This is costly and no business can be profitable in the medium to long term without proper networks in their business lines. Net working is about creating a set of contacts and subsequently building a trusting and genuine relationship with these people. Networking provides the opportunity to discover people who may be able to offer assistance to one’s business and who may also benefit from the assistance that one has to offer. In this global economy, millions of transactions are made on a daily basis across borders, regions and continents. For these transactions to be cost effective and profitable there is need to remove information asymmetries and to reduce the risk of moral hazard. These significant impediments can greatly be avoided by counting on the contacts that one may  BIS Review 150/2008  1  have in a different country region or continent. The end product would thus be increase in economic welfare for all. Your Excellency, at a country level, Zambia still requires significant levels of investment in many sectors of the economy to achieve desirable levels of growth. The country possesses abundant natural resources and human capital. It is also surrounded with eight neighbouring countries and close proximity to the large market of South Africa, a surface area of over 750,000 sq km, and an approximate population of over 11 million people. Its active participation in the SADC Trade Protocol and the COMESA/FTA offers preferential tariff access to market potential of about 380 million plus people.
Prasarn Trairatvorakul: Economic transformation for sustainable economic growth in the Greater Mekong Subregion Speech by Dr Prasarn Trairatvorakul, Governor of the Bank of Thailand, at the Euromoney Greater Mekong Subregion Investment Forum, Bangkok, 28 May 2015. *  *  *  Excellencies, Honorable speakers Distinguished guests; Ladies and Gentlemen 1. It has always been a great pleasure to be part of the Euromoney Greater Mekong Subregion Investment Forum. Let me first thank the organizers for inviting me to share with you my views and vision on the prospects of GMS during the last three consecutive events. Today, it is my last remark as the Bank of Thailand governor at this forum to highlight the way forward of our region, and today’s topic on “Economic Transformation for Sustainable Economic Growth in the Greater Mekong Subregion” seems to fit the current context and timing quite well. 2. My first talk here three years ago was on the Greater Mekong Subregion as the “rising star” of Asia. For its rich endowments and strategic locations, the GMS is now well recognized as a new gem that shines through the South East Asian economic frontiers. Over the past decades, I have witnessed the beautiful glory of the GMS. With its impressive economic growth and good prospect for trade and investment opportunities, the GMS has gained much interest from both regional and global investors. 3. According to the ADB, the foreign direct investment inflow to the GMS has increased steadily at the annual average of 8–9 percent.