XN000022-1996-07-27+28 — Page 7

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6

Hong Kong Monetary Authority money market operations

Opening balance in the account

Closing balance in the account

Change attributable to:

Money market activity

LAF today

Cumulative

Time

change

$ million

(hours)

($ million)

2,251

09:30

-291

2,095

10:00

-291

11:00

-291

-291

11:30

-291

+135

LAF rate 4.00% bid/6.00% offer TWI 124.0 +0.1* 27.7.96

End

Governor's "Letter to Hong Kong"

**

Following is the full text of Governor the Rt Hon Christopher Patten's broadcast on RTHK's "Letter to Hong Kong" this (Sunday) morning:

I'm writing this letter watching the rain slamming down on the terrace outside my window. Violent and seemingly endless. When it rains like this in Hong Kong, you tend to forget about all those glorious days, with blue skies and a gentle but warm breeze. Unfortunately you don't get too many of them in July and August, as you know, months when it's not always easy to feel chirpy about life - unless that is you're about to set off on your holidays.

Those of us who are, while making an apology to those who will stay at home, find ourselves this year in an even more curious position than is normal for about-to- be holidaymakers. A summer holiday is always a real break between one year's work and the next. More of a break in some ways than the New Year's holiday. But when we return in the autumn, we know that the count-down to the hand-over of sovereignty here in Hong Kong will have begun in eamest.