fact that the european commission will issue eur 800 billion worth of euro - denominated bonds in the coming years to finance the european recovery package, nextgenerationeu. the first tranche was very well received by the markets, subscribed by several multiples of the original offer. the funding experience the package could provide useful lessons and guidance for the design of a european safe asset. to conclude, we need to understand ever better both the lessons of covid - 19 and the structural trends in the economy and their impact on financial stability. i would coin the main message of my speech by paraphrasing james carville : “ it ’ s the resilience, smarty! ” – that i. e. resilience should indeed be the critical driver of financial sector polies. as far as the central banks are concerned, the biggest contribution they can make to the society is to deliver on their price stability mandate, which will also contribute to sustainable economic growth and broad - based, inclusive employment growth. i am confident that the outcome of the ecb ’ s monetary policy strategy review will enhance the effectiveness of our monetary policy and the attainment of price stability, and thus also enabling sustainable growth and full employment. thank you for your attention & let me wish you a productive conference! 1 esrb recommendation on intermediate objectives and instruments of macro - prudential policy ( esrb / 2013 / 1 ) 4 / 5 bis central bankers'speeches 2 imf, staff guidance note on macroprudential policy, november 2014. 3 simona malovana, martin hodula, zuzana rakovska, and josef bajzik, 2021, czech national bank survey on macroprudential and monetary policy, summary of the results, june 2021. 5 / 5 bis central bankers'speeches