Sir,
No. 11
The Secretary of State for Commonwealth Affairs to the
Governor of Hong Kong
Commonwealth Office,
London, S.W.1, 20 September, 1968.
I have the honour to refer to discussions which have taken place between the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the Government of Hong Kong and to record below the points which have been agreed between the two Governments on the Guarantee by the Government of the United Kingdom and the maintenance of the Minimum Sterling Proportion by Hong Kong.
(1) Definitions
Unless otherwise agreed:-
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(a) “Total official external reserves shall mean:
(i) gold;
(ii) cash, bank balances, money at call, time deposits, certificates of deposit, bank acceptances, bills of exchange and promissory notes, denominated in freely transferable currencies other than the currency of Hong Kong;
(iii) Treasury bills and other obligations issued or guaranteed by Governments or their agencies, states, provinces, municipalities and international organisations, denominated in freely transferable currencies other than the currency of Hong Kong but excluding all obligations of the Government of Hong Kong or its territorial sub-divisions or agencies;
(iv) common or ordinary stock and shares, preferred stock and shares, redeemable and irredeemable interest-bearing securities issued by companies or corporations which are quoted on a recognised security market, and units in Unit Trusts and shares in Mutual Funds wherever such companies, corporations, Trusts or Funds may be domiciled other than in Hong Kong,
which are held in the name or to the order of the Exchange Fund, the Government of Hong Kong, its agencies and other official institutions.
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(b) "Official sterling reserves shall mean:
(i) cash, bank balances, money at call, time deposits, certificates of deposit, bank acceptances, bills of exchange, promissory notes;
(ii) Treasury bills and other obligations issued or guaranteed by Governments or their agencies, states, provinces and municipalities and international organisations but excluding all obligations of the Government of Hong Kong or its territorial sub-divisions or agencies;
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