zeti akhtar aziz : mobilising asean - building the future through partnership keynote address by dr zeti akhtar aziz, governor of the central bank of malaysia ( bank negara malaysia ), at the wharton global forum kuala lumpur 2016 “ mobilising asean : building the future through partnership ”, sasana kijang, kuala lumpur, 11 march 2016. * * * it is my very great pleasure to welcome you to kuala lumpur, malaysia for the wharton global forum 2016. over the years, the wharton community has very much recognised the potential of the asean region as a growing force in the global economy. indeed, in the recent five years, malaysia is the third country in asean to host this global forum ( bangkok in 2015 and jakarta in 2012 ) and while central bankers have been a recurring feature at the wharton forum, i do however believe that this is possibly the first time a central bank is the venue and host to the wharton global forum. we are really delighted to have this opportunity to be the host for this year ’ s wharton forum. i am particularly pleased to welcome you to sasana kijang, our central bank ’ s centre of excellence for learning and international cooperation. indeed, the word ‘ sasana ’ is a sanskrit word that means a meeting place. the building sasana kijang which opened its doors in 2011 was envisioned to be a global meeting place for learning, international knowledge exchange, collaboration and cooperation. today, it has evolved to become a truly global meeting place for thought leadership and collaboration, with the presence of several international organisations in the building and the regional and international meetings that are held here. being a central bank, our goal is to ultimately enhance our knowledge and capability to enable us to better serve society. this is not unlike joseph wharton ’ s vision for the wharton school to produce graduates who would become, what he referred to as, “ pillars of the state, whether in private or in public life ”. the collective strength of the asean region turning to the theme of the global forum – “ mobilising asean : building the future through partnership ”. founded almost half a century ago, asean is currently one of the fastestgrowing and most dynamic regions in the world. while at different stages of economic development, the ten economies of asean all share immense growth potential. the region has experienced a long - term average annual growth of more than 5 %, much higher than the global average, and this is expected to be sustained going forward

a wide range of activities. the asia school of business will offer two key differentiating value propositions : the emphasis on the practical application of business management education, to apply theories of the classroom in a broad range of organisational and institutional settings ; and to be a global knowledge and learning centre that focuses on insights, perspectives and expertise from the emerging world, especially the asian region. the ultimate vision is for the asia school of business to be a premier business school that develops transformative and principled leaders who will contribute to the advancement of the emerging world, particularly in asia. bank negara malaysia ’ s commitment to this collaboration is not only in providing the 20 - acre land that is in the green lung of kuala lumpur for the campus and in building state - of - the - art facilities for the school, but being very much part of the asian region, we hope that malaysia, and more specifically, the central bank, will also be leveraged upon for our knowledge and experience in the region. bis central bankers ’ speeches located in the heart of asia, malaysia offers an eclectic mix of cultures and ethnic backgrounds that reflects the heterogeneity of asia. as a highly open economy, malaysia has strong economic and financial inter - linkages with the world, from asia to the advanced economies and other emerging economies, including latin america, the middle east and central asia. the school will, therefore, draw extensively from the network of businesses in the emerging world to provide a platform for learning and research, and thus offer an extensive experience of the diversity that exists, in particular, in asia. with the strength founded in the collaboration, i am confident of our potential to develop the asia school of business on solid foundations. the bank looks forward to working with mit sloan in making this collaboration a success. i am pleased to now introduce the first president and dean of the asia school of business, professor charles fine. professor fine is the chrysler leaders for global operations professor of management, and a professor of operations management and engineering systems, at mit sloan. he has served as a professor at mit sloan for over 30 years, and has teaching experience as a visiting faculty at the stanford business school, the harvard business school and the indian business school. his research focuses mainly on supply chain strategy and value chain roadmapping. his work has supported the design and improvement of supply chain relationships for companies in the electronics, automotive, aerospace, communications, and consumer products industries. kindly join me in welcoming professor fine. bis