, given the increasing interdependence among jurisdictions within the region and therefore the greater need for regional co - operation. the adb has the right institutional framework for promoting such co - operation, and i am glad to see that under the leadership of the president there has been increasing involvement of the adb in regional financial cooperation recently. i welcome the intention for adb to launch a review of its long - term strategic framework and the fact that this has been preceded by the work of the eminent persons group convened by the president last year. i am also happy to see emphasis being given in the report of the eminent persons group to financial sector development and financial integration in the region, among other operational priorities. i certainly hope that this emphasis in the report will be reflected, through the review process, in the long - term strategic framework. i feel also that such a strategic review should cover the governance structure of the adb as well, in order better to reflect the new economic realities and the asian heritage of the adb. hong kong looks forward to contributing appropriately to this review process and seeing a new long term strategy developed for adb that would reflect the consensus of its members and stakeholders. thank you.

together, we believe that adb and its partners in the region will go a long way in mobilising funds and building the capacity of developing members in delivering high - quality infrastructure projects. as an international financial and business centre in the region, hong kong, china has an active role to play in supporting and promoting infrastructure investment in asia. corporates, as well as national and multilateral development agencies including adb and ifc, have been making extensive use of hong kong, china ’ s deep financial markets in raising funds for infrastructure projects. joint ventures and funds have been set up in hong kong, china for identifying opportunities and managing investments in infrastructure projects in the region. we have also been seeing increasing offshore issuance of renminbi ( rmb ) bonds in our market to finance infrastructure projects. with the increasing use of rmb in trade and investment in the region, it is expected that the use of rmb in infrastructure financing will continue to rise. hong kong, china, as the largest offshore rmb centre with a wide range of rmb financial services, is well placed to support these infrastructure financing activities denominated in rmb. besides financial services, hong kong, china also has a pool of bis central bankers ’ speeches talents in professional services like construction and planning, surveying, engineering, project management, accounting, legal and arbitration, logistics, etc. firms and consultants of hong kong, china are well placed to take part and support infrastructure developments in the region. substantial investment is needed in many developing asian economies to break the infrastructure bottlenecks and move forward to the next stage of development. increasing cross - border connectivity will also promote greater trade and economic integration, unlocking the region ’ s growth potential. we are pleased to see that adb and national governments are making this a priority and taking meaningful steps to promote infrastructure investment in the region. as a member of the region, hong kong, china stands ready to contribute to this work. bis central bankers ’ speeches