The HKMA announces a new two-way Joint Clearing Facility established with the Guangzhou Branch of the People's Bank of China will commence operation on 22 June 2002. Under the new clearing arrangement, the time required for clearing Hong Kong dollar cheques drawn on banks in Guangdong, including Shenzhen, and presented in Hong Kong will be reduced to two working days.

Plans are announced for the issue of a new $10 note by the Government. The new note will be put into circulation in September. The existing $10 coin and the green $10 notes will remain legal tender.

The HKMA announces that Standard Chartered Bank has been appointed as the settlement institution for the euro clearing system in Hong Kong. The purpose of the system is to facilitate the efficient settlement of euro transactions on a real-time basis within the Hong Kong time zone.

The HKMA issues a circular reminding banks of the requirement to put in place effective customer complaint procedures. It has also published a leaflet to advise consumers of the procedures they should follow if they have complaints about banking services.

The HKMA announces that the Central Moneymarkets Unit will introduce a new clearing, settlement and custodian service for US Treasuries. The service will commence in the fourth quarter of 2002 and enable investors in Hong Kong and other parts of Asia to settle US Treasuries during Hong Kong hours through the CMU. The HKMA has appointed Citibank as its custodian of US Treasuries on behalf of the CMU.