Annual Report 2010 2010
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HONG KONG MONETARY AUTHORITY AUTHORITY REPORT MONETARY ANNUAL HONG KONG ANNUAL REPORT 2010 2010 HONG KONG MONETARY AUTHORITY 55 / F, Two International Finance Centre, 8 Finance Street, Central, Hong Kong Telephone : (852) 2878 8196 Facsimile : (852) 2878 8197 E-mail : [email protected] www.hkma.gov.hk Hong Kong Monetary Authority The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) is the government authority in Hong Kong responsible for maintaining monetary and banking stability. The HKMA’s policy objectives are • to maintain currency stability within the framework of the Linked Exchange Rate system • to promote the stability and integrity of the financial system, including the banking system • to help maintain Hong Kong’s status as an international financial centre, including the maintenance and development of Hong Kong’s financial infrastructure • to manage the Exchange Fund. The HKMA is part of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government but operates with a high degree of autonomy, complemented by a high degree of accountability and transparency. The HKMA is accountable to the people of Hong Kong through the Financial Secretary and through the laws passed by the Legislative Council that set out the Monetary Authority’s powers and responsibilities. In his control of the Exchange Fund, the Financial Secretary is advised by the Exchange Fund Advisory Committee. The HKMA’s offices are at 55/F, Two International Finance Centre, 8 Finance Street, Central, Hong Kong Telephone : (852) 2878 8196 Facsimile : (852) 2878 8197 E-mail : [email protected] The HKMA Information Centre is located at 55/F, Two International Finance Centre, 8 Finance Street, Central, Hong Kong and is open from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Monday to Friday and 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. on Saturday (except public holidays). The Centre consists of an exhibition area and a library containing materials on Hong Kong’s monetary, banking and financial affairs and central banking topics. The HKMA’s bilingual website (www.hkma.gov.hk) provides comprehensive information about the HKMA including its main publications and many other materials. Contents 4 Highlights of 2010 6 Chief Executive’s Statement 8 About the HKMA 14 Advisory Committees 28 Chief Executive’s Committee 31 HKMA Organisation Chart 32 Economic and Financial Environment 44 Monetary Stability 54 Banking Stability 80 International Financial Centre 98 Reserves Management 104 Corporate Functions 117 The Exchange Fund 202 Calendar of Events 2010 204 Annex and Tables 227 Abbreviations used in this Report 228 Reference Resources The chapter on Banking Stability in this Annual Report is the report on the working of the Banking Ordinance and the activities of the office of the Monetary Authority during 2010 submitted by the Monetary Authority to the Financial Secretary in accordance with section 9 of the Banking Ordinance. The full text of this Report is available on the HKMA website. All amounts in this Report are in Hong Kong dollars unless otherwise stated. Highlights of 2010 Economic and Financial Monetary Banking Environment Stability Stability Hong Kong enjoys a broad- The Linked Exchange Rate The banking sector remains based recovery, with real system continues to function resilient despite heightened GDP rising by 6.8%. smoothly. concerns about Europe’s sovereign debt problems. Both domestic and external The HKMA strengthens Asset quality improves and demands recover strongly communications with capital positions remain in 2010, with the former stakeholders to help robust. underpinned by improved reinforce confidence in the labour market conditions Link and keep the market The HKMA introduces and the latter bolstered by stable amid turbulent global prudential measures to strong economic performance fund flows and massive fund improve risk management on the Mainland and in other raising activities. on property lending and emerging market economies. strengthen regulatory requirements on investor and consumer protection. 4 ANNUAL REPORT 2010 • HONG KONG MONETARY AUTHORITY International Reserves Financial Centre Management Hong Kong enjoys rapid The Exchange Fund records growth in the development an investment income of of offshore renminbi $79.4 billion, a return of 3.6%. businesses. Total assets of the Exchange Standard & Poor’s upgrades Fund reach $2,345.0 billion Hong Kong’s rating to the at the end of 2010. highest AAA category, the highest sovereign rating ever assigned to Hong Kong. The HKMA develops an implementation framework on regulation of over-the- counter derivatives, including the project of establishing a local trade repository. HONG KONG MONETARY AUTHORITY • ANNUAL REPORT 2010 5 Chief Executive’s Statement 2010 was a very unique year filled with uncertainties, challenges and opportunities for the HKMA. Towards the end of 2009, there was widespread view that the worst of the Global Financial Crisis was behind us and the world was back on track to a sustained recovery, thanks to the unprecedented and unconventional monetary and fiscal measures pursued by the advanced economies and some key Emerging Market Economies. However, this view was soon proved to be overly optimistic. In January 2010, the eruption of the sovereign debt crisis in Europe unsettled the global financial markets. By the middle of last year, the US seemed to be losing steam on its economic recovery, which aroused renewed concerns and volatility in the financial markets. It was not until late August when the US Federal Reserve Chairman Bernanke announced in Jackson Hole the Fed’s preparedness to undertake further quantitative easing (QE2) that public sentiment and the equities in the US began to pick up again. In this uncertain and turbulent time, the most important challenge for Hong Kong was the risk arising from the very low interest rates in the US and other advanced economies and the excess global liquidity resulting therefrom. With domestic interest rates at near zero since early 2009 and rising inflation, the risk of a credit fuelled housing bubble in Hong Kong intensified in 2010, notwithstanding the launch of the first round of tightening on mortgage lending in late October 2009. In order to safeguard banking stability, the HKMA undertook two further rounds of tightening on the underwriting standards of mortgage lending by banks in August and November last year. I would like to stress that the purpose of these measures, sometimes known as macro-prudential or countercyclical measures, is not to target specific price level or transaction volume of the property market. There are many factors other than the supply and price of credit that affect the conditions of the property market and investors’ expectations on property prices in the future. What the HKMA seeks to achieve is to reduce the speed and/or scale of the up-swing in a boom phase by requiring home buyers to put down higher down- payments and to prove that they have sufficient income to repay the mortgage loans. As these are countercyclical measures, they have to be forward looking, and be deployed and adjusted as and when the cycle of the property market evolves. These measures would not serve any useful purpose if we had waited too long, e.g. after the market has turned or when losses in the mortgage loan portfolio have started to rise. If there is only one lesson that we can learn from the Global Financial Crisis, it is how important it is to maintain financial stability. We have witnessed how devastating it can become if an economy loses financial stability. No one can and should take financial stability and economic prosperity for granted: they require very hard work over many years, if not decades, and constant vigilance by all concerned to guard against complacency. 6 ANNUAL REPORT 2010 • HONG KONG MONETARY AUTHORITY 2010 was also a year of opportunities for Hong Kong. During this year, Hong Kong made very encouraging progress in strengthening its position as the International Financial Centre of Asia. Clearly the rapid development of Hong Kong as the RMB Offshore Centre tops the list of accomplishments in this regard. With the strong support from the Central Government, the HKMA has worked closely with the People’s Bank of China and other Mainland authorities to broaden and deepen the use of RMB for cross border trade settlement. Over 70% of all trade settled in RMB in 2010 was conducted through Hong Kong and our RMB deposits, which grew sharply from just over RMB62 billion in January to RMB315 billion in December, created the largest RMB liquidity pool outside Mainland China. This rapidly expanding liquidity pool, together with an efficient financial infrastructure, made it possible for 16 issuers to tap, with great success, the RMB bond market in Hong Kong, with a total issuance amounting to RMB36 billion in 2010, more than doubling the amount issued in 2009. The rapid development of Hong Kong as the offshore RMB centre has, once again, underscored Hong Kong’s importance as the gateway and springboard for the trade and investment links between the Mainland and the rest of the world. Meanwhile, the upgrading by Standard & Poor’s of Hong Kong’s rating to the highest level of AAA in December last year was a clear demonstration of the international recognition of the financial strength and resilience of Hong Kong. Globally, Hong Kong was the only economy receiving an upgrading to AAA rating in 2010. On the performance of the Exchange Fund, a total profit of HK$79.4 billion or an investment return of 3.6% was recorded in 2010. The first half of 2010 was a turbulent period in which the global equity markets were affected by the eruption of the European sovereign debt crisis. This led to a small negative return of HK$1.0 billion as at the end of June 2010. The European debt crisis subsided in the second half of the year, with a significant rebound of the equity markets in the US and Europe following the Jackson Hole pre-announcement of QE2 in late August.