. collectively, asean is now the sixth - largest economy in the world, with a population of 630 million and a combined gdp of usd2. 5 trillion. asean is also one of the centres of global trade, after the european union, north america and china, and it is home to more than 220 global companies with annual revenues of above usd1 billion. this strong growth and economic dynamism of asean are supported by its favourable demographic structure. with a young population, asean has the third - largest labour force in the world, after china and india, with a fast - growing middle class given the rapidly rising affluence. by 2020, asean is expected to account for more than usd2 trillion of additional consumption to the world economy. motivation for asean integration a key factor that underpins the region ’ s potential is its progressive economic integration. asean is one of the most diverse regions in the world – in terms of economic size, income level, resource endowment, economic structure, financial sector development, and economic systems. the region has therefore leveraged on its complementarities arising from this diversity. this is reflected in the increased cross - border production networks, and the significant increase in intra - regional trade and investment activities. since 1990, asean intraregional trade has grown from 18 % to 24 % of its total trade, and intra - regional investment bis central bankers ’ speeches activities have now quadrupled since 2000, from 4 % to 17 % of its total investment. while there has been a trend towards greater intra - regional trade and investment, financial integration in the region has not progressed as significantly. asean economies have, however, now reached that stage of development whereby greater regional financial integration can further unlock our growth potential. the push for regional financial integration is to bring about a more effective intermediation of funds, bringing the excess savings from one country to be channelled into productive investments in another. the asean region, having one of the highest savings rates in the world, therefore has the immense potential to meet some part of the region ’ s massive requirements for financing, particularly for large investment projects and infrastructure development. financial integration will facilitate channelling part of such surplus funds towards productive investment opportunities in the region. it will also allow for more efficient risk diversification of assets to include foreign assets from within the region. this will not only reduce vulnerability to external developments but will contribute to achieving more stable conditions in the regional financial markets. asean ’ s approach towards greater integration turning to the

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