TNAG-1724-FCO40-2437-Minutes-and-Hansards-of-the-Legislative-Council-of-Hong-Kong-1988 — Page 190

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very happy to receive

receive that money

that money for the account of the

purposes of general revenue.

on large Hong Kong dollar

are, of course, for the

Exchange Fund, not for the

The charges levied by banks

balances of bank customers

accounts of

of banks and not for passing on to the Exchange

Fund.

MR. JACKIE CHAN : Sir, if the banks refuse to accept

offshore Hong Kong dollar deposits then Hong Kong would

cease to be a centre of free flowing capital into and out

of the Territory. Apart from contravening the Joint

Declaration, has the Government considered the very

damaging effect to Hong Kong's position as

international financial centre?

an

FINANCIAL SECRETARY : Sir, there is certainly no question

of any contravention of the Joint Declaration in the

making of these rules. I think there is likely to be far

more damage to Hong Kong as an international financial

centre if our currency is subjected from time to time to

the

intense and, as I described it earlier,

unwarranted speculation.

wholly