Tarisa Watanagase: Securing Thailand’s future with capital market development and the role of the Bank of Thailand Keynote address by Dr Tarisa Watanagase, Governor of the Bank of Thailand, at the Thailand Focus 2008, Bangkok, 17 September 2008. *  *  *  Excellencies, Distinguished Participants, Ladies and Gentlemen, Good morning, I would like to begin by thanking the Stock Exchange of Thailand for inviting me to deliver a keynote address at this year’s Thailand Focus. This annual forum, traditionally opened by the Prime Minister of Thailand, has firmly established itself as the event of the year where domestic and foreign investors meet and interact with Thailand’s top policymakers and leading listed companies. It is thus not only my great pleasure but also my great honor to be here. Ladies and Gentlemen, Given the turbulent time we are in at the moment, I am very pleased at the number and the composition of this year’s turnout. Glancing through the list of prospective attendees, I saw participants from Asia, Australia, Europe and North America, representing a large spectrum of investors. This is despite the fact that a number of invited fund managers were forced to cancel their trips due to the declared state of emergency that was lifted on Sunday. Moreover, I see that many of you have been long-time investors in the Thai stock market. All of these are quite reassuring, for they reflect your continued faith in the Thai economy.
Jean Claude Trichet: Welcome Malta! Speech by Mr Jean Claude Trichet, President of the European Central Bank, at the event for launching the joint communication campaign for the euro changeover at the Central Bank of Malta, Valletta, 30 September 2007. *  *  *  Ladies and Gentlemen, It is a great honour and pleasure for me to be here at this festive moment. This is to mark the launching of the joint communication campaign for the euro changeover in close co-operation with the Central Bank of Malta and with our friend, Michael Bonello, just 92 days before Malta adopts the euro on 1 January 2008. This will signify a great milestone in Malta’s history, especially since Malta only joined the European Union (EU) almost four years ago, on 1 May 2004. Let me first offer my warm congratulations to all of those who have helped bring Malta to this point. In 2002 for the countries that were in the euro area at the time, as well as for Slovenia this year, it was a memorable moment and a positive step. So I can well imagine how the Maltese feel at the moment. You can be proud of Malta’s successful convergence process. In fact, we are very pleased about the fruitful cooperation between the European Central Bank (ECB) and the Central Bank of Malta in the preparations for the changeover, be it at the technical level or through the participation of Governor Bonello as observer in the Governing Council since last July.