i believe that over the next two days we will get to see many more exciting products and projects that can inspire innovation ; broaden our understanding of the current technology landscape ; and help set the policy agenda for strengthening thailand ’ s and our region ’ s fintech ecosystems, especially to serve smes and consumers. seeing the extensive works put on by our staff and partners and many prominent leaders and individuals in attendance this morning make me certain that we are on the path towards fulfilling our goals. ladies and gentlemen, to attain the overall improvement in productivity, immunity, and inclusivity, the bank of thailand is committed to supporting adoption of financial technology by financial institutions and promoting fintech innovation while ensuring that key risks can be contained. throughout the next two days i look forward to personally interacting with all participants, to learn and find ways we can collaborate for the benefits of the thai and regional financial industries and our fintech ecosystems. thank you very much for participating in our very first bangkok fintech fair. i wish you all a successful and fruitful event. 7 - 7

disorderly unwinding of these balances, we are cautiously optimistic that responsible actions by all parties will prevent such an event. in our region, we have significant adjustments in domestic demand, underpinned by improved economic fundamentals. as a result, the surplus countries in our region continue to experience a gradual but significant decline in their current account balances, partly due to the acceleration in the rate of exchange rate appreciation in the region. importantly, some members of our constituency have been able to utilize the fiscal space arising from past reforms, which is a contributing factor behind the stronger demand in these countries. nonetheless, the concurrent challenge is to keep inflationary pressures under control while ensuring that strong domestic demand does not lead to a build - up of imbalances. 4. notwithstanding the baseline scenario, it is clear to us that the fund is correct in identifying the financial turmoil as the single greatest risk to growth. in the us, given the loss of confidence, the immediate priority for the authorities was to limit the financial contagion and counter the downside risks to growth. following that, the first line of defense was monetary policy and monetary operations to inject liquidity. the second line was fiscal stimulus. we view these actions as steps in the right direction, although one should also recognize the limitations of such policies at a time of impaired balance sheets and ebbing sentiments. the third line of defense was using public money to safeguard the stability of the financial system. in view of the systemic nature of the crisis and the potential for spillovers we appreciate the need for decisive policy actions and the drastic unorthodox measures. indeed, our own experience during the asian crisis was that adherence to a market - centric philosophy in an environment where markets have seized up is simply not tenable. at that time, we advocated a more pragmatic approach that prioritizes the resumption of credit activities in the financial markets. while welcoming the newly - apparent pragmatism shown by national authorities in advanced countries and international bodies like the imf, we caution that actions must be carefully designed to return the system to stability without unduly giving rise to moral hazard concerns. 5. admittedly, any attempt to draw lessons now will be tentative as the crisis has yet to run its full course, notwithstanding the recent collapse of one of the biggest investment banks, which many have taken as a nadir in this crisis. our own view is that until a full extent of exposure to these markets