Because forefront technologies are based on the World Wide Web, central banks, supervisors and regulators will eventually need worldwide cooperation to ensure that their powers are still effective. Let’s take the example of crypto-assets. Everyone in France can bet their money in Bitcoin and the likes today (but think twice before doing so!). Yet, none of the Top 10 exchange platforms are located in France. This is the reason why back in February 2018 the Governor of the Banque de France and the French Minister of the Economy Bruno Le Maire, along with their German counterparts, asked that the issue be escalated to the G20 level. Thanks to this initiative, an international monitoring of the financial stability risks of crypto-assets is now in place and many initiatives are taken by international bodies to address the most pressing issues such as anti-money laundering, market integrity and consumer protection. (C) Finally, financial technologies should not only be seen as opportunities for the provision of new products and services or as a further threat to financial stability. Financial technologies can 4/6  BIS central bankers' speeches  also be an asset to enhance compliance with regulation or risk management practices: that’s what we call “Regtech”. They can also help the supervisor to perform its task more efficiently: we then speak about “Suptech” (supervisory technology). In both areas, the prospects are promising.
We very much recognize the potential risks involved and our utmost priority is to limit harmful second-round effects of this shock. In doing so, this should help to limit the impact on businesses. Apart from serving as an anchor for macroeconomic stability, the BOT can also work to promote Thailand’s competitiveness and adaptability. We will continue to pay particular attention to policies that facilitate businesses in adjusting to a competitive environment. For example, the BOT is formulating a Capital Account Liberalization Master Plan to enable more flexibility in managing cross-border investments and to achieve greater balance of capital flows. Foreign exchange regulations would also be streamlined to help reduce the cost for the private sector in cross-border transactions as well as to deepen and broaden domestic financial markets. More directly, the BOT can strive to enhance the effectiveness of the financial sector in serving as an efficient intermediary that is able to meet private sector demands at reasonable costs. Improvements can be achieved in four dimensions. First, encourage financial innovation and the expansion of available financial instruments. Second, broaden the choice available to firms and households in terms of financial services. Third, reduce the cost of these financial services. And lastly, improve access to them. The second Financial Master Plan is an example of BOT’s efforts aimed at pushing the financial sector in this direction. To conclude, I wish to reiterate that with its solid economic foundations, Thailand is poised for a strong recovery and is well-positioned to benefit from the rise of Asia.