and presentation of data on the money supply ( monetary aggregates ), banks'interest rates on approved credits and accepted deposits, and many other data on the banking sector ; • balance of payments statistics that includes processing and compiling data on the developments in the balance of payments in the republic of macedonia ; and • external debt statistics that includes processing and presentation of data on the foreign debt of the country. the national bank has developed all these major sets of macroeconomic statistics in line with the international recommendations and standards. the harmonization of the method of developing such statistics with the international recommendations and standards has permanently been subject to verification by international institutions and organizations, primarily by the international monetary fund, as an institution that creates the methodological standards and recommendations in the area of central banking statistics. i would like to take this opportunity to mention the report of the so - called imf rosc ( report of the observance on standards and codes ) mission, where the assessments of the central bank statistics are particularly positive, i. e. the development of the nbrm monetary and balance of payments statistics is largely harmonized with the international recommendations and standards. we are particularly focused on the given comments and recommendations for the purposes of further improvement and development of the statistics. we, however, consider that we still lack a sufficiently good statistics, but we have a good foundation for that purpose. by ascertaining this, i do not only imply to the necessity of ongoing methodological harmonization of the various statistics with the international standards and what has not been done in this light, but particularly to the satisfaction of the new needs and requirements for new statistical researches. challenges of the statistics the change in the conditions of the operating environment of the central banks brings about a change in their needs and interests in statistical data. i would therefore like to underline several events in the economy that happened over the recent several years that considerably affected the development of the statistics and that indicate the need of new statistical researches : • first, the rapidly increased role of the financial sector that significantly affected the dynamics, quality and structure of the economy in the future. for the central banks, this means an obligation to make deeper analyses in this area, requiring an availability of more detailed and relevant statistical data. here, i especially refer to more detailed data on and from other financial institutions ( investment funds, private pension funds, insurance companies, etc. ) and to the new financial instruments developed in line with the development of the financial market. • second

our part, we will continue to fine tune our supervisory approach to support the growth of the industry. competition is a necessary ingredient for growth, but there are many areas where the industry can work together. in particular, the industry should work together to promote best practices in risk management and professional standards. mas will continue to support efforts by the industry to promote sustainable and healthy growth by maintaining an appropriate regulatory framework that recognises innovation. the risk - based capital framework and risk - based supervisory approach give room for institutions to innovate and take more risks as long as adequate controls and risk management practices are in place. liberalisation of the general insurance industry mas will also continue to encourage greater participation from a wide range of global insurance players in our market. in 2000, we lifted the moratorium on admission of new direct general insurers and removed the 49 % limit on foreign shareholding in locally - owned direct insurers. since then, the industry landscape has evolved considerably. today, we have a diverse network of 58 direct insurers, many of whom are specialist insurers, 27 professional reinsurers and 60 captives. most of the top international insurance and reinsurance brokers are also here. we continue to see interest from more players seeking to establish a presence here. we will consider all applicants that are well - capitalised, have an acceptable rating, and are managed by experienced professionals with a good track record even if the company is newly established. singapore as an insurance hub singapore has achieved a critical mass of insurance players and activities, becoming an insurance hub. this critical mass means a wide range of insurance products and services are available. singapore is a logical choice for those seeking to purchase insurance because they know that there are capacity and expertise here. indeed, singapore serves as an important regional reinsurance centre as well as the largest captive domicile in asia. asia holds many opportunities for insurance. china and india's emergence as economic powerhouses have driven cross - border trade and fuelled economic growth in asia. japan has rediscovered its vigour. many southeast asian economies are enjoying vibrant economic growth. the resultant wealth creation will increase demand for insurance. to increase our competitiveness as a regional insurance and reinsurance centre, and retain a greater share of the asian business that traditionally flows outside asia, it is important for singapore to deepen its pool of underwriting and broking expertise, especially in the more specialised risks, and to increase the capacity to underwrite such niche risks.