of the seven primary liquidity providers. in terms of our renminbi real time gross settlement system, currently around rmb800 billion worth of transactions go through the system every day. so, you can see clearly why we have sought to further develop renminbi business. 4. secondly, the promotion of asset management. we want to attract mainland and overseas asset managers to hong kong. we have made numerous trips to the mainland and overseas to meet with asset managers, often on a one - on - one basis, to explain to them the benefits of establishing in hong kong. and, our work is paying off. by the end of 2014, the combined fund management business here reached a record high of us $ 2. 3 trillion, an increase of more than 10 % over 2013. today, there are more than 1, 150 licensed asset management companies operating in hong kong ; and, more than 60 out of the top 100 global money managers have operations here. i think these are quite impressive statistics and reflect well on our status as an international financial centre. bis central bankers ’ speeches 5. thirdly, the promotion of private equity funds. the hkma proposed, and then worked with the government, to extend the exemption on profits tax to offshore private equity funds. the legislation, which was passed last year, enables the operating structure of private equity funds to be streamlined, and also broadens private equity managers ’ ability to conduct asset management activities in hong kong. this is attracting more private equity firms to set up or expand their business here. 6. fourthly, the promotion of islamic finance. legislation was enacted in 2013 to provide a level playing field in terms of tax for sukuk vis - a - vis conventional bonds. two sukuk were successfully launched by the government in 2014 and 2015 using two different structures of ijarah and wakalah. we hope their success will have the effect of attracting more entities to issue sukuk in hong kong. up till now, 10 global sukuk ( including the two government ones i mentioned ) have been listed on the hong kong stock exchange. 7. these are just some of the examples of our work on market development. although there is one other important initiative i would like to mention here – our recent work to establish iffo, or to give its title in full, the infrastructure financing facilitation office. as you are no doubt aware, the need for infrastructure financing is huge. the asian development bank puts the

them. nor will employees in these modern times prefer to stick with one company for the whole of their working lives. as for the short - termism of the shareholders and the financial reporting cycle, banks are at the receiving end and there is not much they can do. 12. while i agree that it is probably unrealistic to go back to the “ good old days ” of banking, i am not fully convinced that there is little banks can do to restore a stronger alignment of interest with their customers. but that doesn ’ t really matter because, without these changes, the slow track solution to get rid of supervisors also does not seem to work! so i am bringing you the bad news! the bad news is that the public will need an agency entrusted with the mandate and powers to protect the safety of their deposits, to guard against banks taking excessive risk in pursuit of profits, to ensure that customers are treated fairly, to deal with 3 / 5 bis central bankers'speeches bank failure, as and when it happens, in an orderly manner to avoid disrupting the financial system and reduce the risk of having to use public funds again to bail out failing banks. what happened during the gfc is a very powerful reminder that excessive risk taking in pursuit of short term profits in modern day banking and finance can and did pose a serious threat to the economic well - being and stability of society as a whole, even in the most advanced economies. the gfc has also undermined the belief that banks can look after themselves in efficient markets and that “ de - regulation ” and “ light touch supervision ” must be good as they promote financial innovation and diversity. as a result of these bitter lessons, a series of profound reforms championed by the g20 and the financial stability board, of which the hkma is a member, have been introduced to make the banking and financial system much more resilient to shocks. an informed banker will tell you that banks nowadays have to comply with a very long list of stringent standards in capital, liquidity, leverage, margining, risk management, derivative trading and reporting, etc. at the same time, there are new and strong measures designed to address misconduct risks, ranging from anti - money laundering and counter terrorist financing, front - running, insider trading, mis - selling of financial products, etc. 13. for those bankers who feel disappointed tonight because they cherish the hope that they would learn some clever tricks to get rid of bank supervisors, i owe them an