11 takaful players now operating in malaysia. the initiative for strengthening competition in takaful industry is premised on our quest to unlock the enormous growth potential that lie ahead. there are 3 dimensions from which strong opportunities for growth can be harnessed in the takaful industry. first, is the opportunity to penetrate the remaining underserved areas in family takaful. one such area is medical and health, which in 2010 constitutes only 9 percent of new family takaful business. going forward, there is certainly a need for greater role by takaful in supporting sustainable management of healthcare and retirement needs of individuals to effectively address the emerging challenges associated with demographic changes with rising healthcare expenditure. as the malaysian society transitions to a more ageing population as typically seen in developed economies, there is room to harness the appeal of family takaful as a tool for long - term savings and investment, whilst protecting against financial vulnerabilities arising from critical illness, death, disability or unemployment, or providing for children ’ s education. with growing awareness on individual responsibility in financial planning among malaysians catalysing demand for savings and investment - driven products, this positive trend will translate itself into an impetus for strong growth in endowment family takaful products. the second dimension of growth opportunities for the takaful industry is to be seized from the transformation of malaysia as a high income economy. in advancing towards bis central bankers ’ speeches this transformation, the malaysian economy is to undergo significant structural shift into new areas of growth and comparative advantage. with islamic finance specifically identified as one of new growth areas under this envisioned new economic model, the takaful industry stands to gain from the march towards socio - economic transformation by seizing the opportunity to grow business beyond the more traditional business lines. this entails broadening product offerings to higher value - added activities and capturing the growing demand for more customised, niche and sophisticated product range, including investmentlinked and wealth - management products, among the more affluent customer base. at the other end of product spectrum, equal, if not more, emphasis needs to be given by the industry in extending coverage to low - income individuals via microtakaful. there is little doubt that the ability and commitment of takaful industry to deliver such value proposition that allows for the benefits of growth and development to be experienced across all communities will resonate strongly with the values espoused by takaful. this in turn could go a long way towards elevating the importance

is governed by the cooperation provided by the relevant stakeholders. ladies and gentlemen, let me conclude. banks need to move forward on a new, actionable, shared value approach. they have to revamp their role within society by devising financial products and services to address social and environmental needs, extending existing business and capturing new lines of business in areas that are currently considered “ unbankable. ” i urge the financial institutions to support local communities by investing in projects so that they could become self - reliant. for this, they can team up with a network of trusted partners to foster knowledge, stimulate activity, and catalyze financial innovation. the nrb ’ s challenge is to build up a financial system that is supportive of growth, and dynamic enough to fulfill the evolving demands of a real economy. in this respect, i believe this conference would be very fruitful for all of us as we will be able to draw concrete lessons from experiences of values - based banks who are working for the local communities, who are not guided by profit and who are " banking on values. " with this note, i would like to express my best wishes for the successful conclusion of this conference! thank you for your kind attention!