that can be damaging to our export sector. managing the float requires us to lean against the wind at times, but provided our exchange rate policy is aligned with economic fundamentals, and our ability and determination to counter destabilising speculation is not in doubt, we need to intervene less than might be expected. until recently, mas did not reveal its view of the exchange rate, what it had done, or what it intended to do. but going forward, mas recognises the need to be more communicative and less opaque about its exchange rate policy. hence we have been making half - yearly monetary policy statements announcing our prevailing policy stance. we have also published the movements of the trade - weighted singapore dollar, hitherto a closely guarded secret. we envisage that if market participants and the public understand our policy stance better, there will be less uncertainty, and policy implementation will be more effective. we have also reviewed and refined our policy on the internationalisation of the singapore dollar. the balance of risks between not relaxing the non - internationalisation policy on the one hand, and lifting some specific restrictions in a progressive manner on the other, has shifted. with a more mature financial industry and a more internationalised economy, corporate players and financial institutions have a greater need for singapore dollars and its derivatives for commercial transactions. at the same time, the economy and financial system have grown and become more resilient and our ability to manage the exchange rate has strengthened. this is why mas has liberalised the non - internationalisation policy, leaving only the most essential restrictions in place. this has enabled the bond market to take off, with foreign players raising singapore dollar bonds, but swapping the proceeds into a foreign currency before taking them out of the country. we will continue to fine - tune the non - internationalisation policy from time to time, but the policy is no longer a significant constraint on the development of our capital markets or financial sector. financial supervision mas has also, since 1998, been reviewing and updating its approach to regulating and supervising the financial sector. first, we have instituted a fundamental shift in emphasis away from “ one - size - fits - all ” regulation of institutions to risk - focused supervision, and from merit - based regulation of products to a disclosure - based regime. second, we have embarked on a programme to liberalise access to all parts of the financial industry to stimulate greater competition and dynamism. these reforms are aimed at providing a more conducive environment

perspective, disruptive innovations in the industry are very much welcomed. financial regulators in australia, china, singapore, united kingdom and the united states are amongst those that have positively embraced the infusion of technology in their financial industries. for malaysia, the issuance of the regulatory sandbox policy document in october provides regulatory clarity ; lowers barriers to entry ; and accelerates the time - to - market for productive innovations. our sandbox is unique as it is the first to include islamic finance. thus, industry players can be assured of the regulatory support by the bank in expanding their frontiers of innovation. we would therefore expect to see more technological platforms to be introduced and infusion of technology to take place not only to disrupt the way we do things, but at the end of the day, to be able to significantly enhance values and experience for the consumers. the third and final key area relates to the measurement of the industry ’ s contribution to society and the wider economy. islamic finance has more to offer beyond the confines of the conventional parameters of sustainable, responsible and impact investing ( sri ) ; as well as the environmental, social and governance ( esg ) considerations. a natural alignment between islamic finance and sri already exist, given that the principles of fairness ; equality ; and ethics are embedded in islamic finance which are associated with social well - being of the people. given these common core values, there are certainly vast opportunities for islamic finance to broaden its investor portfolio to access the global sri funds that stands at more than usd3 trillion. in broadening the horizon of islamic finance by tapping into socially - conscious investments, the industry can actively spearhead efforts to promote and reach out to investors whom are value driven. we envision that investments through islamic finance products would meet the aspiration and needs of this group of investors. it is therefore important for islamic finance practitioners to have greater understanding on the scope of sri to effectively match the segments of opportunities available in the sri space. 3 / 4 bis central bankers'speeches an imperative to the successful outcomes of the key growth areas is the availability of multiskilled and top - notch talent in the industry. in malaysia, we have over 26, 000 talents in the islamic banking industry and a holistic infrastructural ecosystem that supports their developmental needs. as we move forward, we need a deep talent pool with wider set of competencies beyond the scope of islamic finance knowledge to provide the additional competitive edge to the industry. continuous nurturing of islamic finance talent