financial crisis. prioritizing risk management is even more important for insurance companies. this is due to the fact the core activity of insurance involves risk - taking and risk - transfer, and that insurance risks are usually long - tailed. under the risk based supervisory framework, corporate governance and risk management has always been an integral part of bank negara ’ s supervisory assessment of insurance institutions. to form a supervisory view of an institution, bank negara evaluates how an institution manages the inherent risks within its significant areas of activity. the bank also assesses the quality of the oversight and control functions and tests the resilience of the institutions to different risks under stress conditions. therefore, it is critical for an insurance company ’ s internal policies and control mechanisms to be effective in shaping the desired risk profile. this risk profile should commensurate with the level of capital and capabilities of the company. the bank also initiated, in 2008, the financial institutions directors ’ education ( fide ) program to promote good corporate governance and risk management practices. feedback from the directors who attended the program revealed a deeper appreciation of the importance of sound corporate governance and active engagement of the board in risk management and strategic issues. we have also observed that the practices of financial institutions in malaysia showed evidence of strengthened risk governance culture. in particular, we observed higher commitment by board members, strengthened authority of the chief risk officer ( cro ), and more comprehensive oversight of risks. it is important to recognize that risk management should not be a “ black - box ” discussion that is confined to high level management. risk management should be an enterprise - wide process involving all levels of business functions. the top level management is responsible for putting in place a well - defined risk governance framework and formulating the appropriate risk strategies. at the operational level, the roles of the business units are to ensure that key risks are appropriately identified, assessed and mitigated. we are all aware, therefore, that risk management is a dynamic and iterative process. risk management is not a one - off exercise. instead, it is a continuous cycle. hence, there should be genuine awareness, ownership and accountability of risks throughout the company. every employee should see himself or herself as a risk manager! it is exciting to see the breath of the topics for this conference. and it is even more encouraging to see risk experts from different countries like the united kingdom, hong kong, singapore, philippines and malaysia coming together to exchange information and experience. i am also pleased to

prospects of the region as it increasingly becomes an important growth centre in the world economy. with china now becoming malaysia ’ s largest trading partner, bank negara malaysia and the people ’ s bank of china have entered into a bilateral currency swap arrangement in 2009. this swap arrangement serves as a key platform to promote trade and investment linkages between both countries. in march of this year, bank negara malaysia established a reuters page for the rmb / myr exchange rate for trade - related settlements, with 11 banking institutions offering the facility to malaysian companies. a cost - effective arrangement is now being finalised to provide the option for exporters and importers to settle bilateral trade obligations in local currency by the middle of this year. this will complement the existing facilities that are already being provided by commercial banks in the settlement of trade in rmb. bank negara malaysia has also signed a memorandum of understanding with the china banking regulatory commission in 2009 to further strengthen the framework for cooperation and collaboration between both authorities, and to promote regional financial integration. this mou provides the platform for both regulatory agencies to share information, to ensure the enforcement of prudential rules and regulations and to undertake pre - emptive actions towards ensuring the sound development of financial institutions operating in both the respective jurisdictions. this mou also provides an established mechanism to enhance cooperation in areas that will be mutually beneficial for the development of the financial sector in both countries. with respect to the performance of the malaysian financial sector, it has demonstrated its resilience throughout the recent global financial crisis. financial intermediation has remained intact with the banking institutions in a strong position to support the economy. this has been reinforced by fiscal and monetary measures to ensure adequate access to financing by all segments of the private sector. malaysia has also pursued its longer term strategy to enhance the role of the financial sector in supporting the transition to become a high valueadded, high income economy. despite the challenging economic environment in 2009, key liberalisation measures were introduced as part of this strategy to enhance the longer term vision for the financial sector to facilitate this economic transformation. let me conclude my remarks. we look forward to icbc ’ s commitment and contribution towards promoting greater economic and financial linkages between china and malaysia. we congratulate you on this historic occasion and we welcome your presence into the malaysian financial system.