Nor should the Riksbank’s proposals be regarded as set in stone; it must be possible for the retail payments council to develop to remain relevant and thus working methods and participation should be reviewed on a regular basis. The Riksbank intends to have a preliminary constituent meeting at the beginning of February. The way forward involves new and old technology To summarise: Sweden is in the forefront with regard to the development and use of cashless payment methods. This development is positive in many ways, but changes also entail challenges. The Riksbank is taking an active part in the work on managing these challenges to make things easier for the various participants in the economy. Given this, I am convinced that we have a good basis for resolving short-term and long-term problems and frictions. The way forward is to continue refining old technology in new versions and also to create entirely new solutions. There is good scope to ensure our payment services will be even safer, more efficient, easily accessible and cheaper in the future. Thank you! 6  BIS central bankers’ speeches
Despite a situation of increasing  BIS Review 168/2009  1  investment rates, the ratio of total savings to GDP reached 57% in 2008 against 48% in 2004, leading to a context of excess saving rates of 13% to 24,7% over the period. These developments have allowed sizeable reserve accumulation, particularly from 2004 $ billion 43) to 2008 $ billion 143) as a cushion against possible external shocks, including shocks of a “sudden stop” nature. Anchored to regained macroeconomic stability, a large public investment program was launched in 2001 (2001–04) followed by a larger one in 2005 (2005–09). Implementation of the two public investment programs significantly stimulated gross fixed capital formation, with public investments representing 56.5% of total investment in 2008 up from 40.8% in 2004. Over the past five years, public investments (economic and social infrastructure, housing, agriculture and water, others) amounted to $ billion 80 (representing 51% of a total of $ billion 156). It should be noted that foreign companies, particularly from Asia, hold a significant position in terms of implementation of the public investment programs. In parallel, the national oil company (Sonatrach) implemented ambitious annual investment plans over the past 3 years, increasing the annual investment envelope from $ billion 4.8 in 2006 to $ billion 8.5 in 2008. For the past 5 years, the ratio of Sonatrach’s investment to total investment reached 17.6% (17.1% in 2008). For 2009, Sonatrach’s investment program amounts to $ billion 16.5.