, they have been following the trend in setting up sovereign wealth funds. unfortunately, these capital flows had made those countries vulnerable to the occurrence of dutch disease, excessive capital and exchange rate volatility. today we are meeting for the 5th meeting of the world e - money council. e - money is gradually becoming an important element of the infrastructure of a modern economy. there exists different synonyms and definitions of e - money, but anything where value is exchanged electronically and by contrast, not using physical form of money, is generally accepted as e - money. all of us do very much appreciate the convenience of the ability to pay by plastic. card payments as well as e - money transactions have systematically grown to account for a big slice of spending in the retail economy. the ability to make and receive payments with confidence is the centre stage of any commercial activity. the smooth functioning of the market infrastructure for enabling payment and settlement systems is essential for market and financial stability as well as for economic efficiency. the public policy objectives common to all stakeholders are to enhance public confidence, safety, integrity, access to finance and efficiency of payments systems. consequently, to facilitate cross - border trade and investment flows, the appropriate payment instruments, clearing mechanisms and settlements systems must be in place. allow me here to talk of our own involvement in regional initiatives. the bank of mauritius is the settlement bank in the repss set - up, which enables for the cross - border payment settlement needs of comesa countries. the bank is actively pursuing discussions to extend this platform beyond comesa. another initiative of the bank, which came into effect last september related to the cheque truncation system ( cts ), which refers to the clearing of cheques based on digital images of cheques. this initiative ultimately attempts to eliminate potential fraud and forgery risks while ensuring faster clearing of cheques. however, the advent of e - money raises a number of challenges for central banks : will e - money always be variants of the national currency of a country? can central banks account for e - money in circulation? will they still have the monopoly of money issuance and therefore dictate monetary policies? and what about the impact on regulation and anti - money laundering? ladies and gentlemen, allow me to quote elbert hubbard, the philosopher ( 1856 – 1915 ), who said that “ the world is moving so fast these days that the man who says it can ’ t be done is generally interrupted by someone doing it. ” i will

support of the eib once more and appreciate that it has recognised the importance of smes and their contribution to the mauritian economy as has been rightly pointed out by the eib vice president, mr sakellaris, responsible for africa, caribbean and pacific lending operations : “ the european investment bank recognises the essential economic role played by small and medium sized companies. we are pleased to be able to continue to facilitate private sector investment in mauritius through a valuable relationship with the mauritius leasing company limited. ” 1 the mauritius leasing company limited was the first leasing company to be established in 1987. since then, it has developed into an innovative and competitive company leading in various fields. indeed, it was the first leasing company to be granted a deposit taking business licence by the bank of mauritius in september 1995, the first leasing company to issue debenture stocks and the first leasing company to be listed on the stock exchange of mauritius. with total assets of over rs3 billion and market share of 25 % of the leasing sector, the company has recently embarked on islamic financing being the first leasing company to offer ijara financing. today, another milestone has been achieved with the signing of the line of credit of eur5 million with the eib. i have no doubt that this agreement will give an impetus to the sme sector in mauritius and will encourage an entrepreneurship culture that will drive the future of our economy. however, it is worth pointing out that financing smes is different as market information on family and smaller businesses is not as robust and efficient as it is for larger businesses. credit providers must have effective risk management practices in place together with an understanding of the nature of business of the small entrepreneur to be able to service the sector in an effective manner. a deep customer relationship and strong knowledge of small businesses are fundamental for the success of the sme sector. ladies and gentlemen, let me end by quoting the words of the honourable vice - prime minister and minister of finance and economic development in his budget speech 2012 : “ in times of crisis smes are the most vulnerable. and in a world of rising competition they have to struggle to stay relevant and profitable. yet when they do succeed, they can make an irreplaceable contribution to the economy ”. thank you. joint communique issued by the mauritius leasing company limited and the european investment bank on 19 december 2011. bis central bankers ’ speeches