Emerging Markets Rates and Currencies Handbook

Hong Kong (HKD - Hong Kong Dollar) Citi in Hong Kong Citi opened its first office in Hong Kong in 1902 and now serves more than one million clients. Citi serves financial institutions, corporates, wealthy individuals and consumers through the expertise and resources of its Institutional Clients Group (ICG) and Global Consumer Banking (GCB). Market Overview HKD is the official currency of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. On 18 May 2005, HKMA (de facto central bank of HK), adjusted the USDHKD peg to 7.75 - 7.85. The HKMA will maintain the peg by buying and selling USD at the lower and upper limits. The Hong Kong Interbank Offered Rate, known by its abbreviation HIBOR, is the benchmark interest rate, stated in Hong Kong dollars, for lending between banks within the Hong Kong market. The rate is released each business day at 11:15 a.m. local time. It is derived from the contributed quotes of 20 banks which are determined by the Hong Kong Association of Banks (HKAB). The rate is determined by averaging the contributed quotes after excluding the highest and lowest three, calculated by Hong Kong Interbank Clearing Limited (HKICL). In Hong Kong, the HIBOR has been in place for many years and is still widely recognised by market participants as a credible and reliable benchmark. While the Hong Kong Dollar Overnight Index Average (HONIA) has been identified as an alternative to HIBOR, there is no plan to discontinue HIBOR. Convertibility Freely convertible. 15