Tag Archives: China

     To further encourage government employees to receive COVID-19 vaccination as early as possible, government employees, from tomorrow (June 1) until August 31, will be entitled to a day of vaccination leave for each vaccination dose received so that they can have sufficient time to recuperate after getting vaccinated.
      
     All government employees including civil servants, non-civil service contract staff and post-retirement service contract staff will benefit from the authorised absence arrangement, provided that the vaccination is taken on or before August 31, 2021.
      
     “As the largest employer in Hong Kong, the Government has earlier implemented various measures to drive vaccination at full throttle, such as allowing staff to receive vaccination during duty hours and favourably handling applications for sick leave or vacation leave when staff experience side effects arising from vaccination, and adopting a vaccination in lieu of regular testing approach for front-line employees. While introducing the vaccination leave arrangement, we also appeal to employers of other enterprises to join the ‘Early Vaccination for All’ campaign by providing facilitation, where practicable, to their staff to receive vaccination, such as introducing vaccination leave arrangements, so that we can work together to build a protective barrier in Hong Kong as soon as possible through mass vaccination at this critical juncture,” a spokesman for the Civil Service Bureau (CSB) said.
      
     Government employees who were vaccinated on or before May 31 this year, in recognition and appreciation of their support for the COVID-19 Vaccination Programme, will also be allowed to apply for one day of authorised absence that may be taken by March 31, 2022, for each dose already received.
      
     “The civil service plays an important role in the anti-epidemic effort. Whether in discharging their daily duties or in safeguarding the health of fellow colleagues or the people being served, it is the obligation of all civil servants to proactively receive vaccination unless there are medical reasons,” the spokesman said.
      
     The CSB has issued a guideline on the above arrangements to Heads of Departments. All departments will announce to their staff at the soonest opportunity details of the application procedures and relevant arrangements.
      
     Meanwhile, starting from today, the vaccination in lieu of regular testing approach is being implemented for front-line government employees to safeguard their health. Front-line employees who have received the first dose of a vaccine and provided their vaccination record could be exempted from regular testing. Those who are not vaccinated are required to undergo COVID-19 testing using combined nasal and throat swabs on a biweekly basis. read more

     The Government announced today (May 31) its financial results for April 2021, the first month of the current financial year.        Expenditure for the first month amounted to HK$48.6 billion and reve… read more

The following is issued on behalf of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority:
 
     The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) announced today (May 31) that the total assets of the Exchange Fund amounted to HK$4,538.4 billion as at April 30, 2021, HK$2.7 billion higher than that at the end of March 2021. Hong Kong dollar assets increased by HK$3.0 billion while foreign currency assets decreased by HK$0.3 billion.
      
     The rise in Hong Kong dollar assets was mainly due to the mark-to-market revaluation on Hong Kong equities. The decline in foreign currency assets was mainly due to a decrease in the month-end balances of unsettled purchase of securities and reduction in Fiscal Reserves placements, which were partly offset by the mark-to-market revaluation on foreign currency investments.
      
     The Currency Board Account shows that the Monetary Base at the end of April 2021 was HK$2,111.7 billion, increased by HK$3.8 billion, or 0.2 per cent, from the end of March 2021. The rise was mainly due to an increase in the outstanding amount of Certificates of Indebtedness.
      
     The amount of Backing Assets increased by HK$2.7 billion, or 0.1 per cent, to HK$2,322.7 billion. The increase was mainly attributable to the issuance of Certificates of Indebtedness, which was partly offset by the translation effect of foreign currency investments into Hong Kong dollar. The backing ratio decreased from 110.06 per cent at the end of March 2021 to 109.99 per cent at the end of April 2021.
 
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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 May 2021, 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 announced the results of the residential mortgage survey for April 2021.      The numbe… read more

The following is issued on behalf of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority:
 
     The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) released today (May 31) the analytical data on the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region’s foreign currency reserves and foreign currency liquidity as at the end of April 2021 (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 May 2021, the scheduled dates for issuing the press releases are as follows: