forum aims to provide an opportunity for the global islamic finance communities to share experiences and discuss key developments in islamic finance and to explore the way forward for the international islamic financial system. the forum will feature plenary talks and multitrack sessions, which include the regulator ’ s forum, the international shariah forum and the islamic liquidity management workshop. on the side of this forum, the inaugural iilm board meeting will be convened to pave the way for its operationalisation. another important meeting taking place is the isra council of scholars meeting which gathers eminent shariah scholars from around the world. this gathering of minds will importantly contribute towards greater global understanding and harmonisation in the field of shariah. a series of high - level meetings and several important signings of mous will also be taking place, highlighting increased international cooperation. also taking place in conjunction with this forum is the ceremony for the inaugural “ the royal award for islamic finance ” under the auspices of bank negara malaysia and the securities commission, to commemorate the contribution of the world ’ s most outstanding individuals in global islamic finance. let me conclude by taking this opportunity to record our appreciation to the many distinguished speakers for their contribution to giff 2010. let me also once again, express our deep gratitude to the prime minister, yang amat berhormat, dato ’ sri mohd najib bin tun haji abdul razak and to duli yang teramat mulia raja dr. nazrin ibni sultan azlan shah for gracing this forum. thank you.

jacqueline loh : unlocking insurance linked securities growth through asia opening speech by ms jacqueline loh, deputy managing director of the monetary authority of singapore, at the artemis ils asia 2018 conference, singapore, 12 july 2018. * * * distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen, a very good morning to all of you. 2 i am very pleased to be here today at the artemis ils asia 2018 conference. the third time that it is held in singapore, the conference is a good market barometer that insurance - linked securities ( ils ) are becoming more prominent in asia, and prospects are bright for the coming years. alternative capital becomes mainstream 3 we are gathering here at an exciting time for the global insurance - linked securities industry, with alternative capital being an increasingly important part of an insurer ’ s risk transfer toolkit. born from a need to bring additional loss absorbing capacity following the devastating disasters in the mid - 1990s – hurricane andrew and the northridge earthquake in california – the development of the ils market has been a remarkable story of innovation. 4 twenty years later, the global ils market continues to thrive. emerging from the him ( harvey, irma and maria ) hurricane losses, earthquakes in mexico and wildfires in california, 2017 has been widely billed as the global financial crisis equivalent for the ils market, as it registered the largest losses in more than a decade. yet, the ils market has remained largely resilient. growth remains strong in 2018, with issuance of catastrophe bonds the most prevalent type of ils, more than doubling compared to the same period last year. ils rates have stabilised after having risen post these disasters, and subsequently dipping with the influx of capital. catastrophe bond managers have continued to launch new ils funds in response to strong demand from investors. today, the ils market has grown to the point where it now provides 15 % of global catastrophe reinsurance capacity. 5 let me highlight 2 key reasons why ils has been growing over the years : a. first, it offers sponsors a viable alternative to enhance risk transfer programs. ils provides diversification of the source of risk capital, multi - year coverage, and also competitive rates compared to traditional reinsurance. b. second, there is strong demand from investors given ils ’ low correlation with other asset classes, and low volatility. to illustrate, the swiss re global cat bond index has an annual volatility under 3 % 1, much below the 15 %