TNAG-1733-FCO40-2446-Minutes-and-Hansards-of-the-Legislative-Council-of-Hong-Kong-1988 — Page 86

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بھر و

人

Under the present Ordinance, information can

only be disclosed in legal proceedings or in reports of

☺ such proceedings. To allow for greater cooperation between

enforcement agencies, it is proposed that information may

also be disclosed to the Financial Secretary, the Secretary

for Monetary Affairs and any other public officer

authorised by the Financial Secretary.

9 7.

•

The third set of amendments seeks to widen the

exemptions from all or part of the

scope of existing

interest rate of

provisions of the Ordinance. Banks and deposit-taking

companies licensed Or registered under the Banking

Ordinance are to be completely removed from the ambit of

the Money Lenders Ordinance. At present, they are subject

only to the provisions which specify a maximum effective

per cent rate of 60 a year. We consider that the highly

competitive environment for bank lending business provides

adequate safeguards against exploitation of borrowers.

per cent More importantly, the

the 60 restriction could inhibit the

608)

proper working of the interest rate mechanism in the

wholesale money market in support of the linked exchange

rate.

بھر و

The terms of large corporate and

and syndicated

loans which may make references to wholesale money market

interest rates, are also to be exempted from the interest

rate ceiling. Large borrowers should be able

be able to protect

themselves. It is, therefore, proposed that the provisions