of expertise in applied research and development in islamic finance. initiatives by industry associations collaborating with local and international research institutes and academia to seek for new global research findings and breakthroughs will enhance the potential for increased product development activities. this colloquium that is organised by isra following the success of the inaugural colloquium last year, to discuss the new research findings for the various segments of the islamic financial industry with the expectation that it will contribute to opening new horizons for the future development of islamic finance. on this note, let me wish you a productive and successful colloquium. i would also like to congratulate isra on the launching of its new islamic financial knowledge repository. bis central bankers ’ speeches

abdul rasheed ghaffour : opening remarks – forum on central bank foreign currency operations opening remarks by mr abdul rasheed ghaffour, deputy governor of the central bank of malaysia ( bank negara malaysia ), at the ossp - bnm - seacen forum on central bank foreign currency operations, kuala lumpur, 6 august 2020. * * * it is my great pleasure to welcome all participants to the ossp - bnm - seacen forum on central bank foreign currency operations. my appreciation also goes out to ossp and seacen centre for organising this forum. although we have been looking forward to hosting all delegates and speakers in kuala lumpur, i am glad that technology has enabled us to come together regardless of this challenging time. i believe this forum is timely, given the myriad of issues associated with the current global landscape and the evolving environment for cross - border payment operations. the covid - 19 pandemic has caused widespread disruption within an inconceivably short period. we see disruptions in the lives and livelihoods of families and individuals ; in the way work is done and trade conducted ; and in our perspective of the world and our solutions to its problems. in at least one area we see the pandemic accelerate a growing trend both domestically and internationally – in digital trade and e - commerce. retail purchases have more than halved year - on - year, and this gap is quickly filled by the rapid growth of e - commerce. this digitalisation trend is likely to continue post - pandemic with new norms in day - to - day domestic as well as cross - border economic activities. this change is deeply felt by financial services providers which saw decreased domestic and cross - border transactions, including a projected fall of about 20 % in remittances in 2020. this pandemic has also compelled central banks to reconsider the robustness of their national payments systems, implement electronic cashless banking options, and safeguard against cyber threats. recent developments in cross - border payments landscape in recent years, the scale and importance of cross - border payments have grown in line with the growth of cross - border economic activities, with an estimated global transaction value of usd136 trillion in 2018. however, there is wide recognition that cross - border payment services remain inefficient, as compared to domestic payments. the common challenges facing crossborder payments can be attributed to cost and speed, lack of transparency, and limited access : reliance on multiple inter