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The Financial Secretary, Mr John C Tsang, said today (September 29) that with the activation of contingency plans by the government bureau and departments in charge of financial matters and financial institutions, the stock market, the foreign exchange market and the financial system have maintained their proper functioning for the entire day.
Apart from some branches, offices or ATMs of individual banks that have been closed temporarily, the banking system and the Currency Board mechanism functioned normally throughout the day. There is ample liquidity in the banking sector, with the interbank interest rates being generally stable. As at 3pm today, the four Real Time Gross Settlement systems recorded a total transaction volume equivalent to HK$1.25 trillion. The transaction volume is at similar levels to normal.
The stock market operated smoothly with turnover of $88.9 billion for the entire day. The Hang Seng Index dropped by 449 points (about 1.9 per cent). The Securities and Futures Commission is not aware of any major issues.
Mr Tsang said, "We thank all financial regulators and financial institutions as well as their staff who have not wavered from their dedication to duty. On the whole, contingency plans of financial regulators and financial institutions are effective in maintaining normal operations of core functions of the financial system. As always, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government will closely monitor the market situation and strive to maintain normal operations of the market."
Ends/Monday, September 29, 2014
Issued at HKT 20:27
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