mauritius will no doubt oversee the workings of this market to ensure that risks are properly controlled, that banks have adequate capital to support the risks taken and that there is adequate transparency regarding the size and nature of the derivates market as it unfolds in the future. i am personally hopeful that operators will put in place adequate systems for measuring, managing and controlling on - going risks being taken on board. most people would have learnt the necessary lessons from the collapse of barings. but other types of risks associated with derivative trading can crop up and it would be necessary to put in place an adequate number of safeguards against unexpected market movements to ensure prudent and sound management of the banking environment. derivatives are seen in this context as a vital tool for risk management provided they are carefully handled and there is sufficient capital to support unexpected losses. i am confident that the additional dimension that can be given to our financial sector activity by embarking on the derivatives market will enhance the market environment and increase the job satisfaction of our qualified treasurers by putting into their hands a wider range of tools to work with. i am sure that the workshop will help to reinforce your confidence in your ability to deliver on the products, given the extensive experience of your main presenter at the workshop. may i wish you successful deliberations so that all of you come out better equipped by the end of this workshop. thank you

of available skills targeting diverse products. i am informed that our bank treasurers are not wanting in those skills but then they do not have the demand on which to exercise their talents on the markets. further, it is a precondition for the sound and sustained development of an active derivative market that the underlying markets should be deep and liquid. for some reason, active interbank trading of forex has been absent from our markets. this situation is likely to persist if individual banks continue to hoard their holdings of foreign exchange to themselves without engaging in interbank trading with them. this lack of engagement has been observed to be the case whether the balance of payments is in good or less good shape. individual banks could, however, consider the added scope that would be created to develop a derivative market over here if they were willing to relinquish a strong attachment to short term profit maximization from spot only and a few sparse forward forex dealings. the liquidity factor imparted by departure from the established pattern could then increase the depth of the market with time. i would say that it is never too late to go for an earnest sharing of forex resources among players to be able to deliver the necessary wider scope to the local forex market. obviously, players will develop more confidence in each other if there was continuous two - way traffic with individual banks coming to the market as both buyers and sellers of foreign exchange from time to time. geography should not be seen as an impeding factor today, given the vast advances made by technology interconnecting the markets. the cost of communications is also a matter that can be addressed if it is an obstacle in the way of market development. so, the real issue remains that of substance. markets are formed on the basis of demand and supply : sometimes, there is a chickenand - egg puzzle when deciding which of these two should come first in order to create market activity of a reasonable scale. my answer to this would be that in undeveloped market conditions, development can be triggered if there is a driving initiative. hence, since banks and other operators are potential suppliers of derivative products to the market, they are in a position to trigger latent demand by innovating and bringing the products at the doorstep of clients. by so doing, they may add to the market yet another layer of activity that has been absent for quite some time. in this manner, futures trading can become a reality in mauritius and take concrete shape gradually. we would thus be