HONG KONG MONETARY AUTHORITY Annual Report 1996
HONG KONG MONETARY AUTHORITY
In November, the HKMA joined the Bank for International Settlements, at the same time as eight other central banks, including the People's Bank of China, the Bank of Korea, and the Monetary Authority of Singapore from the Asian region.
Recognition by the international financial community was further enhanced when the HKMA became one of the 25 participants in the New Arrangements to Borrow, a new standby credit facility managed by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), to stabilise the global monetary system.
Preparations continued apace throughout 1996 for the IMF and the World Bank to hold their annual meetings in Hong Kong in September 1997, organised under the auspices of the HKMA. The planning work for these meetings has proceeded smoothly.
We recognise the importance of explaining to the public and the financial community Hong Kong's monetary arrangements after 1997. To that end, I myself and Deputy Governor Chen Yuan of the People's Bank of China participated in a series of seminars in major financial centres, organised by the leading central banks including the Bank of England, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and the Bank of Japan.
Transparency invites public scrutiny. The more transparent our operations, the more we are answerable to the people of Hong Kong and the more we can effectively strengthen Hong Kong's financial and monetary autonomy. To this end, we made arrangements in 1996 to move from quarterly disclosure of our foreign reserves to monthly disclosure in 1997.
The transparency and accountability of our monetary system also ensure that the mutually independent status we now enjoy will continue.The essence of an international financial centre's success is confidence and reputation. We are mindful of the confidence of the central banking community, our colleagues in the Administration, the Hong Kong Association of Banks, and above all, the people of Hong Kong on the way we discharge our responsibilities.
As we move beyond the transition, there will be an increasing number of challenges to face in a rapidly globalising and increasingly sophisticated international economic environment.
I know I can rely on my colleagues in the HKMA, who have already shown such outstanding conscientiousness and support over the past years, to meet these challenges and to take Hong Kong into the next century as one of the world's leading international financial centres.
JOSEPH YAM
Chief Executive