done, we actively track the coordinates of agent banks to ensure that access is provided to sub - districts in need of financial access points. since its implementation in 2012, 95 % of sub - districts now have at least one financial access point, a significant increase from 2011. as at august 2013, there were 5, 661 agents and the total number of transactions has exceeded 25 million, with a total value of rm2. 8 billion. fourth, islamic finance can play a huge role in financial inclusion given the strong parallels between the two the concept of financial inclusion – to develop a prosperous, egalitarian economy that contributes towards social development and social justice – is very much in line with the core principles of the islamic economy, which place great emphasis on social justice, inclusive growth and equitable distribution of resources. in advancing the islamic financial inclusion agenda, crucial criteria such as injection of innovation and enhancement of products and services as well as distribution channels to reach targeted groups especially the rural areas are essential : bis central bankers ’ speeches one of such example in malaysia is the introduction of profit and risk sharing investment accounts, where savings are matched with funding required by smes for financing specific projects. greater outreach to microenterprises and smes can also be achieved through the wider application of equity - based structures in financing for islamic microfinance and smes. this contributes towards the overall objective of generating inclusive growth that enhances job creation. other financial products such as microtakaful and waqf can also provide a financial solution for lower income groups and small businesses. through islamic finance, we can also further explore the concept of agent banking or branchless banking to leverage on the role of traditional community centres such as mosques. this would harness more efficient means of outreach amongst muslims, which is of particular relevance in many oic members. another important sphere that has not been explored exhaustively, islamic financial institutions may also leverage on its large distribution network to facilitate the collection and mobilisation of zakat and waqf. fifth, proportionate regulation can achieve objectives of inclusion, stability and integrity proportionate regulation ensures that the costs of regulation do not outweigh the benefits of regulation and that regulation is commensurate to risks. of significance, proportionate regulation protects the stability and integrity of the financial sector, and at the same time encourages innovative financial inclusion solutions. it is important to recognise that regulation that is proportionate to risks does not necessarily equate to “ lighter regulation ” as many perceive

government securities have swiftly recovered to 3. 9 % from a peak of 4. 5 % last november, post - us elections, reflecting higher confidence in the malaysian bond market. we are currently the largest bond market in asean in terms of percentage over gdp. the malaysian bond market continues to be resilient and well - functioning. non - resident holdings of malaysian bonds have settled at a lower level of 26 % compared to its peak of 34. 7 %. however, we have observed a more diversified and well - balanced non - resident investor base in recent months and our surveillance indicates that composition of medium to long - term investors is now much higher. the participation of a diverse spectrum of non - residents, including central banks and sovereign funds, is pivotal in providing a more stable and balanced two - way flows. malaysia is constantly in top 20 global competitiveness index. malaysia is the world ’ s 34th largest economy. we are also consistently ranked among the world ’ s most competitive economies. these are externally driven indexes and are independently researched. in the world bank doing business report, malaysia scored better than the average oecd high income nations in terms of legal rights and credit information. our protection of businesses are also stronger with faster and higher recovery rate in cases of insolvency. in terms of talent development, attraction and retention, malaysia has consistently ranked in the top 20 of the imd world talent report. within the region, malaysian talents stand out due to our diversity. a key attraction for investors in malaysia remains the english proficiency of our workforce. we have maintained a top 15 ranking in the ef english proficiency index for the last 6 years. many multinational companies based in malaysia have taken note of this cultural diversity. the familiarity of our people with the numerous languages spoken within asia, including mandarin, arabic, tamil, urdu and malay allows for malaysia to be a natural choice for regional business operations. the flourishing of our global business services industry illustrates this point. google has established its center of excellence in cyberjaya. this centre would showcase a range of google for work products such as google apps for work and google cloud platform. malaysia always subscribes to global best practice and standards. from national statistics to macroeconomic management, international organisations like the imf and world bank have long acknowledged malaysia ’ s adherence to international best standards. a quick word on the impact of global standards on the real economy. our adherence to international standards has extended to the quality of our products. from precision semiconductor