(b)
(c)
35-
the mechanism adopted by the HKMA for determining the pay adjustment for its staff; and
the specific measures Government has put in place to monitor the staff costs of the HKMA?
Reply:
To put the staff costs of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) in perspective, the increase in 1995 was mainly attributable to the increase in staff members to undertake a number of new initiatives. Only 9.8% of the increase in 1995 was due to pay adjustment.
(a)
(b)
(c)
As there are no HKMA counterparts in the civil service, it is not appropriate to draw comparisons between the remuneration packages of HKMA staff with those of the civil service. Allowing HKMA to have its own terms and conditions of employment is to make sure that it can compete with the private sector for the necessary expertise in financial markets.
The Financial Secretary, on the advice of the Exchange Fund Advisory Committee (EFAC), determines the overall pay adjustment for the HKMA as a whole by reference to the result of a pay trend survey conducted by an independent consultant. Adjustments for individual officers are totally performance related.
The Financial Secretary, on the advice of the EFAC, scrutinises and approves the budget of the HKMA each year. Any spending exceeding the budget has to be approved separately by the Financial Secretary, Monthly reports on the budget are made to EFAC.
End