lim hng kiang : trade links and business opportunities for singapore congratulatory remarks by mr lim hng kiang, deputy chairman of the monetary authority of singapore and minister for trade and industry, at the daiwa securities group 35th anniversary, singapore, 25 june 2007. * * * your excellency mr takaaki kojima, ambassador of japan to singapore, mr. shigehara suzuki, president & ceo daiwa securities group inc., mr. shin yoshidome, president daiwa securities smbc, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen. good evening, i am delighted to be here this evening for the joyous occasion of daiwa securities group ’ s 35th anniversary in singapore. this marks yet another important milestone for daiwa, and your continued commitment to singapore. daiwa ’ s growth story in singapore set up in 1972, daiwa has grown from strength to strength over the years. from the early collaboration in 1971 with development bank of singapore to issue the first asian dollar bond, daiwa has over the years expanded to provide a full spectrum of financial services. today, all of daiwa ’ s major business units are represented in singapore, covering securities brokerage, investment banking, asset management and more recently, wealth management as well. singapore has also grown to become a key node in daiwa ’ s overseas network, managing your business operations in south asia & oceania. i am encouraged to hear that on the occasion of daiwa ’ s 35th anniversary celebrations, you have also announced plans to boost activities in singapore and the region. i understand these new activities include m & a and private equity investments. these are all very positive developments and you will be joining a vibrant community of financial institutions here in singapore. japan and the region ’ s recovery and growth daiwa ’ s increased focus in south asia attests to the dynamism of the region. not only has the region shown resilience, it is now powering ahead. led by asean economies such as vietnam, which is surging ahead strongly, india, pakistan and the middle east too are beckoning out to investors with their growth prospects. trade and investments within the asian region, and between asia and the middle east continues to grow. notably, japanese foreign direct investments into asean has been increasing steadily again since 2003. in fact, it has reached more than us $ 6. 4 billion1 which even outpaced that into china in 2006. the japanese economy too, continues to impress. economic

zero cost, with just three clicks on their mobile phones, regardless of which bank app they use. three, a trusted data exchange so that individuals and corporates can access all their relevant data in digital form for purposes of carrying out digital transactions. in singapore, we established myinfo, a platform which allows residents to access via their mobile devices more than 100 of their personal particulars and share them with third party service providers through open, secure apis. second critical enabler - connectivity and collaboration. the full potential of fintech can only be realised if our systems are inter - connected across borders, and there is active public - private collaboration to drive innovation. let me give two examples. one, cross - border payments connectivity. it is not enough that we can pay one another digitally within our countries. be it for migrant workers or students or small and medium enterprises, it is the ability to send money across borders cheaper, faster, and more securely that really matters for efficiency and productivity. singapore has successfully connected its instant payment infrastructure paynow to thailand's promptpay and to india's unified payments interface ( upi ). we hope one day we can also connect with countries here in africa, including rwanda. two, platforms for human collaboration. for all the benefits of digital connectivity, face - to - face engagements remain key for innovation. take for example, the singapore fintech festival - a knowledge platform catering to the global fintech community, where participants come to learn and do things together. last year's festival attracted more than 62, 000 participants from over 115 countries. i am very happy this collaboration is now expanding its reach in africa and in europe – through this inaugural inclusive fintech forum in kigali, and next week, the second edition of the point zero forum in zurich. let me conclude with where i started – everything we do in fintech must serve a larger purpose. it must help to solve real world problems, so that people are better off. everything that i have mentioned about digital infrastructure and connectivity is well within the capacity of africa to achieve. in fact, you have a unique opportunity to leapfrog legacy systems and vested interests, and build a modern digital economy and society, from the ground up on a clean slate. this room is filled with innovators, investors, business leaders, and policy makers from around the continent. together, you can shape a future where technology and finance 2 / 3 bis - central bankers'speeches converge to