In view of the extension of the special work arrangements for government departments to August 23, the Inland Revenue Department announced today (August 14) that from August 17 it will continue to suspend the provision of all of its public services, except for the following:
     

     The department appeals to members of the public for their understanding that the above services will only be provided at a much reduced scale and that services in all other areas will not be provided at the service counters. They should also be prepared to experience a longer waiting time before they can be served. The department encourages the public to use electronic services to handle tax affairs as much as possible. A list of such services can be found in the department's website at www.ird.gov.hk/eng/ese/index.htm.

     The department further announced that deadlines for tax payments (not applicable to Auto Tax Payment Service under the Tax Reserve Certificates Scheme), lodgement of objections and holdover applications, and submission of tax returns and information that fall between July 20 and August 23 will be automatically extended to August 24.

     The department will review the situation and make further announcements as necessary.

The following is issued on behalf of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority:
 
     The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) released today (August 14) the key analytical accounts of the Exchange Fund at the end of July 2020.
      
     Foreign assets, representing the external assets of the Exchange Fund, increased during the month by HK$34.8 billion to HK$3,680.1 billion.
      
     The Monetary Base, comprising Certificates of Indebtedness, Government‑issued currency notes and coins in circulation, the balance of the banking system and Exchange Fund Bills and Notes issued, amounted to HK$1,801.4 billion.
      
     Claims on the private sector in Hong Kong amounted to HK$244.8 billion.
      
     The analytical accounts of the Exchange Fund are released in accordance with the International Monetary Fund's Special Data Dissemination Standard and are referred to as the Analytical Accounts of the Central Bank under SDDS (annex).
 
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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 2020, 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) announced today (August 14) the progress made in its handling of banking complaints received as at end-July 2020. Banking complaints include cases concerning general banking services and conduct-related issues.
      
     In July 2020, 261 cases were received and the handling of 252 cases was completed. As at end-July, the handling of 630 cases was in progress. 
      
     A table summarising the progress made in the handling of banking complaints by the HKMA is attached.
 

The following is issued on behalf of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority:
 
     The Hong Kong Monetary Authority published today (August 14) the credit card lending survey results for the second quarter of 2020.
 
     Total card receivables edged up by 0.2 per cent in the second quarter to HK$124.2 billion at end-June 2020, after a decrease of 10.0 per cent in the previous quarter.
 
     The combined delinquent and rescheduled ratio rose slightly to 0.47 per cent at end-June 2020 from 0.43 per cent at the previous quarter-end while the quarterly charge-off ratio increased to 0.71 per cent from 0.42 per cent, as the economic impact of the COVID-19 outbreak took hold.

The following is issued on behalf of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority: 
 
     The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) issued today (August 14) a tentative issuance schedule for Exchange Fund Bills and Notes (EFBNs) for the coming quarter of October to December 2020. The schedule contains information on the tentative tender dates, tender sizes and issue dates of individual issues, representing rollover of maturing issues and taking into account planned adjustments to the maturity spectrum of the EFBNs portfolio.
 
     The quarterly schedule is issued in the second month of each quarter (i.e. February, May, August and November), covering the EFBNs tenders in the following quarter.
 
     It should be noted that the tender dates, tender sizes and issue dates projected in the advance issuance schedule are tentative. The details of new issues of Exchange Fund Bills are to be confirmed and announced at least four business days prior to the respective tender dates. The details of new issues of Exchange Fund Notes are to be confirmed and announced seven business days prior to their respective tender dates. The HKMA may make changes in the light of prevailing market conditions.