A lighter touch does not mean a laxer approach, and maintaining high standards of integrity, transparency and enforcement is more important than ever. Foster competition Fourth, we are opening up to, rather than sheltering from, global competition and the winds of change. To develop as a financial centre, we must attract global players to locate here and carry out more activities in Singapore. We have therefore been levelling the playing field for local and foreign competitors, and opening up hitherto closed parts of the financial industry, including domestic banking, insurance, and securities trading. We are completely open in the insurance industry and will be so in the securities industry as well from next year. We have, however, proceeded more cautiously in banking, where we consider it crucial for systemic stability to have strong Singaporean banks retain a significant market share. Here our approach is to liberalise in a phased manner so as to inject more competition and spur the stronger Singapore banks to upgrade and compete, and not to put off liberalisation while waiting for smaller players to become strong and confident enough. We introduced the first banking liberalisation measures two years ago. We are now finalising a second banking liberalisation package, which we will announce at the end of this month. Promote key markets and activities Finally, we are actively promoting the development of specific markets and activities, which have stronger growth potential. An example is the wealth management industry. Another example is the debt markets, which until recently were underdeveloped all across Asia.
There is a saying: “The face you have at age 20 is the face Nature gives you; but the face you have after 50 is the face you earned” MAS’ face today, on our 50th anniversary, is perhaps marked with the scars of crises fought and overcome and hopefully also a few lines of wisdom gathered over the years. It is also – we like to think – a radiant face, as we look ahead with hope and confidence, to push the boundaries of innovation, to make finance more inclusive, more sustainable, and more purposeful, while ensuring it remains safe. Thank you and have a good evening. 3/3  BIS central bankers' speeches