ENG-1947 — Page 51

883

888

3888888

CURRENCY & BANKING-

The Currency.

Chapter 4.

The unit of currency in the Colony is the Hong Kong dollar, the value of which in terms of sterling fluctuated con- siderably until the silver standard was abandoned in December, 1935. The Currency Ordinance, 1935, set up an Exchange Fund, and provided that the note-issuing banks should surrender to the fund all silver previously deposited against note issues, and should deposit full sterling cover for all note issues thereafter. Since 1935 the value of the Hong Kong dollar has been main- tained at approximately one shilling and three pence, both before and after the Japanese occupation.

Note Issue and Banks.

Notes of denominations from five dollars upwards are issued by the Hong Kong & Shanghai Banking Corporation, the Chartered Bank of India, Australia and China, and the Mer- cantile Bank of India. The Government issues notes of one dollar, ten cents, five cents and one cent denominations. Before the war there were in circulation coins of 10-cent, 5-cent and 1-cent denominations, but these all disappeared during the occupation. The reintroduction of small denomination coins is now under consideration. The Colony is included in the sterling area and the authorised banks for dealing in foreign exchange are, in addition to the three note issuing banks mentioned above:

Thomas Cook and Sons Ltd. Chase Bank

National City Bank of New York Inc.

American Express Co. Inc.

Netherlands India Commercial Bank Netherlands Trading Society Banque Belge pour l'Etranger

31