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MONDAY, APRIL 26, 1982
AT
T PRESENT, MR BREMRIDGE SAID, THE GOVERNMENT HAD TWO POINTS AT WHICH THE GOVERNMENT COULD EXERT AN INFLUENCE ON THE APPROPRIATE LEVEL OF INTEREST RATES THE REGULARLY WEEKLY CONSULTATION WITH THE CHAIRMAN OF THE HONG KONG ASSOCIATION OF BANKS, AND AN EXPERIMENTAL SCHEME INTRODUCED LAST AUTUMN TO INFLUENCE THE LEVEL OF MONEY MARKET INTEREST RATES BY BIDDING FOR DEPOSITS THROUGH THE EXCHANGE FUND'S MAJOR BANKS AND LENDING THEM OUT AT A DIFFERENT TIME AND FOR A DIFFERENT PERIOD.
HE SAID THEORETICALLY THE SCHEME COULD BE PURSUED TO SUCH AN EXTENT THAT THE INTEREST RATE AGREEMENT BECAME IRRELEVANT IN PROVIDING THE UNDERPINNING FOR THE INTEREST RATE STRUCTURE, AND COULD THEREFORE BE ABANDONED. THE GOVERNMENT DID NOT INTEND TO PURSUE THIS COURSE FOR TWO REASONS:
+FIRST, EDUCATED BY THE EVENTS OF 1965 WE WILL NOT ACCEPT THE FULL - AND UNPREDICTABLE - CONSEQUENCES OF FREE AND TOTALLY UNRESTRAINED COMPETITION FOR DEPOSITS BETWEEN ALL BANKS IN HONG KONG.
*SECOND, TO RELY SOLELY ON MONEY MARKET INTERVENTION TO IMPLEMENT OUR INTEREST RATE POLICY WOULD REQUIRE A DEGREE
OF PERSISTENT AND POSITIVE INTERVENTION THIS IS WHOLLY ALIEN TO THE PHILOSOPHY, WHICH HAS SERVED THIS ECONOMY SO WELL IN THE PAST,+ HE SAID.
IN HIS SPEECH, MR BREMRIDGE ALSO REFERRED TO HIS RECENT VISIT TO CHINA AND SAID HE WAS STRUCK BY THE READINESS OF THOSE TO WHOM HE SPOKE TO ACKNOWLEDGE THE ROLE WHICH HONG KONG HAD PLAYED, AND WAS PLAYING, IN CHINA'S MODERNISATION PLANS, AND THEIR VERY CLEAR UNDERSTANDING OF THE FACT THAT HONG KONG COULD ONLY CONTINUE TO MAKE ITS CONTRIBUTION IF IT REMAINED PROSPEROUS, AND THAT ITS PROSPERITY DEPENDED ON ITS POSITION AS A FREE PORT, AND AS A COMMERCIAL AND FINANCIAL CENTRE.
+THERE IS THUS A VERY STRONG MUTUAL INTEREST IN THE VIGOROUS DEVELOPMENT OF THE HONG KONG ECONOMY, AND IN THE STRENGTH OF THE HONG KONG DOLLAR, WHICH IS THE FOUNDATION OF OUR SUCCESS.
+ SUGGEST THAT THIS PROVIDES THE BEST POSSIBLE BASIS CN WHICH TO BUILD IN THE YEARS AHEAD, THE FINANCIAL SECRETARY SAID.
WATER FIGURES ***
STORAGE IN HONG KONG'S RESERVOIRS AT 9 AM TODAY (MONDAY) STOOD AT 35.9 PER CENT OF CAPACITY OR 207.632 MILLION CUBIC METRES, EQUIVALENT TO 166 DAYS' CONSUMPTION.
THIS TIME LAST YEAR THE RESERVOIRS CONTAINED 226.002 MILLION CUBIC METRES OF WATER, REPRESENTING 39.1 PER CENT OF CAPACITY.
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