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Author Archives: hksar gov

ArtSnap mini-festival within New Vision Arts Festival to be staged in November at Kwai Tsing Theatre (with photos)

     The New Vision Arts Festival (NVAF) will this Thursday (November 1) launch its mini-festival ArtSnap, hosting an array of interesting events at different corners of the Kwai Tsing Theatre and its vicinity.
 
     ArtSnap is an innovative festival with an experimental spirit, from ideas and techniques to formats. Most of the shows in ArtSnap are creative works performed by local young and budding artists, giving audiences an opportunity to watch these improvisational interactive micro-programmes in addition to the large-scale stage shows in the NVAF.
 
     ArtSnap programmes include:
 

  • “LightSpace”, a work featuring tungsten light bulbs presented by British lighting designer Michael Hulls (November 1 to 4);
  • “Sound Walk – Sounds Telling Futures” (November 3, 4, 10 and 11) and “Sound Scoop – Here, Hear, Hong Kong” (November 1 to 14), by the production team Soundpocket, exploring the environment with participants through pre-recorded stories and sound clips;
  • “The Modern-day Flavours of Nanyin and Naamyam”, a synthesised jam session of traditional sounds presented by experimental musician Dickson Dee and Quanzhou nanyin performer Cai Yayi (November 2 and 3);
  • “Forecasting”, by Premier Stratagème from France, featuring a performer blending herself into imagery on a notebook computer (November 3 to 4);
  • “How I learned to do BAD drifting”, a mobile theatre work exploring the Kwai Tsing vicinity with a smartphone app presented by HerStory Polygon (November 3 and 4);
  • “Mad Man (Irregular Version)”, by Théâtre de la Feuille, using physical theatre to re-present Chinese writer Lu Xun’s “The Diary of a Mad Man” (November 4);
  • “Queen Zomia”, by avant-garde artist Royce Ng, using holographic images captured within a transparent glass triangle and dream-like dialogues to visualise the life of warlord and opium trafficker Olive Yang (November 9 to 11);
  • “1314”, an out-of-the-box concert by pianist KaJeng Wong, exploring the meaning of existence with his music (November 10 and 11);
  • “The Lighter Side of Street Hip Hop”, a dance performance performed by Laotian-French choreographer-dancer Olé Khamchanla and six dancers from local dance group the Autistic Genius (November 10 and 11);
  • “When I Grow Up …”, by young choreographer Victor Fung, inviting audiences to make friends through dance (November 10 and 11); and
  • “Overlord”, an innovative musical theatre work presented by the Shanghai Chinese Orchestra featuring pipa artist Yu Bing which is a collaboration between the NVAF and the China Shanghai International Arts Festival – Rising Artist’s Work (November 13 and 14).

     ArtSnap tickets are now available at URBTIX (www.urbtix.hk). For credit card telephone bookings, please call 2111 5999.
 
     Organised by the Leisure and Cultural Services Department, the NVAF is celebrating its ninth edition this year and is being held from October 19 to November 18. For programme enquiries and concessionary schemes, please call 2370 1044 or visit www.newvisionfestival.gov.hk.
Photo  Photo  Photo  
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East Asia

Exchange Fund Abridged Balance Sheet and Currency Board Account

The following is issued on behalf of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority:

     The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) announced today (October 31) that the total assets of the Exchange Fund amounted to HK$4,032.6 billion as at September 30, 2018, HK$38.9 billion higher than that at the end of August 2018. Foreign currency assets increased by HK$19.5 billion and Hong Kong dollar assets increased by HK$19.4 billion.
      
     The rise in foreign currency assets was mainly due to an increase in unsettled purchases of securities and the issuance of Certificates of Indebtedness. The rise in Hong Kong dollar assets was mainly due to the overnight liquidity provided under the Discount Window at the month end following the established mechanism to facilitate interbank settlement.
      
     The Currency Board Account shows that the Monetary Base at the end of September 2018 was HK$1,619.6 billion, increased by HK$8.5 billion, or 0.5%, from the end of August 2018. The rise was mainly due to the increase in the outstanding amount of Certificates of Indebtedness.
      
     The amount of Backing Assets increased by HK$3.7 billion, or 0.2%, to HK$1,769.5 billion. The increase was mainly attributable to the issuance of Certificates of Indebtedness, which was partly offset by the decline in the market value of investments. The backing ratio decreased from 109.59% at the end of August 2018 to 109.25% at the end of September 2018.

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     At present, four press releases relating to the Exchange Fund’s data are issued by the HKMA each month. Three of these releases are issued to disseminate monetary data in accordance with the International Monetary Fund’s Special Data Dissemination Standard (SDDS). The fourth press release, on the Exchange Fund’s Abridged Balance Sheet and Currency Board Account, is made in accordance with the HKMA’s policy of maintaining a high level of transparency. For the month of October 2018, the scheduled dates for issuing the press releases are as follows:
 

October 5
(Issued)		 SDDS International Reserves (Hong Kong’s Latest Foreign Currency Reserve Assets Figures)
 
October 12
 (Issued)		 SDDS Analytical Accounts of the Central Bank (Analytical Accounts of the Exchange Fund)
 
October 31
 		 SDDS Template on International Reserves and Foreign Currency Liquidity
 
October 31
 		 Exchange Fund Abridged Balance Sheet and Currency Board Account
 
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East Asia

International Reserves and Foreign Currency Liquidity

The following is issued on behalf of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority:

     The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) released today (Wednesday) the analytical data on the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region’s foreign currency reserves and foreign currency liquidity as at the end of September 2018 (Annex).  These data are published monthly in the Template on International Reserves and Foreign Currency Liquidity in accordance with the International Monetary Fund’s Special Data Dissemination Standard.
            
     The release calendar of the Template on International Reserves and Foreign Currency Liquidity for 2019 is announced below:
 

Reference Month
 		 Release Date
January 2019 February 28, 2019
February 2019 March 29, 2019
March 2019 April 30, 2019
April 2019 May 31, 2019
May 2019 June 28, 2019
June 2019 July 31, 2019
July 2019 August 3, 2019
August 2019 September 30, 2019
September 2019 October 31, 2019
October 2019 November 29, 2019
November 2019 December 31, 2019
December 2019 January 31, 2020
 
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            At present, four press releases relating to the Exchange Fund’s data are issued by the HKMA each month.  Three of these releases are issued to disseminate monetary data in accordance with the International Monetary Fund’s Special Data Dissemination Standard (SDDS).  The fourth press release, on the Exchange Fund’s Abridged Balance Sheet and Currency Board Account, is made in accordance with the HKMA’s policy of maintaining a high level of transparency.  For the month of October 2018, the scheduled dates for issuing the press releases are as follows:
 
　October 5   (Issued) SDDS International Reserves (Hong Kong’s Latest Foreign Currency Reserve Assets Figures)
 
   October 12  (Issued) SDDS Analytical Accounts of the Central Bank (Analytical Accounts of the Exchange Fund)
 
   October 31 SDDS Template on International Reserves and Foreign Currency Liquidity
 
   October 31 Exchange Fund Abridged Balance Sheet and Currency Board Account
 
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East Asia