jacqueline loh : public - private partnership – the way forward for natural catastrophe risk management in asia opening address by ms jacqueline loh, deputy managing director of the monetary authority of singapore, at the 5th institute of catastrophe risk management symposium, singapore, 24 april 2014. * * * professor bertil andersson ( president, nanyang technological university, singapore ), professor haresh shah ( founding chairman, institute of catastrophe risk management ( “ icrm ” ) ), professor pan ( director, icrm ), distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen, good morning. introduction 1. it is my pleasure to join you today at the 5th icrm symposium. the theme for this year ’ s symposium, “ financing of natural catastrophes in asia – the role of private sectors, governments and regulators in natural catastrophe management ”, highlights the importance of having both the private and public sectors collectively manage natural catastrophe risks. management of catastrophe risks spans a spectrum of activities across the entire risk management value chain, from raising risk awareness, to promoting effective risk assessment and pricing, and co - developing ex - ante risk financing solutions. this is a very relevant discussion topic, at a time when asia is facing increasing vulnerability to natural catastrophes. 2. in keeping with the conference theme, i will be sharing a few observations on how we can strive towards sustainable risk financing using a public - private partnership ( “ ppp ” ) approach. asia is more at risk from natural catastrophes 3. over the last 30 years, asia has borne the brunt of natural catastrophe losses, accounting for almost half of the world ’ s estimated economic losses from natural disasters1. however, less than 5 % of the losses were insured, compared to 40 % in developed countries2. over the last five years, the region experienced a series of high - profile and very painful disasters such as the tohoku earthquake and tsunami in japan, floods in thailand, and the super typhoon haiyan in the philippines. losses from these three disasters are estimated to be close to usd 360 billion3, about the average gdp of the philippines and thailand in 2012. as these economies were underinsured, the bulk of the financial burden was ultimately borne by the governments. 4. the development of catastrophe risk management in asia is still at a nascent stage, compared to more mature markets in the us and europe. yet asia is expected to continue to experience a rise in natural catastrophe losses, as a result of climate change, and rapid population growth, urban

them in understanding their roles and responsibilities, and to equip them with the necessary skills. even experienced directors need to continually upgrade their skills, to oversee and steer companies in today ’ s rapidly changing and globalised landscape. mas has been in discussion with the singapore institute of directors on how we can build on its very useful work to date, and develop a comprehensive and sustained approach to training and development of directors in singapore. mas will help to fund a study that will help to operationalise this comprehensive approach to training. the study will cover a few areas. first, it will look into benchmarking directors ’ training and development against best practices in other leading jurisdictions. a number of jurisdictions have in the last few years developed extensive structured training programs for directors. secondly, it will examine possible collaborative arrangements between a range of organisations and training providers. thirdly, it will also focus on how best such training initiatives should be financed. this is an important initiative to ensure our companies have skilled directors on their boards, who can help them to grow and expand in the region, and be recognized leaders in both performance and governance. developing practical guides for listed companies and directors a second issue arising from the study has to do with developing practical guides for listed companies and directors. this is in line with helping companies help themselves on the path to better corporate governance, mas will work with industry and professional bodies on practical guides on areas of interest to companies. the importance of an effective audit committee in particular was highlighted in the corporate governance study by professor mak. it noted that almost all corporate scandals involved some form of financial impropriety, with the audit committee often seen to be part of the governance failure. some guidance on the roles, functions and skills required by an audit committee would be useful. we need to encourage well - qualified directors to take on the critical responsibility of being a member of an audit committee. such practical guidance notes could be useful in helping directors on audit committees to understand their roles relative to that of senior management. it could also provide better focus on how they can add value by enabling the important interaction between strategy and financial and accounting controls. i note that the uk has issued similar guidance on audit committees – otherwise known as the smith guidance – to assist companies. conclusion let me conclude. the asian financial crisis has served to highlight the importance of corporate governance. it is a key component that contributes to the strength of our markets and to the performance of our companies. while corporate governance practices across asia have improved