We expect domestic demand developments to support the downtrend in inflation and the improvement in current account deficit in the months to come. To sum up, a co-analysis of domestic and foreign demand reveals that forecasts are based on an outlook in which the contribution of aggregate demand conditions to the end-2013 inflation has slightly increased compared to the previous reporting period. This revision drove the end-2013 inflation forecast up by 0.1 points. As you all know, food, energy and import prices also play a great role in inflation forecasts. Therefore, before moving on to forecasts, I will briefly talk about our assumptions regarding these variables. Import prices remained below the assumptions of the July Inflation Report in the third quarter. On the other hand, oil prices materialized slightly above the assumptions (Chart 20). In line with the average futures prices in the first three weeks of October, the average assumption for 2013, which was set as USD 107 in July, was revised upwards to USD 109. This revision added 0.1 percentage points to the end-2013 inflation forecast. We preserved our assumption for the annual rate of increase in food prices as 7 percent. In other words, it was assumed that the recent unfavorable course of unprocessed food prices would be temporary. Before moving on to forecasts, I will talk about our assumptions regarding public finance. Medium-term projections are based on the assumption that no additional tax adjustments will be introduced to tobacco and energy products the rest of the year.
Zeti Akhtar Aziz: Potential for new linkages and opportunities between Japan and Malaysia Speech by Dr Zeti Akhtar Aziz, Governor of the Central Bank of Malaysia, at the Malaysia-Japan Business Forum "Enhancing New Linkages And Opportunities", Kuala Lumpur, 24 August 2007. *  *  *  It is my honour and great pleasure to be here to speak at this important forum which brings together government leaders and the business community from our two countries. I would like to take the opportunity to thank the Japan External Trade Organisation (JETRO) for inviting me to speak at this Forum. JETRO has played an important role in fostering the economic relations between Malaysia and Japan. While Japan and Malaysia has established strong economic ties, the environment in which we are operating has experienced pronounced changes. These changes present the potential for new linkages and opportunities between Japan and Malaysia. Enhancing interlinkages and integration in Asia Asia today is increasingly recognised as a dynamic growth region in the global economy. Asia's previous success was accomplished in part by strengthening its global interlinkages by exports to the rest of the world. Today, new regional interlinkages are emerging as Asia expands further its trade and investment within the region, a trend that has generated mutually reinforcing regional growth. The Asian economic integration is now already well advanced through the intensification of intra-regional trade and investment. Trade within Asia now accounts for more than half of the total trade of the region.