to a larger variety of enterprises, the foreign exchange market has grown rapidly. the trading volume in the first half of 2007 was 4. 5 times that in the corresponding period of 2005. in the future, in order to support overseas investment and operation of chinese enterprises, we will make fresh efforts to develop the foreign exchange market, promote products diversification, and create a more favorable environment for instrument innovation. second, there will be stronger financial policy support. the foreign exchange administration reform will be deepened by lifting unnecessary controls and simplifying procedures to provide foreign exchange convenience to enterprises investing and operating abroad. last year, the quota limit of foreign exchange purchase for overseas investment purpose was abolished to satisfy the need of enterprises in outward investment. in the next step, we will lift the control in terms of verification of sources of foreign exchange fund, examination prior to foreign exchange purchase, and repatriation of outward investment profit ; we will allow enterprises to conduct outward investment with their own or purchased foreign exchange, and make it more convenient to use and transfer foreign exchange ; research will be made to explore channels for domestic enterprises and financial institutions to support enterprises investing and operating abroad with foreign exchange. third, financial services will be improved to support eligible enterprises to invest and operate in other countries. qualified financial institutions will be encouraged to establish overseas operations, and explore equity investment in overseas financial institutions through merger and acquisition, in order to provide enterprises with convenient financial services in their overseas investment and operation ; enterprises investing and operating abroad are encouraged to take advantage of financing tools in host countries such as lending, asset securitization, stock offering, bond issue, project financing, and etc ; domestic investment entities will be allowed to provide financing guarantee to their overseas subsidiaries subject to approval. fourth, regional financial platforms will be used to encourage enterprises to take part in international economic cooperation. china is a member of various regional development banks including asia development bank, africa development bank, west africa development bank, pta bank and caribbean development bank, and has applied to join the inter - american development bank. good cooperative relations have been developed with these regional development institutions. the people ’ s bank has signed bilateral technical cooperation agreement or established bilateral technical cooperation fund with the africa development bank, west africa development bank, and caribbean development bank. it is desirable to use these regional development banks as a platform for exchanges, and conduct project consulting and market research through bilateral technical cooperation fund and agreements, and better understand the business and legal environment of host countries. this will

will be the path towards building future leaders and respected finance professionals. it will be a hub where the best minds in finance will come together to contemplate, reflect and discuss on the frontiers of finance. in the pipeline are also plans to develop a mentorship programme supported by financial industry leaders, including bankers for fintech startups. this will expand horizons for ideation, enable cross - fertilisation of knowledge and boost startups in their journey to be successful ventures. this will be launched by the end of the year. guardians of the future with the acceleration of technology, the financial sector of the future will be vastly different from what it is today. fintech innovation, regulatory reforms, deepening integration and shifts in consumer demographics and preferences are some of the forces that will drive this change. future bankers of the malaysian financial sector will encounter opportunities and challenges not seen before. new jobs will be created and existing jobs will change or become extinct. automation will change the back and middle office functions. artificial intelligence will change how banking services are delivered to the consumer. data science and big data will change the way financial and data analytics are conducted. yet, the fact remains that we cannot predict the future with great certainty. in one of my speeches last year, i mentioned four possible scenarios on how the future of finance may unfold. the possibilities are exciting and almost limitless. the central bank ’ s role is to create an enabling environment for innovation to mushroom. in this environment, many will flourish but bankers who will really thrive will be those who are agile, pragmatic and flexible. i am optimistic, as bankers in malaysia are well placed to do this. most bankers are highly skilled. as at end of 2017, high - skilled workers formed around 75 % of the banking workforce. the salaries of bankers are also supported by relatively high levels of productivity. if there is any profession that is able to quickly adapt for the future, i believe it is the banking sector. this is proven by data. over the last three years, the banking sector has created close to 20, 000 jobs, reflecting its continued ability to anticipate and address shifts in the workforce needs. as job functions evolve, some will be dislocated. in this respect, it is critical for the industry to have in place mechanisms that support workforce transition, through retraining, reskilling and outplacement assistance. to facilitate this, in collaboration with the industry, bank negara malaysia will