Latest news with #MonetaryAuthority
CNA
2 days ago
- Business
- CNA
Hong Kong's de facto central bank intervenes as currency hits weak end of trading range
HONG KONG/SHANGHAI :Hong Kong's de facto central bank said on Thursday it bought US$1.2 billion worth of Hong Kong dollars after the local currency hit the weak end of its trading band. The city's currency is pegged in a narrow range of 7.75-7.85 to the greenback, and the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) intervenes at both ends to underpin the peg. HKMA's intervention comes after the Hong Kong dollar hit the weak side of the band for the first time in two years last Friday. "Depending on the direction of capital flows and the supply-demand conditions for the Hong Kong dollar, the weak-side Convertibility Undertaking (CU) may be triggered again in the future," Eddie Yue, chief executive of the HKMA, said in a online statement. "As the aggregate balance declines, Hong Kong dollar interbank rates may increase ... The HKMA will continue to closely monitor market developments and the external environment to ensure the orderly operation of the Hong Kong dollar markets." The aggregate balance, the key gauge of cash in the banking system, will shrink by HK$9.42 billion on Friday, HKMA said in a separate statement. If the Hong Kong dollar remains weak and triggers additional intervention by HKMA, local currency liquidity is likely to shrink further. "This is encouraging carry trades to stay long USD/HKD, and it could take time for Hong Kong dollar liquidity conditions to normalise, with more Hong Kong dollar buying interventions needed to reduce the aggregate balance," said Chang Wei Liang, strategist at DBS. Hong Kong interbank rates rose across the board on Thursday following the HKMA move. The Hong Kong dollar experienced sharp swings over May and June, as foreign and Chinese capital flocked to blockbuster share offerings or to pick up undervalued stocks in the Asian financial hub. The resulting strength in the currency triggered by the inflows pressured the HKMA to sell Hong Kong dollars to protect the peg, flooding the banking system with cash and driving the local interest rates sharply lower. The plunging domestic interbank rates spurred speculative positions that used Hong Kong dollar borrowings to bet on other markets.
RTHK
6 days ago
- Business
- RTHK
'New Payment Connect service is fast and convenient'
'New Payment Connect service is fast and convenient' The Monetary Authority said Payment Connect had a smooth start on Sunday. File photo: RTHK Finance sector lawmaker Ronick Chan on Sunday said a new cross-border electronic payment service is convenient for both Hong Kong and mainland people. His comment came as the Payment Connect had a smooth start, with thousands of payments made on the first day of operation. There were 2,000 northbound transactions and 7,400 southbound payments made as of noon on Sunday, according to the Monetary Authority. The new service links up Hong Kong's Faster Payment System with the mainland's Internet Banking Payment System, allowing FPS users to transfer up to HK$10,000 a day per account to the mainland, with an annual cap set at HK$200,000. Speaking to RTHK, Chan said the new system has proven to be a quick and easy money transfer mechanism. He said in the past, remittances had to be handled by banks during office hours and the process took one to two days to be completed. 'Right now, it takes just a few seconds' time to complete the whole transaction. I think it really offers members of the public in both the mainland and Hong Kong a very convenient way of completing their money transfer,' he said. Chan also said the current limit for transactions is sufficient for users, adding that people can transfer money via different bank accounts if necessary.
South China Morning Post
18-06-2025
- Business
- South China Morning Post
Singapore growth, inflation forecasts cut amid geopolitical jitters
Economists have lowered their forecasts for Singapore 's growth and inflation this year and are expecting a further easing of monetary policy next month, a survey of forecasters by the Monetary Authority of Singapore showed on Wednesday. Advertisement Geopolitical tensions were seen as the biggest downside risks for the economy, while a milder-than-expected easing of trade tensions was the most cited upside risk, the responses from 20 economists for the June quarter survey found. The median forecast for growth was cut to 1.7 per cent from 2.6 per cent in the March quarter survey. In April, the government lowered its forecast for 2025 growth , citing the impact of US tariffs, to 0 to 2 per cent. US President Donald Trump holds up a chart of 'reciprocal' tariffs while speaking at the White House in April. /TNS Almost three in five respondents expect the central bank to further ease monetary policy settings at a review next month, the survey found. The authority, which is Singapore's central bank, loosened monetary policy in January and April on the back of expected slower inflation and growth this year. The median forecasts for headline inflation and core inflation for 2025 were lowered to 0.9 per cent and 0.8 per cent respectively, the survey showed. At its April policy review, the monetary authority lowered its forecast for core inflation to 0.5 per cent to 1.5 per cent in 2025. Advertisement In March, the annual core inflation rate was 0.5 per cent, the lowest rate in more than three years. The survey was sent out to respondents on May 22, the same day final first-quarter GDP data was released.
South China Morning Post
13-06-2025
- Business
- South China Morning Post
SFC CEO Leung: virtual assets have become a tool ‘in the race for financial supremacy'
Hong Kong's securities watchdog is expanding its regulatory oversight over virtual assets in an effort to distinguish the city as a global financial hub, said Julia Leung Fung-yee, CEO of the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC). 'Virtual assets have become a tool in the race for financial supremacy,' Leung told an audience of journalists, investors and government officials at the Caixin Summer Summit in Hong Kong on Friday. 'Beyond the trading platforms we've already licensed, our next step is to bring over-the-counter (OTC) trading and custodial institutions into our regulatory perimeter,' she added. As of January, Hong Kong had granted licences to nine virtual asset trading platforms and regulators were now turning their attention to stablecoins. A new law will take effect on August 1 requiring all stablecoin issuers to obtain a licence from the Hong Kong Monetary Authority. Last year, the Financial Services and the Treasury Bureau published proposals for licensing OTC virtual asset operators. Leung said the SFC's approach to virtual assets was the same as with traditional securities. 'A virtual asset exchange is, at its heart, an exchange for trading – and it also functions as a broker,' she said. 'That's why we require all platforms and brokers under our supervision to segregate client assets, maintain transparency, manage conflicts of interest and handle all related matters appropriately.'
CNA
06-06-2025
- Business
- CNA
Singapore to block access to trading platforms Octa and XM over unlicensed activity
SINGAPORE: Two overseas online trading platforms will be blocked in Singapore after they were found to have breached financial regulations, according to a joint news release from the police and the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) on Friday (Jun 6). The websites of the platforms, Octa and XM, will be inaccessible to users in Singapore from Jun 20. Their services - including leveraged foreign exchange, commodities, indices and equities trading - were offered to Singapore customers without licences under the Securities and Futures Act (SFA). This is a breach of the Act, the police and MAS said. The capital markets services licence is required for an entity to carry out business dealing in capital markets products, which include securities and leveraged foreign exchange trading, the authorities said. Investigations revealed that Octa and XM had also actively offered and marketed their services to customers in Singapore. The platforms are operated by entities incorporated overseas – Octa by Octa Markets and Uni Fin Invest, purportedly based in the Union of Comoros and Mauritius respectively; and XM by XM Global, purportedly incorporated in Belize. The authorities stated that these entities do not hold licences to deal in capital markets products and are therefore prohibited from offering such services. "This prohibition extends to entities operating outside Singapore, when the entities solicit or advertise products or services that are targeted at Singapore persons, or if there is a substantial number of Singaporeans using a foreign entity's products or services," the release said. The information on their websites constitutes prohibited content under the Internet Code of Practice, the authorities added. "As such, access to both trading platforms' websites will be blocked for Singapore residents with effect from Jun 20 and consumers with active accounts with Octa and XM will not be able to access their websites through Internet Access Service Providers based in Singapore." The police and MAS advised the public to deal only with licensed platforms listed in MAS' Financial Institutions Directory. They added that unregulated online trading platforms, particularly those based outside Singapore, pose a greater risk of fraud since the credibility of their operations cannot be easily verified. Such platforms also offer limited recourse for consumers in the event of disputes. They may also require payment for trades to be made using credit or debit cards, posing the added risk of unauthorised card transactions, said the authorities.
