The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) announced today (Tuesday) the results of the triennial survey of foreign exchange and derivatives market turnover in Hong Kong. The survey was co-ordinated by the Bank for International Settlements (BIS), which is also releasing the preliminary global results today, as are many of the participating economies.
The results of the survey for Hong Kong were broadly in line with global trends. Key findings for the Hong Kong market were:
- Net daily turnover of foreign exchange transactions dropped by 14.9% to US$66.8 billion as a result of a 38.8% decline in spot transactions to US$19.0 billion. Net turnover of forward transactions (outright forwards and foreign exchange swaps), which comprise a majority of the foreign exchange transactions, increased by 0.6% to US$47.9 billion.
- Although only a small fraction of total turnover, average daily net turnover of over-the-counter (OTC) derivatives (both foreign exchange and interest rate derivatives) increased by 9.4% to US$4.2 billion.
- Trading between the Hong Kong dollar and US dollar increased, and replaced the US dollar against the Japanese yen as the most heavily traded currency pair, both in foreign exchange and foreign exchange derivatives transactions. The turnover of most other currency pairs in foreign exchange transactions shrank.
Despite the decline, according to the global results of the BIS, Hong Kong remained seventh in ranking in the global foreign exchange market, and eighth in the global foreign exchange and OTC derivatives market, unchanged from the 1998 survey.
"The decline in foreign exchange turnover is not surprising in the light of current market conditions and a slowing global economy. Structural changes in the foreign exchange market arising from the replacement of major European currencies with the euro and consolidation in the financial industry also appear to be major contributing factors," said Mr Y K Choi, Acting Deputy Chief Executive of the HKMA. "Despite the decline in this area, Hong Kong has maintained its position as an active centre for foreign exchange and derivatives activities."
Further details of the results are at the Annex. A comprehensive analysis of the survey results together with country comparisons will be provided in the November issue of the HKMA Quarterly Bulletin.
For further enquiries, please contact:
Caitlin Wong, Manager (Press), at 2878 1687 or
Thomas Chan, Senior Manager (Press), at 2878 1480
Hong Kong Monetary Authority
9 October 2001
