National Treasurer Leah de Leon… Distinguished guests… Fellow members, friends, ladies and gentlemen… 20-13. Many people consider the number 13 to be an unlucky number. I refuse to accept this notion during my term as MART President so I asked my team to do a little research… The number 20 can be represented by the Hebrew letter “Kaf,” which is depicted by an “Open Palm” meaning “to seize and to hold.” The number “1” resembles the Greek letter “iota,” which we can take to represent the word “Investment.” Three (3) is the numerical value of the Greek letter “gamma” which we can use to symbolize the word “Grade.” Putting them all together, we can interpret 2013 as the year when we can finally “Seize Investment Grade!” Some of you may call it coincidence. In my more than 20 years of experience in the Philippine banking industry, I’m sure many of us have dreamed of attaining Investment Grade but were never really sure we would witness it in our lifetimes, given our country’s past reputation as the Sick Man of Asia. But here it is now, staring us in the face, seemingly palpable and attainable. Investment Grade will put the Philippines on the radar screens of investors around the globe, opening the doors of our financial world to a host of players who otherwise would not have given us much thought. Investment Grade will also solidify our position as an investment destination, as sharp swings caused by global tension leave IG or High Grade paper less susceptible to fickle minded investors. Lastly, Investment Grade will also validate all the hard work that the government, in partnership with the private sector, has carried out over the years. It is no accident that the working theme of our Association for 2013 is “MART: Breaking Higher Ground @ 42.” Note that the initials for “Higher Ground” are “HG,” which we all know also stand for “High Grade.” This theme represents our firm belief, in unison with the government and the entire investor community, that the Philippines, after years of pursuing capital market development, market integration and change, will finally throw away its “junk” sovereign rating and clinch the much-coveted “HG” or “High Grade” status. As an institution, MART is ready to face the challenges and take advantage of the opportunities that the new investment landscape has to offer after bagging a “High Grade” sovereign rating. The following are some of the initiatives that our Association will pursue: • MART will continue promoting its role as a catalyst in the development of the local interest rate markets to align its standards with global best practice. • We will be at the forefront of development — initiating and assisting in further market development. We will play a major role in threshing out the issues in the ongoing efforts to unify the tax-paid and tax-exempt sectors of the domestic securities market. We will continue to assist the BAP in the creation of an alternative benchmark for short term interest rates such as the OIS. • We will strive to improve self-regulation – initiating proposals and other activities that aim to streamline processes, ethical standards and conventions to achieve better service delivery, cost efficiency, and alignment with global best practice. • We will arm ourselves and our clients with more education and technical know-how – conducting more trainings and seminars on new trends, products, regulation, etc. to further enhance our financial literacy. • In line with the full integration of ASEAN in 2015, we will touch base with our counterpart associations in the major ASEAN economies to find common ground in promoting more vibrant securities markets. We will prepare ourselves for active engagement with global players as the Philippines achieves Investment Grade. • Finally, we will continue to interact through our traditional fellowship and networking activities — enhancing our professional relationships with more meaningful personal interaction. • In this regard, we strongly encourage more MART members to join and participate actively in the various committees, not only to increase numbers but also to diversify committee membership. Furthermore, we encourage everyone to actively participate in all the undertakings of MART. CLOSING Let me close by borrowing a quote from a famous Japanese Proverb: “The bamboo that bends is stronger than the oak that resists.” It cannot be overemphasized that the opportunities offered by a new investment climate under an Investment Grade rating will be plenty. Like many of our major ASEAN neighbors, Investment Grade will help insulate our markets against the effects of sudden sentiment reversals similar to the 2008 to 2009 global financial crisis. More importantly, Investment Grade will open our doors to a long queue of global fund managers who otherwise would have looked elsewhere. Equally plentiful will be the challenges that come with High Grade. These challenges will require that we, as an association, be strong, not by resisting change but by being flexible and carrying out the reforms we have agreed to pursue. We dreamed a dream in time gone by. Many of us thought it was an impossible dream. Today, many of us know that sweet dreams are made of Investment Grade. Thank you and good evening!