of trade and production with the rest of asia. but this will change. india will build its manufacturing strength. its policy on special economic zones testifies to this. when india diversifies its economic base in this way, its weight will increase, and its effect on the region will be felt more keenly. despite several changes of governments and prime ministers, india and its leaders have continued on the reform path. a billboard at the 2006 wef meeting in davos proclaimed : “ 15 years, 6 governments, 5 prime ministers, one direction ”. the message is clear : reform and liberalisation in india are irreversible. china serves both as an example of what a large country can do and a compelling reason for india to grow faster to keep up. i believe that india will continue to grow at a high rate. i have met indian leaders across the political spectrum. i am persuaded that they will continue to open up the economy and welcome foreign investments. take the case of west bengal in kolkata, a state that has been under communist rule for 30 years. the chief minister, buddhadeb bhattacharjee, one of the politburo members of the communist party of india ( marxist ), candidly said that he welcomed foreign investment, “ whatever the colour – be it yellow, red or white ”. against this dynamic backdrop, individual asean countries have been strengthening their economies and competitiveness. collectively, asean integration is quickening and deepening. in january this year, asean leaders committed to establish by 2015 – five years ahead of the original target – an asean economic community. in november, the leaders will, at their summit in singapore, issue a legally - binding blueprint to implement the asean economic community. asean will eventually evolve into a single market with free flow of goods, services, investment and talent. for investors, an integrated market of half a billion people will be an attractive investment proposition. for financial institutions, it will mean more projects to finance and more wealth to manage. asean ’ s combined gdp of us $ 1trillion is larger than most economies. it is, in fact, bigger than india ’ s us $ 890billion and more that a third of china ’ s us $ 2. 6trillion. in addition, the asean economic community will boost the region ’ s gdp by 10 %. to benefit from the growth of china and india, asean is negotiating ftas with these two giants. they are targeted for completion

goh chok tong : building a brighter future for asia together keynote address by mr goh chok tong, senior minister of the republic of singapore and chairman of the monetary authority of singapore, at the nomura asia equity forum 2007, singapore, 4 july 2007. * * * welcome to singapore. i thank nomura for holding its fourth asia equity forum here, and for bringing together this diverse group of companies, financial institutions and investors. i hope that this forum will serve as a platform for forging new business relationships and conceiving new growth opportunities. last week, the world economic forum on east asia hosted more than 300 leaders from business, politics, government, civil society and media in singapore. the mood was upbeat. the overall feeling was that 10 years after the financial crisis, asia has emerged stronger and its growth built on firmer foundations. the belief was that despite some challenges ahead, asia would continue to rise. as leaders of governments and companies, we have to anticipate the future. i am not suggesting that we do this with a crystal ball but we should have a mental road - map of the terrain ahead. this will help us position ourselves to seize the opportunities, manage the risks and devise strategies for growth. this morning, i would like to share with you how i see asia ’ s regional architecture evolving, and how we are building a brighter future. i will take a medium term timeframe as i believe this is more relevant to business planning. asia ’ s share of global wealth let us start by taking a look at asia ’ s share of global wealth to see how far it has come, and where it is projected to go. back in 1980, asia accounted for 19 % of global gdp in ppp ( purchasing power parity ) terms. today, asia ’ s share stands at 35 %. in 2020, this is expected to rise to 45 %. compare this with america and the eu. each accounted for roughly 21 % of global gdp in 1980 and 2005. both are expected to see their share drop to 19 % by 2020. let us look at another measure. asia ’ s share of global exports in 1980 was 14 %. it doubled to 27 % in 2006. by 2020, this is expected to rise to 35 %. the picture is the same for asia ’ s share of global outward fdi ( foreign direct investment ) stock. in 1980 it was 5. 9 %. by last year, it doubled to 11. 4 %