rundheersing bheenick : becalmed – but still on course welcome address by mr rundheersing bheenick, governor of the bank of mauritius and vice - chairman of the association of african central banks ( aacb ), at the opening ceremony of the 2013 symposium of governors preceding the 37th assembly of governors of the aacb, balaclava, mauritius, 22 august 2013. * * * it is an immense privilege for me to welcome you all today on the occasion of this symposium on financial inclusion on the eve of the 37th assembly of the aacb – the association of african central banks. this is an historic occasion both for mauritius and for the bank of mauritius. we are hosting the assembly meeting and the symposium of the association for the first time in the history of our small island - state. there are indeed many firsts : this is the very first time the aacb is meeting off - shore – away from the african mainland. it is the first time that aacb annual meetings are witnessing such a record attendance ; and also the first time that we are having in our midst the general manager of the bank for international settlements, the president of the african development bank, and the secretary - general of the islamic financial services board. we have all of africa here, and when we include the flagship institution of the g - 20, we have almost all the world represented under one roof, bearing testimony to the growing interest in the happenings on this great continent. and from africa itself – just to give you an indication of the representation − from north africa we have our chairman, governor laksaci of algeria ; from the west we have governor sanusi of nigeria ; from central africa, we have governor nchama of banque des etats de l ’ afrique centrale ; from the east we have governor mutebile of uganda, and from the south we have governor marcus of south africa – a grand total of 32 governors and heads of central bank delegations representing 44 countries. i welcome you all here today. i wish the meeting great success and hope your stay here will be fruitful and worthwhile for you all. we are here to discuss what is emerging from the g20 financial inclusion action plan to improve the livelihoods of the poor, and to support micro small and medium enterprises, the engines of economic growth and job creation – in much of the world, and not just in africa. at the time governors decided upon the theme of

as sars, and over a longer period of time. quite apart from its effects on individuals and families, negative equity has broader economic implications. it has an enervating effect on spending. and it adds to the pressures on the banking system, although it should be added that the delinquency ratio on mortgages continues to be very low. this is, i think, attributable partly to the fortitude with which homeowners in negative equity have borne the problem, and partly to the willingness of most banks to restructure loans in cases of difficulty. the community and the banking sector have coped with this problem extremely well. it is to be hoped that stabilisation in property prices will help to contain and gradually reduce negative equity. nevertheless, the problem is likely to be with us for some time to come. the role of the hkma the question arises of what is the role of a central bank - or, more specifically, of a central banking institution like the hkma - in an environment such as this. in my view, the role is quite straightforward : it is to sustain a monetary and banking environment that is conducive to resolving the economic and fiscal problems that face our community - not just in the public sector, but also in businesses and households. this is not the passive, static role that it may seem, as the maintenance of a rule - based monetary system in the form of the link misleadingly suggests. indeed, there is the scope - and often the need - for an active and imaginative use of financial, supervisory, communication and other skills. the degree of openness and the relatively small size of hong kong's financial system, against the background of globalisation, mean that the maintenance of monetary and banking stability is a particularly difficult task. there is also the requirement, implicit in the basic law, to look ahead, and in particular, to develop the financial infrastructure that will secure hong kong's position as an international financial centre and provide it with the means to build on that position. and there are other important tasks, such as seeking to help the government in its efforts to contain the fiscal deficit by achieving a favourable return on the fiscal reserves deposited with the exchange fund - subject always to meeting the other investment objectives of the fund. all of these tasks present challenges to keep me and my colleagues busy enough. but there have also been suggestions that the hkma should take further steps to help stimulate growth. i have already mentioned