Author Archives: hksar gov

     The Government announced today (July 31) that the next round of recruitment exercises for the posts of Administrative Officer (AO), Executive Officer II (EOII), Assistant Labour Officer II (ALOII), Assistant Trade Officer II (ATOII) and Transport Officer II (TOII) will begin in September 2019.
 
     As part of the entry requirements, applicants for these posts will need to have obtained:
 
(a) Level 2 in the two language papers (Use of Chinese and Use of English) in the Common Recruitment Examination (CRE) or equivalent results; and
(b) a Pass in the Aptitude Test (AT) paper in the CRE.
 
     In addition, candidates’ performance in the Basic Law Test (Degree / Professional Grades) (BLT) will be one of the considerations to assess their suitability.
 
     The CRE and BLT will be held respectively in Hong Kong, and Beijing and six overseas cities. The details are set out below:
 

Location	Application Period (Hong Kong time)	Examination Date
Hong Kong	August 2 to August 15 (5pm)	October 5 and 12
Beijing and six overseas cities (namely London, San Francisco, New York, Toronto, Vancouver and Sydney)	September 21 to October 4 (5pm)	December 7

 
     Details relating to the CRE and BLT and an on-line application system will be made available on the website of Civil Service Bureau (www.csb.gov.hk/eng/cre.html) during the said application periods, while details of the 2019-20 AO, EOII, ALOII, ATOII and TOII recruitment exercises will be separately announced in September.
 
     Candidates who later submit an application for these posts will not automatically be given places at the CRE. Therefore, candidates who wish to apply for these posts in the 2019-20 recruitment exercises but do not possess the requisite CRE results or equivalent results, as well as those who would like to attempt the BLT, must file a separate application to take the relevant CRE paper(s) and/or BLT during the relevant application periods. All CRE and/or BLT applicants may apply to take the examination in either Hong Kong or any one of the above-mentioned cities outside Hong Kong (i.e. Beijing and six overseas cities), but not both. read more

     Prospective applicants for civil service posts at degree or professional level can apply from August 2 to sit the Common Recruitment Examination and Basic Law Test (CRE and BLT) scheduled to be held on October 5 and 12 in Hong … read more

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

     The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) announced today (July 31) that the total assets of the Exchange Fund amounted to HK$4,137.0 billion as at June 30, 2019, HK$53.7 billion higher than that at the end of May 2019. Foreign currency assets increased by HK$59.0 billion while Hong Kong dollar assets decreased by HK$5.3 billion.
      
     The rise in foreign currency assets was mainly due to income from foreign currency investments and an increase in unsettled purchases of securities. The decline in Hong Kong dollar assets was mainly due to withdrawals of placements by Fiscal Reserves and Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government funds and statutory bodies, which were partly offset by an increase in market value of Hong Kong equities.
      
     The Currency Board Account shows that the Monetary Base at the end of June 2019 was HK$1,634.5 billion, increased by HK$10.9 billion, or 0.7 per cent, from the end of May 2019. The rise was mainly due to the increase in the outstanding amount of Certificates of Indebtedness.
      
     The amount of Backing Assets increased by HK$9.4 billion, or 0.5 per cent, to HK$1,816.4 billion. The increase was mainly attributable to the issuance of Certificates of Indebtedness. The backing ratio decreased from 111.29 per cent at the end of May 2019 to 111.13 per cent at the end of June 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 July 2019, the scheduled dates for issuing the press releases are as follows:
 

July 5 (Issued)	SDDS International Reserves (Hong Kong’s Latest Foreign Currency Reserve Assets Figures)
July 12 (Issued)	SDDS Analytical Accounts of the Central Bank (Analytical Accounts of the Exchange Fund)
July 31	SDDS Template on International Reserves and Foreign Currency Liquidity
July 31	Exchange Fund Abridged Balance Sheet and Currency Board Account

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The following is issued on behalf of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority:      The Hong Kong Monetary Authority announced the results of the residential mortgage survey for June 2019.        The number of mortgage a… read more

Attention duty announcers, radio and TV stations, Please broadcast the following as soon as possible and repeat it at suitable intervals:      The Tourism Commission announces that due to the Tropical Cyclone Warning Sign… read more