are seeing an increasing variety of products and services, ranging from islamic banking products and sukuk, to islamic equities, islamic funds and takaful. 5. this remarkable market deepening process has not been retarded by the challenging financial landscape. despite the global financial crisis and european sovereign debt problems, the islamic capital markets have shown unparalleled resilience over the past few years. in particular, the sukuk market climbed to new heights for the fourth year in a row, with global sukuk issuance exceeding us $ 130 billion in 2012, three times higher than that before the global financial crisis. 2 source : kfh research. source : kfh research. bis central bankers ’ speeches strengths of hong kong in developing islamic finance 6. hong kong is well positioned to add momentum to the globalisation of islamic finance. as a free and open economy and major international financial centre, hong kong has developed a highly liquid and deep capital market with a strong presence of international financial intermediaries and a diverse base of borrowers and investors, a well - established financial infrastructure, a sound legal system, a transparent regulatory framework and a simple tax regime. 7. in addition to these general capabilities in financial intermediation, hong kong can play a unique and pivotal role in bridging the investment needs from the middle east and the funding needs in mainland china. 8. many middle east investors are now actively looking for investment opportunities beyond their domestic borders to diversify their investment portfolios. this trend has been supported by the huge pool of oil - driven liquidity in the middle east. last year alone, oil revenues in the gulf cooperation council countries were estimated to be about us $ 700 billion. 3 mainland china has been one of their favourite investment destinations given its strong economic growth and emerging market opportunities. 9. on the other side, mainland china is facing huge funding needs for infrastructure development projects. as china ’ s global financial centre, hong kong is an important conduit for mainland companies to access the international markets and the preferred offshore capital raising centre for mainland issuers over the past decade. this is apparent from the fact that over half of our stock market capitalisation is mainland - related and from the high participation of mainland entities in our dim sum bond market. 10. against this backdrop, we believe hong kong is well - placed to meet the strong investment demand from the middle east and other parts of the world for mainland - related islamic financial products

caleb m fundanga : bank of zambia retirees talking notes by dr caleb m fundanga, governor of the bank of zambia, at the luncheon in honour of bank of zambia retirees, bank of zambia, lusaka, 12 december 2006. * * * • deputy governor – administration • directors • ladies and gentlemen • retirees and potential retirees in our midst some people say “ retirement is wonderful ; it is described by many as doing nothing without worrying about getting caught at it ”. that is to say, you now become accountable to yourself for your actions! retirement marks an important milestone in one ’ s life, it is so important that in many cases you have to consult, and reflect extensively before you take that very important decision. it is a day one should not only anticipate during ones working life, but also plan for. retirement can occur voluntarily as the case is with vess, by attaining the age of 55 as provided by statute or prematurely due to a misfortune such as failing health. in all circumstances one must plan for the event. ladies and gentlemen, it is for this reason that the bank has found it befitting to host a luncheon in your honor, by recognizing all the hard work that you have put in the bank in the many years of service. admittedly, relationships between the bank and ex - members of staff have in certain cases not been so good. looking ahead, i wish to take this opportunity to state that despite the bad experiences in the past, the bank continues to extend an arm of friendship that aims to foster better relationships between the exemployees and the bank. we shall continue to regard you as members of the bank ’ s extended family. as retirees, we consider most of you as persons with vast experience and expertise coupled with a huge reservoir of institutional knowledge, which if natured well, can be a great source of information for future generations. the bank will endeavour to invite you to various functions as retirees whenever opportunities arise, especially when we organize historical events. we consider you as an important part of the bank ’ s history. ladies and gentlemen, there are many ways of leaving employment including dismissal, discharge, resignation or even death. in my view, retirement is the most admirable of them all. it is the ripe way of leaving formal employment, and therefore, a goal that every employee strives for. i congratulate you for achieving this. retirement should not be viewed as an