##uous circle. i am impressed by the extensive work carried out by the world bank in its flagship study, and i once again thank them for their contribution to the economic development in the region through this work. ladies and gentlemen, with these brief opening remarks i hope i have conveyed how important i believe the topic of our conference is, and how pleased i am to see you all here to participate in the event. i wish all participants productive discussion in the coming two days. thank you.

a few firsts, including the introduction of the first exchange - traded bond index fund in asia, arranging for two asian markets to allow exchange - traded funds for the first time, and opening up the renminbi inter - bank bond market for the first time to foreign investors. the process leading up to the launch of asian bond funds has shown that cooperation between central banks in the region can successfully deal with a number of technical and conceptual issues, which bodes well for the further development of this initiative as well as potential initiatives in other areas of financial market development. the successful experience of abf has laid a strong foundation for enhanced regional cooperation by central banks to promote financial integration in asia. there seem to be at least three aspects in which further development of central bank cooperation may be useful. the first concerns the continuity of the research and discussion processes in the respective areas of central bank cooperation. continuity helps keep track of the emphases and priorities of regional members and promotes effectiveness of the ongoing collaboration efforts. the second aspect concerns the need to follow through cooperative initiatives that have been agreed upon by central banks in the region. the follow - through can be done effectively through intensified, and perhaps more conveniently organised, dialogue and information sharing. the third aspect concerns the approach towards central bank cooperation. there are many areas of common areas of interest among regional central banks, including monetary and financial stability, payment systems and reserve management, to name just a few. in short, there is a need to organise central bank cooperation in a more focused, coordinated and dedicated manner in order to pursue our common interests. today, with the world bank experts and policy - makers, regulators and private - sector participants of the region gathering here, the conference will offer us a good opportunity to exchange views on what is needed to further promote regional cooperation and financial integration in asia. we will also cover more specific subjects including the broadening and deepening of securities markets, the development of securitization and derivative markets, and the role of the contractual savings and asset management industries in the development of capital markets. as i have suggested at the outset, advances on these fronts will contribute to the overall gains from financial development through more effective financial intermediation, more efficient risk sharing and risk management, and increasing opportunities to make transactions between time zones smoother. each requires modifications in domestic regulations and institutions as well as significant coordination between jurisdictions. i believe that progress in one area will be reinforced by progress in the others in a virt