Zeti Akhtar Aziz: Launch of International Centre for Leadership in Finance Welcoming address by Dr Zeti Akhtar Aziz, Governor of the Central Bank of Malaysia, at the Official Launch of International Centre For Leadership In Finance (ICLIF), Kuala Lumpur, 28 October 2003. *  *  *  Yang Amat Berhormat, Dato Seri Dr. Mahathir, Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, Distinguished Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen, It is my great pleasure and honour to welcome you to the official launch of the International Centre for Leadership in Finance (ICLIF). This Centre is being established with the objective of providing a focused and co-ordinated approach towards the development of world class leaders in the financial services sector in Malaysia and in the region. Ladies and Gentlemen, The unprecedented economic and financial transformations in this decade have created new operating environments that demand new leadership skills. This is most evident in the financial services sector which has become increasingly more complex, more competitive, more uncertain and ambiguous and more challenging. It is therefore essential to have leaders who are able to see the new emerging opportunities, deal with the high level of unpredictability and navigate through turbulent conditions. The pressure on leaders has become increasingly more immense. In emerging market economies where our aspirations are to elevate our level of performance and development, the demands are even greater. Indeed, in this new environment the role of leadership has changed.
Ladies and Gentlemen, The financial sector in our region has now reached a new stage of development. Over the years, the role of the financial system has evolved, facilitating the various stages of development and growth. Increasingly, the financial services industry is also becoming a source of growth, especially as several countries in the region are moving towards a knowledge-based and services-led economy. In the process, the dynamic changes taking place are also being driven by technological advances and an increasingly competitive environment. As financial restructuring and reforms progress to a more advanced stage, financial institutions are also moving on to make the necessary adjustments to become more productive, innovative, and strategically more focused. Efforts are now focused not only on the creation of a sound and resilient financial sector but towards institutional development and capacity building of the financial sector to elevate it to a higher level of performance, efficiency and excellence. This represents an important  BIS Review 46/2003  1  phase in the development of the financial sector as highlighted in our 10-year Financial Sector Master Plan that was released almost three years ago. It represents an important development prior to moving towards a more deregulated and liberalised environment. In this context, we are envisaging forward-looking financial institutions that will be able to face the challenges of financial liberalisation and globalisation as we progress into our next stage of development.