the purpose of creating, elaborating, and prototyping innovative solutions to clearly defined problem statements. recall that ocean tides present us with both opportunities and risks. the fact that humanity today is better able to understand, predict and master ocean tides should give us encouragement for the future of finance. the goal of a relevant, safe and socially responsible financial system can be attained by focusing our energies toward this shared goal in which we all have a critical stake. much like a “ rising tide that lifts all boats ”, the actions and choices that we make within the financial system do not just affect the provision of financial services, but have important implications for the well being of society and our economic prospects as a nation. we owe this not only to ourselves and others at this point in time, but especially to our future generations. with that in mind, this event provides a valuable opportunity for us to reflect on a broad range of issues that can help us move forward with greater confidence. let me leave you with three questions to ponder as you do so : first, what are the barriers preventing the industry from working together more closely to unlock the true potential of finance? second, have firms in the industry achieved the right balance in their adoption of technology in finance and capacity to manage the attendant risks? third, how can we scale financial innovation to create greater value for society, including 4 / 5 bis central bankers'speeches advancing inclusive and responsible finance as well as the sustainability agenda? on that note, it gives me great pleasure to formally launch myfintech week and the financial industry conference. i wish all of you an informative and productive week ahead. 5 / 5 bis central bankers'speeches

put in place an intermediation system that will channel the surplus savings in both these regions into productive investments. it is in this context that the islamic capital market, in particular the sukuk market will serve as an important avenue to efficiently mobilise longer term funds to meet these funding requirements. the global experience has shown that the lack of well developed bond markets brings with it vulnerabilities arising from over - reliance on financing from the banking sector. this has often resulted in funding mismatches with adverse implications on financial stability. the development of the bond market allows for access to funding with the appropriate maturities, thus avoiding the funding mismatches. it also allows for the diversification of risks by issuers and investors. the central merit of the sukuk structure is that it is based on real underlying assets. the ijarah sukuk for example – an islamic bond which applies a sales and leaseback arrangement – is an asset - backed instrument providing continuous security to the investor. this approach discourages over - exposure of the financing facility beyond the value of the underlying asset, given that the issuer cannot leverage in excess of the asset value. in addition, islamic finance requires that the financing must be channelled for productive purposes, such as for project financing, rather than for speculative activities. the risk exposure is therefore to the project and not to the uncertainties or activities that have no real economic benefits. islamic financial intermediation therefore has the potential role of contributing towards financial stability. in the current environment, the demand for sukuks significantly exceeds the supply. today, the global sukuk market, denominated in international currencies, is estimated to be usd18 billion. if domestic sukuk issuance is included, it has now exceeded usd50 billion. although the size of the market may seem modest by global standards, the sukuk market has been registering an impressive average growth of 40 per cent per annum. the phenomenal demand has been spurred by the high levels of surplus savings and reserves in asia and gulf regions. asia has a savings rate which is higher than any other region in the world and is expected to remain between 30 and 40 per cent of gdp for many years to come. the sukuk market brings with it many benefits to both issuers and investors. issuers can benefit from the huge increase in liquidity in the islamic world, and can tap on these new sources of funds. raising funding from the islamic bond