Joint Clearing Facility for HK Dollar Cheques Presented in Guangdong

The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) announced today (25 September 2000) that agreement had been reached with the Guangzhou Branch of the People's Bank of China (PBoC) on a new Joint Clearing Facility to speed up the processing of Hong Kong Dollar cheques issued by banks in Hong Kong and presented in Guangdong.

The Joint Clearing Facility will be implemented by Hong Kong Interbank Clearing Limited (HKICL) and the Guangzhou Electronic Banking Settlement Centre with effect from 1 October 2000. The new facility will significantly reduce the time required for clearing of such Hong Kong Dollar cheques presented in Guangdong down to two working days. The Joint Clearing Facility will streamline the collection and delivery of the cheques to HKICL for processing.

Under the existing practice, clearing and settling of Hong Kong Dollar cheques issued by banks in Hong Kong and presented in Guangdong may take up to four working days before good funds can be credited to the payees' accounts in Guangdong.

A similar cheque clearing facility has been set up between Hong Kong and Shenzhen since January 1998, which has been functioning very well. In 1999, 84,000 cheques were processed involving a total value of HK$ 7 billion.

"I welcome the introduction of this Joint Clearing Facility, which was agreed as part of the joint co-operation between the Guangdong and Hong Kong authorities. By speeding up the settlement time and reducing the settlement risks, the Joint Clearing Facility will enhance the economic and financial links between Hong Kong and Guangdong. The facility is another example of co-operation between the PBoC and the HKMA on issues which are of mutual benefit," said Mr. Joseph Yam, Chief Executive of the HKMA.

For further enquiries, please contact:

Thomas Chan, Senior Manager (Press), at 2878 1480 or

Caitlin Wong, Manager (Press), at 2878 1687

Hong Kong Monetary Authority

25 September 2000