Along with the growth of the economy, the volume of business of Saudi banks has grown at a phenomenal rate during 1997-2006, with their assets growing by about 125.5 percent, deposits by 313.5 percent and capital and reserves by 83.7 percent. Their average risk-weighted capital to asset ratio, during this period, has generally exceeded 20 percent which is considerably higher than the minimum of 8 percent recommended by the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision. In recent year, Saudi banks have become increasingly involved in the domestic economy. During 1997-2006, they liquidated a part of their net foreign assets to meet higher domestic credit demand, thereby raising the share of domestic credit from 39.1 percent of total assets to 57.73 percent, or from 24.1 percent to 38.6 percent of GDP at current prices. Nearly 95.8 percent of domestic credit represented banks' claims on the domestic private sector which went up by 233.1 percent over this period. During this period, there was a sharp increase in the consumer loans which grew from a miniscule 6 percent in 1997 to 36.4 percent of total bank credit by 2006 reflecting the needs of a youthful population and changing risk environment. Saudi banks have also been investing in government securities, thereby contributing to the development effort of the government. However, these investments as a percentage of total assets have declined from 21.8 percent in 1997 to 14.3 percent in 2006 due to the government's recent policy of retiring some of its debt.
With more than 2,500 Indian companies, 2,300 Chinese companies, and 2,000 Australian and New Zealand companies in Singapore, corporates have made Singapore their location of choice to tap into this growth. However, Singapore’s value transcends our physical proximity to the fastest growing regions of the world. Indeed, Daiwa’s extensive commitments and new activities in Singapore is the best testament of our successful efforts to create the best possible business environment. It highlights recognition of our stable and trusted environment, supported by reliable infrastructure, highly educated workforce and consistent and transparent government policies. To further enlarge the market, Singapore has forged important linkages to the rest of the world. We have built up a network of Free Trade Agreements with many of our key trading partners such as Japan, the US, India and Korea. Discussions are ongoing with the Gulf region and China for greater market access for Singapore-based entities. A Connectivity Agreement between Singapore and Vietnam will amongst others, deepen collaboration in financial services, and promises greater opportunities for businesses from both countries. Conclusion On this note, I would like to convey my heartiest congratulations to Daiwa Securities Group on your 35th anniversary in Singapore. The future of the region continues to shine bright and I encourage all to leverage on Singapore to tap into the region’s growth. I wish everyone a wonderful evening ahead. Thank you. 2  BIS Review 72/2007