give you a few examples. inflation expectations remain anchored. healthy corporate balance sheet from past savings and profits will allow firms to rebuild and re - invest. corporate lending remains high despite some headwinds to the banking sector. these headwinds include the effect of the flood and global uncertainty on the macroeconomic outlook and on loan quality, as we have seen some pressure on the delinquency rate. the new fidf fee will also have some effect on banks ’ bottom line. nevertheless, the thai banking system will be able to handle these challenges given a strong capital base as a result of continued profitability in the past ten years, a good risk management system, and strong risk - based supervision. therefore, thailand ’ s key fundamentals remain resilient in the face of these challenges. most importantly, human resources and know - how remain intact. history shows that no matter how severe the natural disaster, roads can always be rebuilt and buildings restored in a relatively brief span of time should the human spirit remain, as it does in thailand. the growth rates i have mentioned for 2012 and 2013 are consistent with the medium - term trend, as strong fundamentals mean that thailand ’ s long - term growth trajectory remains intact despite the flood and volatile external environment. an important reason for this is bis central bankers ’ speeches that thailand is well positioned geographically to reap the benefits of growth in asia. the rise of china and the asean economic community ( aec ) provide enormous growth opportunities from economic integration. for sure, there will be more competition. but our research shows that trade gains will be substantial, from both inside and outside the region. however, there is a catch. to reap these gains, the thai economy will have to undergo structural adjustment, that is, the flow of labor and capital from sunset to sunrise sectors. the exact form of adjustment is uncertain, as it depends on global developments. however, what is quite certain is that the size of structural change required will be large, comparable to what thailand experienced during the economic liberalization of the 1980s and 90s. this change, almost by definition, will not be easy. if thailand overcomes this hurdle, it will benefit from exporting more goods, possibly more hi - tech, to the region while becoming part of the regional supply chain and enjoying a greater range of imports. but while the domestic outlook appears positive, the global environment remains uncertain. the lingering euro debt crisis and fragile us recovery continue to weigh on global growth. why

yves mersch : prospects of islamic finance – the view of a central bank in europe closing keynote address by mr yves mersch, governor of the central bank of luxembourg, at the islamic finance conference, frankfurt am main, 18 november 2010. * * * ladies and gentlemen, it is my pleasure to talk to an audience of such distinguished financial specialists. before i embark on what islamic finance means for central banking in europe, i will have a look at the growing importance of the phenomenon, its characteristics in the context of financial stability in general and its performance during the financial crisis in particular. finally, i will present the achievements within my own constituency to overcome the obstacles for an accelerated and safe spreading of islamic finance in europe. islamic finance : growing importance the development of modern islamic finance roughly started more than four decades ago. at the very beginning it occupied a small niche visible in islamic countries. in malaysia the pilgrim fund ( tabung haji ) was established in 1969 as an islamic savings institution. more recently islamic finance has expanded out of this niche. worldwide, the assets of islamic finance institution have grown at double - digit rates for a decade. even some conventional banks have embarked into the provision of shari ’ ah compliant financial assets reaching an estimated 509 billion usd at the end of 2007 according to moody ’ s 1. today, there are at least 70 countries that have some sort of islamic financial services. almost without exception, the major multinational banks offer some kind of these services. with the rise of the importance of sovereign wealth funds ( swf ), islamic finance was pushed further. about a decade ago, many emerging countries started to accumulate huge foreign exchange reserves, most of them benefiting from rising oil, gas and other natural resources ’ prices, being supported by favorable macroeconomic policies. with assets under management of an estimated 3, 000 bn usd in 2009, swf represent twice the wealth of hedged funds. muslim countries, oil exporters in particular, account for more than 50 % of all swf ’ s assets – not all of which are islamic finance products, though. while islamic banking remains the main form of islamic finance, islamic insurance companies ( takaful ), mutual funds and islamic bonds ( sukuk ) have witnessed strong global growth. the sukuk markets in particular have gained importance. in recent years, the issuance rose from less than 8 bn usd in 2003 to 50 bn usd by mid - 2007. 2 after a sharp decline during the financial crisis, private