SECRET
HRIOD
Foreign and Commonwealth Office
London S.W.1
152
LF 9/548/1
11 September 1973
His Excellency Sir Hugh Norman-Walker KONG OBE Acting Governor
HONG KONG
JP
Sir,
PA
3/x
1. I have the honour to refer to the attched copy of the Declaration made at London on 11 September 1973 by the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland in which the Government of the United Kingdom undertakes to maintain the sterling value in terms of the United States dollar of the balances of Hong Kong eligible for guarantee under the Sterling Agreement.
2.
Official sterling reserves held with banks or other depositarios in Hong Kong will be deemed not to be official sterling reserves for the purposes of this Declaration unless throughout the period that the provisions of the Declaration arc in effect at least as much sterling as is deposited locally with each of those banks or other depositaries on official account is held directly in the United Kingdom for their account by the United Kingdom correspondents or head offices of such local banks or other depositaries. Evidence that such cover is held on 24 September 1973 and on the last working day of March 1974 vill be renuired from United Kingdom cortesnonlents and head offices on instructions from local banks and other darositerios. Auditors' certificates will be required for the same dates for any cligible assets held physically with local banks or in transit from them to the United Kingdom.
3. Subject to the foregoing and to the provisions of the Declaration none of the provisions of any other agreements, arrangerents or understandings, whether oral or ritten, made or reached between the Government of the United Kingdom and the Government of Hong Kong, or their respective agents, for the purposes of applying or interpreting the Sterling Agreement will be regarded by the Government of the United Kingdom as in any way affecting the application or interpretation of the Declar tion.
I have the honour to be,
Sir,
Your Excellency's Obedient Servant