10 March 2004

Dear Sir / Madam,

Quarterly Survey of Participation in the Commercial Credit Reference Agency (CCRA)

You may recall that in connection with the establishment of the CCRA, we have started a quarterly survey to track the progress of the consent seeking process. I am writing to inform you of the results of the first quarterly survey.

The results are generally satisfactory. According to the survey, 118 authorized institutions (AIs) in Hong Kong are engaged in the provision of SME financing. By the end of December 2003, three months after the commencement of the consent seeking process, these AIs have, on average, written to seek consent from 40% of their SME customers. 54% of these customers have responded, 95% of which have given consent. The response is encouraging. It suggests that the consent seeking process has so far been smooth and SMEs are generally supportive of the CCRA scheme.

I would be grateful if AIs can keep up their good work in seeking SME customers' consent.

Yours faithfully,

Raymond Li
Executive Director (Banking Development)