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Official Administrator's Accounts (Interest) (Amendment) Rules 2013 gazetted
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The following is issued on behalf of the Judiciary:

     The Official Administrator's Accounts (Interest) (Amendment) Rules 2013 (the Amendment Rules) were gazetted today (November 1) and will be tabled at the Legislative Council for negative vetting on November 6.

     The Amendment Rules seek to replace the reference to the Hong Kong Association of Banks (HKAB) rate in rule 3 of the Official Administrator's Accounts (Interest) Rules (Chapter 10, subsidiary legislation D) by the average savings deposit rate published by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority on a monthly basis.

     Under section 10 of the Probate and Administration Ordinance (Chapter 10) (PAO), when a person dies intestate leaving an estate, the deceased's estate vests in the Official Administrator who will administer the estate until he/she authorises another person to administer the estate.

     If the total value of the estate does not exceed $150,000, section 15 of the PAO provides that the Official Administrator may get in and administer the estate in a summary manner. If the administration of the estate takes more than three months, the Official Administrator must credit to the estate interest on the basis of the prevailing HKAB rate for saving accounts.

     As a result of the deregulation of interest rates, interest rates on all types of deposits, including savings account deposits, are determined by competitive market forces rather than by the HKAB.

     The target commencement date of the Amendment Rules is January 1, 2014.

Ends/Friday, November 1, 2013
Issued at HKT 10:35

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