Even with a sustained extra currency income in the form of the return on the Petroleum Fund, the main share of Norwegian imports must be financed using revenues deriving from exports of goods and services from mainland Norway. This places demands on profitability in exposed industries. In the long run, cost competitiveness must be adapted to the need for financing imports and securing balance in the external economy. Imports currently account for more than 30 per cent of GDP in Norway. The return on the Petroleum Fund will range between 4-5 per cent of GDP when the bulk of our oil resources have been extracted and converted into financial wealth. This means that no more than close to 1/5 of imports can be financed on the basis of oil in the long run. In other words, if the share of imports is to remain at the current level, a sizeable internationally exposed sector will be needed to finance imports. Both our petroleum wealth and financial wealth are sizeable. However, it is the discounted value of our own labour that is our predominant asset. Our livelihood essentially depends, and will continue to depend in the future, on our ability to produce goods and services efficiently through our labour, and to use our creativity and innovation to become ever more efficient.
Zeti Akhtar Aziz: Focus on human capital development in Malaysia Welcoming remarks by Dr Zeti Akhtar Aziz, Governor of the Central Bank of Malaysia, at the INCEIF Strategic Partnership 2006, Kuala Lumpur, 14 December 2006. *  *  *  Yang Berhormat, Dato' Mustapa Mohamed, Minister of Higher Education, Distinguished Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen, It is my great pleasure and honour to welcome you to INCEIF Strategic Partnership in conjunction with the signing of Memorandum of Understanding between INCEIF and nine institutions of higher learning in Malaysia. This occasion is of particular significance as, on this day, with the grace of Allah, we are laying the foundation for the promotion of collaborative efforts in human capital development which will benefit the Islamic financial services industry. Against an environment of a rapidly evolving Islamic financial industry and the growing significance of Islamic financial institutions globally, human intellectual capital has become the defining factor in sustaining the performance and competitiveness of the Islamic financial industry. Indeed, the fast pace of innovation in global financial services in general and in the Islamic financial services sector in particular, demands new expertise and skills. In this environment, the creation of a substantial pool of talent is indispensable for the future growth of Islamic finance. In this regard, Malaysia has placed strong focus on human capital development through training and education.