reinforced by academic research, that enlargement will not only bring additional dynamism and growth to the ten newcomers, in speeding up their catching - up exercise, but will also contribute – positively and significantly to growth in the previous fifteen members. the pessimism that we observe in some sectors of the public opinion are not founded. let us all together take advantage of the additional dynamism that poland and the nine other new members are bringing to the european union. let us not forget that before the entry of spain and portugal we had the same gloomy sentiment in the public of the then previous “ 10 ”. after the “ 10 ” had become “ 12 ” that sentiment dissipated progressively in the face of all what spain and portugal had contributed to the “ 12 ” thank very much for your attention. m. przybyla and m. roma, “ does product market competition reduce inflation? evidence from eu countries and sectors ”, ecb working paper, no. 453.

, bringing the total number of takaful operators to nine ( 9 ). the new takaful licences are offered to joint ventures or consortiums of sound financial institutions with experience in islamic banking, takaful or insurance business. such joint ventures or consortiums that include foreign partners would enable the new takaful operators to leverage on the expertise, experience and infrastructure of their partner financial institutions. these are strong institutions from the middle east, the united kingdom and japan that agreed to combine efforts and share expertise and resources with malaysian institutions in these new ventures. in line with the liberalisation in the islamic banking industry, foreign equity interest of up to 49 % is allowed in the takaful entity to secure commitment of strong shareholders, and foster meaningful strategic alliances. for islamic banking, the bank has further liberalized our islamic financial industry by allowing the establishment of three new fully foreign - owned islamic banking institutions as part of the strategy to enhance integration with the international financial system and to strengthen inter - linkages with other economies. these foreign partners will provide strategic linkage for the expansion of the takaful and islamic banking businesses overseas. going forward, our aspirations are for malaysia to be the centre for efficient, progressive and robust islamic banking and takaful sectors which are internationally integrated. in realizing this vision, the industry has to play its role in giving unwavering commitments and collaborative efforts towards elevating the industry to new levels of dynamism. 26. let me conclude by saying that the future success of islamic finance will depend on the combined collaborative efforts of all stakeholders, namely the regulators, the scholars, the industry and market participants. in this regard, all parties should put in relentless efforts to continuously promote the development of islamic finance into one which is progressive, dynamic, responsive and sustainable. i sincerely believe that for all our sincere efforts towards realizing this objective, insyaallah, the almighty will shower us with his blessings, guidance and assistance. this reminds me of the essence of verse 69 of surah al ankabut : " and those who strive in our ( cause ), - we will certainly guide them to our paths. for verily allah is with those who do right. " on this note, i wish you a successful and productive seminar and wabillah hitaufik walhidayah. thank you.