In its treasury operations, the Bank continued to be a leading force in the domestic arena. Our leadership position in Singapore dollar-denominated spot and forward transactions was maintained, despite the regional currency crisis. Further building on its reputation as the first choice of Singapore corporate treasurers for foreign exchange transactions, the Bank continued to broaden its marketing coverage to provide treasury products and services to small and medium-sized businesses. We also played a key role in the further development of the domestic corporate bond markets, leveraging on our distribution capabilities in the debt capital markets. During 1998, we successfully placed six primary Singapore dollar bond issues, including the first Singapore dollar supranational bond issue for the International Finance Corporation and the first corporate bond issued via a tender system by Jurong Town Corporation.
