Jacqueline Loh: Re-thinking investment strategies for growth Keynote address by Ms Jacqueline Loh, Deputy Managing Director of the Monetary Authority of Singapore, at the Asia Investment Management Summit, 25 November 2013. *  *  *  Distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen, a very good morning to all of you. 1. The global economic recovery remains uneven and fragile, five years after Lehman’s collapse. While there have been some encouraging signs over the past year, with stronger jobs growth and the housing recovery in the US and the Euro area economies stepping out of the recession zone, there continues to be heavy reliance on extraordinarily loose monetary policy and low interest rates for life support. 2. Lean economic growth since the onset of the Global Financial Crisis, beset by bouts of heightened volatility, present a challenging environment for investment managers. For the insurance industry, higher payouts following natural disasters pose additional difficulties. Five of the ten costliest natural disasters, in terms of money rather than lives, occured in the past five years.1 3. As a result of economic, financial and environmental systems coming under stress at the same time, insurance companies are now operating in extremely trying conditions. Specifically, insurers’ profitability is under pressure simultaneously from all 3 sources: a.  Firstly premium income, which is correlated to weak economic growth and excess capacity;  b.  Secondly investment income, amidst a low yield environment and higher market volatility; and  c.  And thirdly, claims and expenses, given increasing claims for natural catastrophes. 4.
Muhammad bin Ibrahim: Audit as a partner of change Remarks by Mr Muhammad bin Ibrahim, Governor of the Central Bank of Malaysia (Bank Negara Malaysia), at the 5th PETRONAS Board Audit Committee (BAC) Forum “Audit as a partner of change”, Kuala Lumpur, 16 August 2016. *  *  *  The theme of today’s forum “Audit as a Partner of Change” is highly relevant and timely, as the events in the global market today, involving failures of large firms, frauds and market manipulation activities, underscores the criticality of the three lines of defenses in organizations. For confidence and trust to be restored in the marketplace, the role of the BAC and internal auditors as the third line of defense will be even more critical than ever. Our role as members of audit committees is much broader than what we may perceive it to be. Organisations such as PETRONAS are widely regarded as amongst the few key flag bearers for the country. Hence, it is incumbent upon the Board and the BAC members to be strong and energetic in upholding the highest standards of professionalism, ethics and integrity in discharging their roles and responsibilities. The people of Malaysia must have confidence and pride that an institution entrusted with much strategic natural resources are run with utmost integrity and professionalism. Before I proceed further on the topic for today, allow me to touch briefly on the current outlook on the global and domestic economy.