Zeti Akhtar Aziz: Strengthening of regional integration in Asia Speech by Dr Zeti Akhtar Aziz, Governor of the Central Bank of Malaysia, at the KoreaMalaysia Business Forum, Kuala Lumpur, 8 April 2010. *  *  *  It is my great pleasure to be here this afternoon to speak at the “Korea-Malaysia Business Forum”, in conjunction with the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Korea and Malaysia. The global economy is now on the path of recovery after the worst financial crisis in decades. This recovery is however uneven. Several of the advanced economies are still being confronted with unresolved crisis-related issues, in addition to structural factors that will constrain their growth performance in the years to come. Emerging economies, in particular Asia, is leading the global recovery. The region is fast becoming the anchor of growth and stability in the world economy. New growth dynamics are already at work to reinforce the strength of Asia over the next decade. Increased intra-regional economic and financial integration and other structural factors are supporting this trend. While this trend will intensify, the future global environment is going to be fundamentally different. Asia will be confronted with new challenges in this changed environment. Asia, therefore, needs to be well positioned to effectively manage these fundamental new global trends to ensure sustainability of our economic advancement. The business community and policymakers need to rise to the new challenges and build on our existing relationships.
In 2008, the Export-Import Bank of Korea and Industrial Bank of Korea successfully raised a total of RM2 billion via bond issuance in the Malaysian bond market. Moving forward, the sukuk market represents an important channel to reinforce regional financial integration. It presents an opportunity for Korean corporations to raise financing and issue sukuks out of Malaysia. In addition, Korean investors can also participate in the wide range of Islamic financial instruments in the Malaysian financial markets, including from more than 150 Islamic unit trusts, Islamic REITs, wholesale mutual fund products and other Islamic structured products. In addition to robust economic ties and potential financial links, Korea and Malaysia enjoy a growing mobility of talents. With the rise in Korean investment in Malaysia, this has led to an increase in Korean expatriates. Koreans are also coming to Malaysia as students and to participate in our Malaysia My Second Home programme. In addition, the Korean Wave, which spread to Malaysia in early 2000s, has contributed to make our country more aware of the Korean culture and traditions, thus promoting a better understanding between these two countries. Prospects for the Malaysian economy Malaysia is an economy that is transitioning into a new phase of development. In the current environment, our economy is now firmly on the recovery path. This year, the Malaysian economy is projected to grow in the region of 5% with further upside potential.