through strategic partnerships with training providers, actively contributing towards industry - wide efforts to support the training agenda and continuous improvements to internal learning programmes. this is also the option that is by far more challenging, but ultimately the one that provides the optimal payoff for individual institutions, for our financial sector, and the economy. the magnitude of the task, however, demands our collective efforts to secure a sustainable pool of talent that will serve both the present as well as future needs of the industry. the industry also needs to participate in the formal learning programmes by the institutions of higher learning. it is encouraging to note that several have volunteered following the recent dialogue earlier this year organised by bank negara malaysia and the ministry of higher education. by contributing towards positive reforms in the academic curriculum and providing other forms of practical support, the industry is making an important investment in its own future. to take this effort further forward, bank negara malaysia is initiating an extensive programme to train and prepare at least 1, 000 deserving graduates for immediate placements in banking and insurance institutions. this effort will be undertaken in collaboration with the industry and training institutes and is aimed at boosting the supply of well - trained and competent personnel for the financial services industry. the selection process will be rigorous, and the training programme will be designed to produce first grade candidates for employment at the management trainee level. it is also hoped that foreign financial institutions will draw on their extensive global network to support the programme. i urge the industry to lend its full support to this effort which will ultimately benefit the industry. collectively, these efforts will go a long way towards preparing students well for productive careers in the financial services industry and to provide a strong foundation for the development of the future generation of leaders and captains of industry. the second area relates to financial inclusion. strategies that are aimed towards consumer outreach and promoting financial inclusion will serve to increase access to financial services for all segments of society, promote more balanced growth, while at the same time, providing new sources of revenue for the financial industry. significant efforts have been taken to strengthen the elements that support financial inclusion. this includes various outreach initiatives, including the consumer education programme, development of small and medium enterprises, increased public accessibility to financial information and greater access to advice and assistance. part of this effort is the development of a sustainable and commercially - driven microfinance industry in malaysia. in malaysia, there are at least 435, 000 micro enterprises, but only 13 % rely on financial institutions for funding. of importance is

have traveled on. as our previous experience has shown, we need to constantly recognize that strategies that serve well in today's environment would not necessarily be a formula for success in tomorrow's environment. in looking at the future terrain of the financial sector in malaysia, six trends are particularly important – first, the changing configuration of the global economy and global financial markets ; second, regional economic and financial integration ; third, financial sector development amidst increased liberalisation in the asian region ; fourth, increased role of domestic demand in the asian economies ; fifth, growing significance of islamic finance in the international financial system ; and finally, developments in the regulatory structures and approaches. it can be expected that all these trends will have a significant bearing on the future of the banking industry. first, the global economic configuration has been altered by the emergence of several large emerging economies into the global economy. this is especially evident in asia, where the rise of china, india and the south east asian economies have increased asia's global role. as a result, asia today features four 1 of the world's twelve largest economies and several of the fastest - growing economies. collectively as a region, asia contributes about 40 % of global output 2 and one - fourth of world trade. the region is also a significant net exporter of capital, holding two - thirds of the world's foreign exchange reserves and is the largest holder of the developed economies'sovereign bonds. one - quarter of fortune's top 500 global companies are asian corporations. this opens up tremendous business opportunities for malaysia as a part of this dynamic growth region. accompanying these changes has been the prevalence of abundant liquidity in the global financial markets, resulting in an intensified search for higher yields. these trends are encouraging flows into the capital markets of emerging economies, presenting new opportunities for wholesale banking and capital market related financial services. these flows, however, also pose potential risks of reversals in financial market conditions. this increases the need to ensure that we have the capacity to absorb or adjust to changing financial flows. a second significant trend shaping the future financial landscape is the intensification of regional economic and financial integration. economic integration through trade is already well - advanced in asia, with the share of intra - regional trade already more than half of the total trade in asia. more recently, however, greater financial integration at the regional level has been an important development, bringing complementary and mutually - reinforcing benefits to the economies in the region. intra - regional investments among the