people with the right calibre, right competency and right character. the usd 37. 1 billion harvard endowment is run by some of the best minds in finance, who determine the most optimal asset allocation strategies that deliver the best sustainable returns for the university. in 2017, the endowment contributed more than a third of harvard ’ s operating revenue. returns from the fund help to provide scholarships and to fund ground - breaking research. surely we would like to see the same in our malaysian universities. acquiring such expertise and capability may take time. to expedite this, i would like to suggest that waqf authorities explore partnering or collaborating with experts from the private sector to commercialise or monetise waqf assets. in particular, partnerships with islamic financial institutions can help waqf authorities develop waqf assets productively with the required financial expertise on board. a good example is the partnership between majlis agama islam wilayah persekutuan and lembaga tabung haji in developing menara bank islam on a 1. 2 acre waqf land in kuala 3 / 4 bis central bankers'speeches lumpur. the rm151 million project is a milestone achievement, being the first large - scale commercial development project on a waqf land in the country. another important aspect in professionalising waqf management is instilling good governance. it is unfortunate that management of waqf has had some governance challenges. efforts must be directed at strengthening its governance and management. adequate internal controls have to be put in place, including risk management, internal and external audits, and compliance systems. its standards of disclosure and transparency need to be at par with those of modern finance or of endowments in advanced economies. for a start, waqf authorities should provide high - quality disclosure and reporting of waqf activities to instil trust and confidence among the contributors and wider stakeholders. contributors want to know where their contributions are going and how they are being spent. in this regard, the waqf fund collaboration between islamic banks and the state islamic religious councils provides a good mechanism for the financial sector to lend its expertise and share best practices on good governance and transparency practices in managing fund. under the initiative, the code of governance and transparency of waqf fund will be issued by aibim. this will act as guidance for more efficient and effective management of waqf and with higher governance and transparency practices, thus bringing waqf to the next

towards the use of local currencies to support cross - border settlements for trade and direct investments among the three countries. it is an opportunity to mitigate the impact of volatilities in major trading currencies on regional trade and investment activities. we can recall the global financial crisis, where the tightening of global us dollar liquidity was a contributor to the 19 % contraction of total trade and 11. 5 % contraction of total inward fdi into the region. moreover, an enabling environment for the effective use of local currencies will bring about greater cost efficiency and stability for businesses and increase demand for local currency financial products. that will, in turn, be the impetus to strengthen regional financial markets ’ development. 1 / 2 bis central bankers'speeches i am pleased that the event today is made possible by all three central banks, mutually agreeing to grant regulatory flexibilities to the appointed banks under these frameworks, enabling them to provide a wider range of financial services under their respective jurisdictions. taking this opportunity, i wish to introduce the appointed banks in malaysia for these frameworks, namely, maybank berhad, cimb berhad, rhb berhad, public bank berhad, hong leong bank berhad, bangkok bank berhad, united overseas bank ( uob ) berhad and bank of tokyo - mitsubishi ( btmu ) berhad. the implementation of these frameworks will complement our existing close partnership and cooperation as neighbors, with common objectives and shared aspirations. on this note, i look forward to witness the growth in the use indonesian rupiah, thai baht and malaysian ringgit for cross - border settlement of trade between indonesia and malaysia, and thailand and malaysia, respectively. 2 / 2 bis central bankers'speeches