ISO 9002 Certification on IT Related Services

The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) has today been awarded ISO 9002 Certification for the provision of information technology infrastructure. The award represents a recognition by the certification bodies of the HKMA's commitment to ensure the quality of information technology services, effectiveness and efficiency of IT support, continuous improvement and achievement of defined quality levels.

The certificate is awarded jointly by Hong Kong Quality Assurance Agency (HKQAA) and British Standards Institution-Quality Assurance (BSI-QA) after an extensive examination, covering computer centre operations, helpdesk operation, office automation (OA) system and network support and logistics control. Based on available information, HKMA is the first central bank/monetary authority in the region to be awarded such a certificate on IT related services.

"The HKMA is not in the IT business, but we recognise that IT is essential to the effective discharge of our responsibilities. Given the importance of IT to financial markets, the performance of IT systems can be vital for the stability of financial markets. The recent financial turmoil has borne this out clearly," said Mr Joseph Yam, Chief Executive of HKMA.

"I regard this award as a statement of our commitment to quality IT and a demonstration of our effective investment in IT. It underlines the importance we attach to the promotion of efficiency and integrity of financial systems in Hong Kong and in turn to the maintenance of Hong Kong's position as an international financial centre," said Mr Yam.

The objective of obtaining the ISO 9002 certification is to formalise the control and monitoring of a reliable and secure computer operations environment to support various mission critical systems of the HKMA, such as its bank supervision, reserves management and internal communication systems.

Hong Kong Monetary Authority

19 August 1998