foresee considerable headroom to grow further. the investment thesis is compelling – mainland china ’ s solid economic fundamentals, rmb internationalisation, inclusion of rmb bonds in major indices, etc. and from an investor ’ s perspective, the nominal yield of around 4 % on 10 - year government credit is simply attractive. the stock connect schemes have been running smoothly and next year, a - share will be included in the msci emerging markets index, which is tracked by some us $ 1. 6 trillion in assets. this will be a big boost to stock connect trading. the rqfii investment quota for hong kong has also been significantly increased to rmb500 billion july this year. in short, hong kong offers unparalleled access to mainland markets and will continue to be the centre of action for market participants seeking to capitalise on the mainland china story. another exciting development is the guangdong - hong kong - macao bay area. it is an 1 / 3 bis central bankers'speeches ambitious plan to build a cosmopolitan cluster covering hong kong, macao, and nine other coastal cities in the pearl river delta. with a combined gdp of some us $ 1. 3 trillion, it will be the fifth largest economy in asia, just after south korea. it will also be one of the wealthiest regions in mainland china. i am sure this greater bay area will provide a bigger stage for financial institutions to launch and expand their business. the planning is still at an early stage and we expect more details will be available soon. belt & road initiative on infrastructure financing, the high - level belt & road forum for international cooperation in beijing last may has added considerable momentum to infrastructure developments. hong kong has been positioning itself as the infrastructure hub to facilitate the related financial activities. a lot has been done through the infrastructure financing facilitation office, or iffo in short, set up under the hkma in 2016. a key mission of iffo is to build and work with a cluster of stakeholders in the infrastructure financing and investment space. closed to 80 partners have joined the iffo platform since its launch and today, i am pleased to welcome the city of london as the newest partner to iffo. i believe city of london will serve as the linkage to foster partnership between the financial institutions of london and hong kong to leverage on the tremendous opportunities in infrastructure financing and investment. being an investor itself, the hkma is aware of the challenges when it comes to infrastructure investment. i think there

joseph yam : reflections relevant to the banking profession in hong kong speech by mr joseph yam, chief executive of the hong kong monetary authority, at the joint hkab – hkib dinner in honour of mr joseph yam's retirement as chief executive of the hong kong monetary authority, hong kong, 28 september 2009. * * * peter, friends and colleagues of the banking profession, not only am i deeply touched by all of the kind and generous words that have been said this evening, but i have also been greatly impressed by the skits and other entertainments put on this evening. i had always assumed that whatever surplus talents bankers may have were always used up on the golf course. now i know that these talents stretch in other, more cultural directions. thank you all for such an enjoyable and unforgettable evening. this is a convivial occasion, and the last thing you will want to hear is a long and earnest speech from me. however, this will be my last formal event with you as monetary authority. and i think you all know me well enough to expect more than just a few words of gratitude – however heartfelt – for this splendid event. i shall be brief. much has been said and written recently about the origins, progress and implications of the global financial crisis that erupted with such fury just over a year ago. i shall therefore simply offer a few reflections that i hope will be relevant to the banking profession in hong kong. the first observation is that hong kong has, so far, escaped the worst. we have not experienced a collapse of our financial system, or a nationalisation of our major banks, or other forms of government intervention that will burden taxpayers for many years to come. in fact, our banking system has been resilient throughout the crisis, and the measures taken early on to reinforce confidence and ensure liquidity were effective and at minimal cost to the public purse. this is not an observation to be made with any sense of gloating or complacency. we all recall the intense anxiety of those days, and many in our community have suffered losses as a result of mistakes and mismanagement in other financial systems. nevertheless, our well - capitalised banks have been well prepared for shock. crisis management, particularly when public confidence momentarily came under strain, was effective. the generally cautious approach of our bankers, your refusal to get carried away by innovation, helped minimise the damage : this is a vindication of your reputation for