13. NOTE AND COIN EXPENSES
CONFIDENTIAL
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1987
HK$'000s
1986 HK$'000s
(i) Note issue expenses
46,656
67,102
(ii) Coin issue expenses
24,358
15,536
71,014
82,638
(i) NOTE ISSUE EXPENSES
The sum of $46.7 million represents the proportion of the total note issue maintenance costs which the excess notes, authorized under certificates of indebtedness, bear to the
total value of notes in circulation.
The reduction in note
issue expenses was primarily due to a decrease of 22.7% in the number of notes printed in 1987 (166.5 million) over 1986 (215.5 million). Of the notes printed in 1987, 20.0 million were in respect of the 1986 order.
(ii) COIN ISSUE EXPENSES
The following coins were bought in 1987:
1987
Millions
1986
Millions
5 dollar (cupro-nickel)
16.0
8.0
2 dollar (cupro-nickel)
5.0
15.0
1 dollar (cupro-nickel)
20.0
10 cent (nickel-brass)
30.0
40.0
71.0
63.0
In addition to minting and freight charges, coin issue expenditure includes interest paid on the face value of coins held by the issuing bank in excess of agreed minimum stocks. Although the 1987 order exceeded that for 1986 by only 8 million coins, the larger quantities of the higher denominations, which are more costly to produce, accounted for the relatively large increase in expenditure.
CONFIDENTIAL