It is time for the industry to come together and make a more significant impact through wellplanned investments in product design, risk management and to support consumer education in retirement planning solutions. Third, catastrophic events in Asia Pacific is rising. The region is also confronted by an increasing frequency and severity of catastrophic events. Eight of the 10 countries in the world with the highest annual natural catastrophe losses as a percentage of GDP are located in Asia. Over the last 20 years, natural catastrophe losses suffered by Asia accounted for almost half of the world’s estimated economic losses from natural disasters, yet only 7.6 per cent of such economic losses in Asia were insured compared to 67 per cent in the United States for example. These significant protection gaps that are prevalent across most of Asia and expose the vulnerability of the population and economies of the region to hardship due to loss of lives and damage to properties following a catastrophic event. The poor are most severely affected. While some countries have implemented disaster-risk insurance schemes or provide Government assistance to alleviate such losses, others continue to be exposed. In response to this challenge, more is being done among developing economies, including under public-private sector partnerships, to develop and increase access to affordable micro protection plans as a means of helping millions of people cope in the most difficult times.
This meeting of great minds will be the path towards building future leaders and respected finance professionals. It will be a hub where the best minds in finance will come together to contemplate, reflect and discuss on the frontiers of finance. In the pipeline are also plans to develop a mentorship programme supported by financial industry leaders, including bankers for fintech startups. This will expand horizons for ideation, enable cross-fertilisation of knowledge and boost startups in their journey to be successful ventures. This will be launched by the end of the year. Guardians of the future With the acceleration of technology, the financial sector of the future will be vastly different from what it is today. Fintech innovation, regulatory reforms, deepening integration and shifts in consumer demographics and preferences are some of the forces that will drive this change. Future bankers of the Malaysian financial sector will encounter opportunities and challenges not seen before. New jobs will be created and existing jobs will change or become extinct. Automation will change the back and middle office functions. Artificial intelligence will change how banking services are delivered to the consumer. Data science and big data will change the way financial and data analytics are conducted. Yet, the fact remains that we cannot predict the future with great certainty. In one of my speeches last year, I mentioned four possible scenarios on how the future of finance may unfold. The possibilities are exciting and almost limitless.