Author Archives: hksar gov

     In response to a protest today (August 30) at the Social Welfare Department (SWD) headquarters at Wu Chung House, Wan Chai, the SWD issued the following statement:
 
     The SWD has indicated earlier that the Director of Social Welfare is ready to have a candid and serious discussion with social workers of the welfare sector, and a conference room has already been arranged for meeting the representatives of the protesters. However, the protesters declined the arrangements, and a group of protesters including those with masks and helmets blocked the entrances to multiple floors of the SWD headquarters, causing obstruction to colleagues. A spokesman for the SWD expressed regret over these acts.
 
     In fact, in response to the demands for welfare services caused by the recent social disputes, the SWD has maintained continued communication with the sector and has implemented various ad hoc special measures, which include:
 
1. Exercising flexibility for youth service units and family service units’ attainment of output standards so that social workers can provide flexible services for affected teenagers;

2. Setting up of 24-hour hotlines by non-governmental organisations (NGOs) to provide emotional support for needy young persons;

3. Advancement of the implementation of the “two social workers for each secondary school” measure during the summer holiday for counselling students with emotional distress;

4. Provision of cross-district overnight outreach services by an NGO to render immediate services to students and youngsters in need;

5. Extension of a range of youth services to persons aged up to 29; and

6. Youth service units of NGOs may refer emotionally distressed youth to the SWD Clinical Psychology Units for clinical psychological service.

     The spokesman stressed that the department stands ready to have rational discussions with the sector (including front-line social workers) on related issues and appealed to protesters not to affect the normal operation of the department. read more

     The Census and Statistics Department (C&SD) released the latest figures on retail sales today (August 30).           The value of total retail sales in July 2019, provisionally esti… read more

     The Government announced today (August 30) its financial results for the four months ended July 31, 2019.        Expenditure for the period April to July 2019 amounted to HK$168.8 billion and revenue … read more

The following is issued on behalf of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority:
 
     The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) announced today (August 30) that the total assets of the Exchange Fund amounted to HK$4,137.6 billion as at July 31, 2019, HK$0.7 billion higher than that at the end of June 2019. Foreign currency assets increased by HK$19.4 billion while Hong Kong dollar assets decreased by HK$18.7 billion.
 
     The rise in foreign currency assets was mainly due to an increase in unsettled purchases of securities and income from foreign currency investments.  The decline in Hong Kong dollar assets was mainly due to withdrawals of placements by Fiscal Reserves and the fall in market value of Hong Kong equities.
 
     The Currency Board Account shows that the Monetary Base at the end of July 2019 was HK$1,633.1 billion, decreased by HK$1.4 billion, or 0.1 per cent, from the end of June 2019.  The decline was mainly due to a decrease in the outstanding amount of Certificates of Indebtedness.
 
     The amount of Backing Assets increased by HK$2.2 billion, or 0.1 per cent, to HK$1,818.6 billion.  The increase was mainly attributable to income from investments, which was partly offset by the redemption of Certificates of Indebtedness.  The backing ratio increased from 111.13 per cent at the end of June 2019 to 111.36 per cent at the end of July 2019.
 
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     At present, four press releases relating to the Exchange Fund’s data are issued by the HKMA each month.  Three of these releases are issued to disseminate monetary data in accordance with the International Monetary Fund’s Special Data Dissemination Standard (SDDS).  The fourth press release, on the Exchange Fund’s Abridged Balance Sheet and Currency Board Account, is made in accordance with the HKMA’s policy of maintaining a high level of transparency.  For the month of August 2019, the scheduled dates for issuing the press releases are as follows:
 

The following is issued on behalf of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority:

     The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) released today (August 30) the analytical data on the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region’s foreign currency reserves and foreign currency liquidity as at the end of July 2019 (Annex). These data are published monthly in the Template on International Reserves and Foreign Currency Liquidity in accordance with the International Monetary Fund’s Special Data Dissemination Standard.
 
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     At present, four press releases relating to the Exchange Fund’s data are issued by the HKMA each month. Three of these releases are issued to disseminate monetary data in accordance with the International Monetary Fund’s Special Data Dissemination Standard (SDDS). The fourth press release, on the Exchange Fund’s Abridged Balance Sheet and Currency Board Account, is made in accordance with the HKMA’s policy of maintaining a high level of transparency. For the month of August 2019, the scheduled dates for issuing the press releases are as follows: