Programme

08:00

Registration and breakfast

08:30

Welcome Address and Chairperson’s Opening Remarks

08:40

Global economic outlook: what can we expect in international and domestic markets?

• Financial markets and EMEs: back to the upturn face of the global financial cycle?
• Asia’s financial resilience: global and domestic factors
• US: further growth slowdown due to the fading of fiscal stimulus and financial volatility
• Growth in 2019 and 2020: supported by the expansion of investments and exports

09:20

Financial markets in Asia - turning challenges into opportunities

• Challenges for the Asian economies: navigating China’s economic transition
• Crucial role of financial market development
• Implementing a robust and adaptive regulatory framework and effective international coordination
• Mitigating potential financial stability risks 

US-China trade tensions: what does this mean for Asia?

• A troubled trade landscape: Asia’s response
• Expanding connectivity amidst rising trade tensions
• Risk of excessive tightening of international financial conditions 
• How imposing tariffs on all Chinese imports could see a much more prominent slowdown in regional growth

10:30

Morning networking Break

11:00

Rising rates, trade tensions, and the impact on fixed income

• Operating in an era of policy normalization and rate hikes
• Political tensions: threatening the stability of global bond markets
• How should sovereign and government funds manage fixed income portfolios given these evolving risks?
• China-US trade negotiations- an important juncture in trade and investment relations

11:35

Diversifying reserves portfolios: how to get your portfolio fit in 2019 and beyond

• Reserves management policies and guidelines review – the diversification drive
• Why investors should consider a regionally diversified portfolio in 2019
• Securities lending as a diversifying tool
• How to manage risk when investing in a diversified portfolio

12:15

Renminbi’s role in FX reserves holdings and latest development as a reserve currency

• Asset class diversification: a key theme for central bankers
• Increasing allocations to the renminbi-denominated bond markets
• Climbing the reserve currency league table with an aim to contend with the dollar for the top spot

12:50

Lunch

Reserve management evolution
 

Outlook on risk management in a changing macro environment

Opportunities to expand investment horizons 

• Shifting foreign currency reserve dynamics 
• Aligning policy objectives, investments objectives and guidelines 
• Achieving greater flexibility to meet policy objectives while seeking to enhance investment returns 

Central bank risk management – evolving with the times 

• Diversifying market and default risk in high grade bond portfolios 
• Optimal active portfolio management and relative performance drivers
• Development of a financial risk management framework 

The next wave of reserve management: 2020 and beyond 

• Growing trends in reserve management practices
• How market dynamics have been driving changes in reserve portfolios
• How low yields have reserve managers looking for fixed income alternatives
• Changes in the currency composition of reserve portfolios against a background of rising trade tensions 

New challenges and emerging risks facing central banks 

• The “new normal” in the macroeconomy and its implications for monetary policy
• Enhancing the risk management toolkit 
• New challenges posed by financial innovation and the new technologies

Active management and the use of external managers

• Overview of the investment approach
• How to approach operations diligence for external managers: search, selection, diligence and appointment
• External managers: fitting into the overall investments

A methodology to measure and monitor liquidity risk in reserves portfolios

• Monitoring liquidity risk: becoming a priority 
• The methodology which allows central banks to measure liquidity 
• Time required to liquidate and the cost of liquidation
• How the methodology can also be used to measure portfolio liquidity under stress scenarios

16:20

Afternoon networking break

The outlook for balance sheet evolution

• How the balance sheet has evolved both in size and composition post financial crisis
• Where can we expect to see financial vulnerabilities brewing in the world?
• Advancing towards quantitative tightening
• Handling challenges ahead: from shrinking demand for notes and coins to QE of monetary policy

17:35

Currency composition of foreign currency reserves

• The Dollar: attributes and reasons for persistence as the dominant currency 
• The Renminbi: building the infrastructure to support its globalisation
• Gold: its resurgence... as a reserve "currency"
• Criteria for acceptance of a currency for reserves

18:15

Chair's closing address

18:20

Networking reception

18:50

National Asset-Liability Management Asia Dinner