Although we only formally make a decision on the level of the repo rate that will apply until the next monetary policy meeting, we must make an assessment of what would be a desirable level for the repo rate throughout the entire forecast period. Situations may, of course, arise where the Executive Board members have different opinions regarding, for instance, the current economic situation or how quickly inflation should be returned to target after a shock. This type of situation may be complicated. But in practice we nevertheless believe that we will be able to manage such situations, and to agree on an interest rate path that a majority of us support. We have previously managed to agree on an interest rate message that contained information on our future intentions when commenting on market expectations. Now that we are producing a forecast for the repo rate, it is important to point out that new information may be received that significantly changes our view of future interest rate developments. The publication of our own interest rate forecast does not involve any commitment from the Riksbank that the repo rate will actually follow this path. We must also, as before, make it clear that the assessments are uncertain. One way of doing this is to calculate uncertainty intervals around the interest rate path. This we intend to do.
Through Hong Kong’s platform, international investors in the Islamic world can easily tap the appealing growth story of the Mainland. This is especially given the fact that many investors are now actively looking for investment opportunities in Asia, particularly Mainland China, to diversify their investment portfolios. At the same time, Mainland issuers can also make use of our platform to reach out to the increasingly wealthy investor base in the Islamic world. 12. Clearly, there is a strong foundation for both sides to work together to complement each other, grow the pie bigger and achieve a win-win proposition in developing Islamic finance. For this important reason, the HKMA entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Bank Negara Malaysia in 2009 to strengthen mutual co-operation in the area of Islamic finance. We are very pleased to have worked closely with Bank Negara Malaysia to put together and bring this workshop to Hong Kong under the framework of the MoU. Building a deep talent pool is crucial for further development of the Islamic finance industry. Workshops of this kind will undoubtedly help to promote market awareness and knowledge of Islamic finance, while also providing an excellent forum for market players to exchange views and business contacts. We will continue to work closely with the Treasury Markets Association to raise the expertise in Islamic finance in Hong Kong. 13.