XN000022-1985-07-04 — Page 9

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THURSDAY, JULY 4, 1985

FOREIGN CURRENCY ASSETS AND LIABILITIES

THE SPOT FOREIGN CURRENCY POSITION OF THE MONETARY SECTOR SHOWED A FURTHER DECREASE IN NET ASSETS FROM $5.9 BILLION AT THE END OF APRIL, TO $4.5 BILLION AT THE END OF MAY.

SIMILAR STATISTICS COLLECTED BY THE COMMISSIONER OF BANK ING AND DEPOSIT-TAKING COMPANIES (ON THE BASIS OF SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT DEFINITIONS) SHOWED A SUBSTANTIAL DECREASE IN NET SPOT FOREIGN CURRENCY ASSETS OF $3.1 BILLION TO $0.7 BILLION. NET FORWARD FOREIGN CURRENCY ASSETS, HOWEVER, ROSE BY $2.1 BILLION TO $26.2 BILLION OVER THE SAME PERIOD.

LIQUIDITY RATIO

THE AVERAGE LIQUIDITY RATIO (AS DEFINED IN S. 18 OF THE BANKING ORDINANCE) FOR ALL BANKS WAS SLIGHTLY LOWER, AT 49.3 PER CENT IN MAY, COMPARED WITH 49.7 PER CENT IN THE PREVIOUS MONTH.

THE AVERAGE LIQUIDITY RATIO (AS DEFINED IN S. 24A OF THE DEPOSIT-TAKING COMPANIES ORDINANCE) FOR ALL DEPOSIT-TAKING COMPANIES WAS HIGHER, AT 45.1 PER CENT, COMPARED WITH 44.7 PER CENT A MONTH EARLIER.

NUMBER OF REPORTING INSTITUTIONS

THE NUMBER OF OPERATING LICENSED BANKS AND THE NUMBER OF OPERATING LICENSED DEPOSIT-TAKING COMPANIES REMAINED UNCHANGED AT 140 AND 33 RESPECTIVELY. THE NUMBER OF REPORTING REGISTERED DEPOSIT-TAKING COMAPNIES ROSE BY 1 TO 307.

REPORT ON SHIPPING OUT

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LAST YEAR, 11 695 SHIPS WITH A TOTAL CAPACITY OF 68.7 MILLION NRT (NET REGISTERED TONNAGE) ARRIVED IN HONG KONG, REPRESENTING AN INCREASE OF 500 OR 0.8 PER CENT IN CAPACITY OVER 1983, ACCORDING TO THE 1984 ANNUAL REPORT ON +HONG KONG SHIPPING STATISTICS+ PUBLISHED BY THE CENSUS AND STATISTICS DEPARTMENT.

THE TOTAL TONNAGE OF CARGO DISCHARGED IN HONG KONG FROM INCOMING SHIPS OVER THE SAME PERIOD, INCREASED BY 7 PER CENT AND THE NUMBER OF CONTAINERS (MEASURED IN TEUS) DISCHARGED IN HONG KONG INCREASED BY 12 PER CENT.

WHEN ANALYSED