has been an additional enabling factor. this will not only provide smes with a level playing field in conducting businesses across the region, but will also maximise the competitive advantage of the individual asean economies. this is evidenced by the emergence of regional supply chains, where reductions in tariffs on imported raw materials have resulted in lower production costs, while the removal of tariffs on a wide range of finished products for export within asean will also benefit smes that trade within the region. thus, the lowering of tariffs within the region and the large regional market will provide an environment for smes to grow and achieve the production scale and efficiency required to compete in the global marketplace. additionally, an integrated asean market will also serve to facilitate the meeting of global standards as smes upgrade to meet the more harmonised compliance requirements across the region. thirdly, smes will also benefit from the drive to strengthen connectivity in the asean region. as highlighted in the master plan on asean connectivity, a comprehensive roadmap of strategies has been outlined to address connectivity challenges on three key areas, namely physical infrastructure, institutions and the people in asean. increased connectivity across all three dimensions will provide the physical and soft elements needed to create the enabling business environment for smes. fourthly, various sme - specific policies by the asean member countries will also benefit smes in the region. this includes the establishment of a regional sme internship programme which has assisted smes in seven asean countries to enhance the skills of their employees through structured staff exchanges and capacity building workshops. a further initiative is the recent launch of the online asean marketplace which aims to provide smes with information on the business environment in each respective asean country and a business directory of smes to facilitate the access to the markets in the region as well as the potential for collaboration of smes across the region. to date, more than 1, 000 smes across the region have registered with this online portal. it is expected to attract more than 20, 000 businesses during the course of this year. moving forward, the asean strategic action plan for sme development 2016 – 2025 will also focus on promoting productivity, technology and innovation, access to financing, enhancing market access and internationalisation, while also enhancing the policy and regulatory environment, and promoting entrepreneurship and human capital development. bis central bankers ’ speeches fifth and finally, smes in the region will also benefit from asean ’ s strategic economic linkages with the greater asia and with other parts of the world, including the advanced economies and

zeti akhtar aziz : economic ties between china and malaysia address by dr zeti akhtar aziz, governor of the central bank of malaysia, at the launch of industrial and commercial bank of china ( malaysia ) berhad, kuala lumpur, 28 april 2010. * * * it gives me great pleasure to be here today on the official launch of industrial and commercial bank of china ( malaysia ) berhad ( icbc ). the establishment of icbc in malaysia, the largest commercial bank in the world today, represents an important development in forging stronger economic and financial ties between the people ’ s republic of china and malaysia. this licence is issued pursuant to the arrangement entered into between the government of malaysia and the people ’ s republic of china in 2009, reinforcing a long - term relationship that has been strengthened over the years. the presence of icbc, in our financial system will pave the way for increased business and investment opportunities between our two countries. as asia leads the global recovery and with the progressive liberalisation in the region, the economic integration of the asian region can be expected to strengthen further. today, intraregional trade in asia has increased to an average of 50 % of the total exports of the region as compared to 32 % in 1995. the underlying structural and demographic changes in asia are expected to reinforce this trend. in addition, as domestic demand in the regional economies increases, it will provide further impetus to intra - regional trade and to the overall prospects for asia. in the area of infrastructure development in asia, the overall investment requirements for the next ten years are estimated to be about usd8 trillion. to support these developments, the regional financial integration process in asia needs to be accelerated and deepened. significant progress has already been achieved in strengthening cooperation and collaboration efforts amongst regional policymakers within the asian region to ensure that financial stability in the region is preserved. efforts have also been taken to develop the financial markets in asia. in addition, after a decade of financial reforms, the financial systems in asia have emerged resilient. while the financial systems in several of the advanced economies continue to be confronted by unresolved challenges, financial systems in the region have continued to function and perform well to support private sector economic activity. financial institutions in asia, have in fact, continued to expand their reach within the region during this period to support and facilitate the regional financial and economic integration. as regional financial integration accelerates moving forward, this would contribute towards sustaining the future