ibf ) conducted a survey of financial institutions ’ projected hiring from january to december 2021. close to 800 financial institutions responded, representing about two - thirds of the financial services workforce. financial institutions are [UNK] 6, 500 newly created positions in 2021. these are new jobs created and do not take into account gross outflow of jobs. about 6, 000 of the newly created positions are permanent jobs. half of these jobs are in technology and consumer banking, with the remaining jobs spread across other business lines and functions. it is heartening that 44 % of the 6, 500 newly created jobs are open to mid careerists with adjacent or no - experience. financial institutions are willing to train mid - careerists for these new jobs mid - career jobseekers should avail themselves of the opportunity to be trained into these new roles. there is strong demand for non - tech roles, with close to 4, 800 hiring opportunities. these include roles in relationship management, product sales, compliance and risk management. relationship managers alone account for 1, 300 or 28 % of the hiring opportunities in non - tech roles. this is underpinned by the strong growth in wealth management activities in singapore. citibank recently opened its world ’ s largest wealth advisory hub at orchard road. clients will be able to have in - depth conversations with relationship managers and product specialists at a single location. citi plans to hire 1, 500 more employees by 2025, including 300 relationship managers. dbs bank is ramping up its capabilities and solutions to help all its customers improve their financial well - being, regardless of their income level or life stage. dbs aims to double the recruitment of financial planning advisers by hiring more than 650 wealth planning managers and insurance consultants this year. the demand for financial planners and relationship managers is likely to be sustained. singaporeans are becoming increasingly conscious of the need for proper financial planning, such as insuring against health risks and saving and investing for retirement. financial planning and relationship management is not an easy job, but it is meaningful. relationship managers need to be knowledgeable about a range of financial products and solutions. they need to analyse information such as financial objectives and risk tolerance, to design holistic solutions to help consumers achieve their financial goals. job specialisation - technology jobs in financial sector let me now turn to job specialisation – technology jobs in finance. technology has become central to how financial services are produced, distributed, and consumed. the singapore financial sector has harnessed technology across a wide

##kuks to meet the needs of financial institutions conducting shariahcompliant activities in singapore. these sukuks will be issued on a reverse enquiry basis, and will initially be priced off the singapore government securities market. these initiatives are catalysed by feedback from the industry, which has taken an active interest in the development of islamic finance in singapore. i would like to thank the industry for your feedback. we have seen promising growth. a dozen middle eastern banks are operating in singapore, adding islamic financing activities to their conventional financing. singapore's first islamic bank, islamic bank of asia has just opened its first overseas office in bahrain. international banks are structuring islamic financial products in singapore. daiwa ’ s ftse shariah japan 100 etf is therefore well placed to meet the growing demand for shariah compliant financial solutions. this listing adds to the range of etf and shariah compliant products in singapore, and provides a direct channel for investing in japan. trade and investment between japan and the middle east are increasing, and will continue to rise in the coming years. the flow of finance and investment capital will rise to complement these. japan which has the second largest economy in the world has much to offer to promote the flow of capital, ideas and technology. i am pleased that investors and financial institutions like daiwa have found singapore a useful node to facilitate this flow between japan and the middle east. we will, on our part, continue to facilitate this deepening of business and financial relations. on that note, let me extend my heartiest congratulations to daiwa asset management and the singapore exchange for embarking on this venture. we look forward to its success and the creation of more innovative investment products from daiwa asset management and other financial institutions to add to the vibrancy of our market. thank you.