the past. in the case of thailand, inflation targeting is the best tool to ensure high output, sustainable growth, export competitiveness, prevention of a worsening of income distribution and a transparent and accountable central bank. the bank of thailand last year announced our explicit intention to control inflation, and the range of 0 to 3. 5 % of core inflation was announced in 23 may 2000. since the beginning of the year, we have seen the yield on 10 - year bonds drop from 7. 91 % per annum to 6. 1 %. while other factors may have helped toward this reduction of long term borrowing costs, i am sure that public confidence in our commitment to control inflation was certainly one of the important factors. … the first seminar we organized concentrated on the principles of inflation targeting and laid the overall groundwork. in this seminar, we will go deeper into its implementation, its relevance to emerging economies, and the problems that it may face in the environment of large public debt overhang. we are very fortunate indeed to have with us eminent speakers, most of them from countries that have successfully applied this technique. i therefore strongly urge the audience to take advantage of the presence of the experts by asking questions and airing your concerns to the fullest extent possible. i very much hope that by the end of the seminar, you will all become convinced.

in global finance given the need to recognise the importance of sustainable outcomes. there are high expectations of the financial industry to demonstrate responsible leadership that will also embrace a strong moral compass in its operations. education and professional development have a key role in bringing to the forefront these important issues for the industry. the establishment of ace will support and indeed, further propel efforts to raise the calibre and dynamism of talent across all levels in the industry. ace will provide a range of facilities for professional development and skills development including learning and training for all the different levels of financial specialisation. the institutions that are to be housed within ace have all embarked on measures to deliver programmes and qualifications that are benchmarked against leading education and training standards. the high quality talent that ace will develop will contribute to the vibrancy and progress of the malaysian financial industry. bis central bankers ’ speeches ace is an initiative spearheaded by the financial services industry and it will house 10 institutions, involved in education, training and standard setting. with its strategic location in kuala lumpur, ace has close proximity to the headquarters of financial institutions. its integrated facilities will foster and facilitate collaboration amongst banking, insurance, capital market and islamic finance industries to share intellectual capital, expert resources as well as benefit from economies of scale by the sharing of common infrastructure and facilities. today ’ s ground breaking ceremony marks the official start of the construction for the ace project. let me take this opportunity to congratulate those involved in the project to bring it to this stage of development. in particular, i would like to recognise the pivotal role played by the asian institute of finance, the asian institute of chartered bankers, and the heads of the affiliate institutions, for their commitment and dedication in taking this ace project forward as part of key infrastructure in skills and professional development and standards in the financial services industry. it is a significant milestone in transforming the financial education landscape for the financial services industry. bis central bankers ’ speeches