These are just some of the examples of our work on market development. Although there is one other important initiative I would like to mention here – our recent work to establish IFFO, or to give its title in full, the Infrastructure Financing Facilitation Office. As you are no doubt aware, the need for infrastructure financing is huge. The Asian Development Bank puts the overall infrastructure investment needs of Asia at $ trillion over the 2010–2020 period. And, with the Mainland authorities implementing the “Belt and Road” strategy to enhance connectivity within the region through increased infrastructure investments, there is likely to be an even greater financing requirement. As such, Hong Kong is well positioned to develop into a major financing hub for investments in this field. 8. Indeed, the establishment of IFFO has three main objectives:  •  building a cluster of key stakeholders in infrastructure financing, including equity and debt investors, project sponsors and developers, professional advisors, and relevant agencies from the “Belt and Road” countries;  •  providing a platform for information exchange, experience sharing and capacity building on infrastructure financing among the cluster members; and  •  promoting Hong Kong as a major platform for Belt and Road infrastructure project sourcing, financing and fund management, leveraging on our role as an international financial centre. 9. The HKMA is now in the process of setting up IFFO and the response, to date, has been most encouraging.
Zeti Akhtar Aziz: Knowing Nusantara – money that made the region Opening speech by Dr Zeti Akhtar Aziz, Governor of the Central Bank of Malaysia (Bank Negara Malaysia), at the launch of “Knowing Nusantara: Money That Made the Region”, Bank Negara Malaysia Museum and Art Gallery, Sasana Kijang, Kuala Lumpur, 26 August 2014. *  *  *  The Numismatic heritage of the Malay Archipelago is as rich as the region itself. There were few other regions that had such a level of trade that has existed in this part of Southeast Asia. Every type of seafarer had been here over the centuries, bringing with them a wide range of currencies. From Chinese copper cash to South American “pieces of eight”, Nusantara has been a magnet for money of all shapes, sizes and materials. When these are combined with the indigenous currency minted in the Archipelago, the legacy is immense. “Knowing Nusantara: Money that Made the Region” explores the coins and banknotes that have circulated in the Malay Archipelago, telling a story that goes back 2,000 years and that continues to evolve. By telling this story, the objective is to create a deeper understanding of the region. The history of the archipelago is largely about contact and the interconnectivity that existed in the region even during that period. Movement between islands and the mainland are mirrored by the encounters between the indigenous and foreign peoples.