In the long term, there may even be a risk associated with investments in government bonds. This has been experienced by the Norwegian state. The State Reserve Fund, established in 1904, lost much of its capital during the First World War as a result of losses on investments in German and French 2 government bonds. Chart 16. From oil to assets Per cent of mainland GDP 18  18  15  15  Cash flow from petroleum activities  12  12  Return on Petroleum Fund  9  9  6  6  3  3 0  0 2000  2010  2020  2030  2040  2050  Sources: Ministry of Finance and Norges Bank  Buying a bond means lending money to others. Buying equities is the same as investing in real assets. Buying equities gives us direct ownership of the means of production in global business and industry. On the one hand, these ownership rights provide high returns when companies are flourishing. On the other, shareholders are the first to sustain losses when companies fail. As a result, returns on equities fluctuate far more than returns on bonds, reflecting the higher level of risk. Over the past 75 years, equity returns in the US market have been negative almost every third year. Chart 17.
Chairperson: The Bank of Zambia, in conjunction with the Bank Negara Malaysia (the Central Bank of Malaysia) is pleased and greatly honoured to co-host this pilot Financial Inclusion Advisers Conference. We have no doubt that this Conference will provide the necessary impetus to advance the frontiers of financial services provision to our people in the region. Ladies and Gentlemen: The genesis for this important forum goes back to the Langkawi International Dialogue, in 2007 at which the Governor of the Central Bank of Malaysia proposed this initiative. The purpose was to bring together practitioners and regulators of microfinance to learn from each other on how to deepen and broaden financial services provision. The proposal was concretized at the Global Southern Africa International Dialogue under the CPTM SMART Partnership Movement, held here in Lusaka, in August 2008 following an agreement between the Bank of Zambia and Bank Negara Malaysia to conduct the first Financial Inclusion Advisers Programme in Zambia. Distinguished Guests and Participants: As you may know, the debate on financial inclusion has been going on for some time now. A common understanding arising from this debate is that financial exclusion has negative economic and social effects on society. For instance, lack of access to financial services tends to restrict the economic opportunities open to the poor and makes them vulnerable to adverse events. The absence of savings products in particular makes it difficult to build up capital.