The following is issued on behalf of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority:
 
     The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) issued today (August 15) a tentative issuance schedule for Exchange Fund Bills and Notes (EFBNs) for the coming quarter of October to December 2018.  The schedule contains information on the tentative tender dates, tender sizes and issue dates of individual issues, representing rollover of maturing issues and taking into account planned adjustments to the maturity spectrum of the EFBNs portfolio.
      
     The quarterly schedule is issued in the second month of each quarter (i.e. February, May, August and November), covering the EFBNs tenders in the following quarter.
      
     It should be noted that the tender dates, tender sizes and issue dates projected in the advance issuance schedule are tentative.  The details of new issues of Exchange Fund Bills are to be confirmed and announced at least four business days prior to the respective tender dates.  The details of new issues of Exchange Fund Notes are to be confirmed and announced seven business days prior to their respective tender dates.  The HKMA may make changes in the light of prevailing market conditions.
 

     The Pan Asia Symphony Orchestra will be joined by National Class One Conductor Fan Tao and principal violist of the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra Andrew Ling in the "Heroic" concerts to be held in September and October. The programme includes the world premiere Dr Yip Wai-hong's violin concerto "Heroic", as well as Mozart's overture to "Così fan tutte" and Beethoven's "Symphony No. 8".
 
     The opening piece of the concerts is the overture to "Così fan tutte" which, alongside "Le nozze di Figaro" and "Don Giovanni", is part of the famous trio of opera buffa works by Mozart.
 
     Beethoven's "Symphony No. 8", the following item on the programme, is a short but finely crafted piece. Though it was composed at a time when the composer was going through several unpleasant incidents in his life, it betrays no trace of them and maintains a cheerful, light-hearted mood throughout. The terse structure and the ingenious instrumentation are good illustrations of why Beethoven's work holds high esteem in classical music.
 
     The second half of the concerts will feature the violin concerto "Heroic" by Dr Yip Wai-hong. The music is in three movements. The first, "Hero", is in a traditional sonata form. The unusual rhythm and the pleasing melody reflect the emotional world and stoicism of a heroic figure. The second movement, "The Boundless Desert", is a slow, lyrical movement imbued with the musical elements of Inner Mongolia. The third movement, "Triumph", which has only been completed recently, sums up the story and life experience of a national hero on his triumphant return from an expedition.
 
     Presented by the Leisure and Cultural Services Department, the "Heroic" concerts by the Pan Asia Symphony Orchestra will be held at 8pm on September 30 (Sunday) at the Auditorium of Tuen Mun Town Hall and at 3pm on October 1 (Monday) at the Auditorium of Sha Tin Town Hall. Tickets with prices ranging from $100 to $180 are now available at URBTIX (www.urbtix.hk).
 
     For telephone credit card bookings, please call 2111 5999. For programme enquiries and concessionary schemes, please call 2268 7321 or visit www.lcsd.gov.hk/CE/CulturalService/Programme/en/music/programs_609.html.
 

     The Flight Data Processors (FDPs) of System I of the Civil Aviation Department (CAD)'s Air Traffic Management System (ATMS) experienced a momentary hitch on August 13. After the technical staff on-site switched the ATMS to System II, an identical system, in accordance with the established procedures, the processing and display functions of the FDPs returned to normal. The occurrence lasted six minutes. Throughout the occurrence, full information (including flight position, altitude information, secondary surveillance radar code, call sign and aircraft type) of the vast majority of flights in the Hong Kong Flight Information Region (HKFIR) was continuously displayed on the radar screens, except for three flights for which only the three essential types of information, i.e. flight position, altitude information and secondary surveillance radar code, could be shown. Aviation safety was not affected by the occurrence.

     The Air Traffic Control Officers (ATCOs) were able to keep direct voice communication with the pilots at all times and simultaneously obtain all flight information (including full information of the three flights mentioned above) through the displays using Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast technology to provide air traffic control (ATC) services. As a precaution, the ATCOs deferred giving clearance to departing flights momentarily for about six minutes. Arrivals and flights flying through the HKFIR were not affected.

     "At 4.20pm on August 13, the ATMS issued an alert stating that the FDPs were not functioning properly. The technical staff on-site immediately followed up and carried out investigations. Having co-ordinated with the ATC supervisors on-site, the technical staff switched from System I to System II according to the established procedures at 4.26pm. The ATCOs then continued to provide services as usual. Once System I was rebooted, the operation of System I returned to normal and it then served as a backup as per design," a CAD spokesman said.

     "The ATMS has built-in multiple fallback systems to tackle different scenarios. System I and System II are independent but identical systems with the same design and functionality, which can immediately take up the role of each other in the event of an outage for maintaining ATC services continuity. During the occurrence, the ATMS dealt with unexpected situations and sustained continuous ATC operations as per design. Professional ATCOs and engineers also responded to the occurrence in a timely and prudent manner in accordance with training and established procedures. It was not necessary to activate the Ultimate Fallback System of the ATMS in the process," he added.

     The CAD attaches great importance to the occurrence. The contractor was tasked right after the occurrence to conduct a thorough investigation and come up with a solution as soon as possible. The CAD will continue to follow up on the occurrence proactively.

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

     The Hong Kong Monetary Authority published today (August 15) the credit card lending survey results for the second quarter of 2018.
 
     Total card receivables increased by 3.0% in the second quarter to HK$124.3 billion at end-June 2018, after declining by 8.1% in the previous quarter.
 
     The combined delinquent and rescheduled ratio remained steady at 0.33% at end-June 2018.
 
     The charge-off amount decreased by HK$13 million during the quarter to HK$504 million, while the quarterly charge-off ratio remained stable at 0.41%.

     Widely recognised as one of the world's greatest living pianists, Evgeny Kissin will return to Hong Kong in October for an exhilarating recital.
 
     The programme will include a selection of exuberant and colouristic preludes by Russian composer Rachmaninov, as well as the grandest sonata Beethoven had ever written, "Sonata No. 29, Op. 106 'Hammerklavier'" which is considered a monumental masterpiece by Beethoven for its sheer scale and technical difficulty. The recital will be staged at 8pm on October 24 (Wednesday) at the Concert Hall of the Hong Kong Cultural Centre.
 
     Born in Moscow in 1971, Evgeny Kissin began to play by ear on the piano at the age of 2 and entered a special school for gifted children, Moscow's Gnessin School of Music, at the age of 6. He came to international attention in March 1984 when he performed Chopin's piano concertos 1 and 2 in the Grand Hall of the Moscow Conservatory with the Moscow State Philharmonic. In 1990, Kissin made his first appearance at the BBC Promenade Concerts in London and, in the same year, made his North American debut, performing both Chopin piano concertos with the New York Philharmonic.
 
     Musical awards and tributes from around the world have been showered on Kissin. He was a special guest at the 1992 Grammy Awards ceremony and three years later became Musical America's youngest Instrumentalist of the Year. In 1997 he received the prestigious Triumph Award for his outstanding contribution to Russian culture, one of the highest cultural honours to be awarded in Russia.
 
     "Encore Series: Piano Recital by Evgeny Kissin" is presented by the Leisure and Cultural Services Department and sponsored by FANCL. Tickets priced at $250, $400, $550, $700 and $880 are now available at URBTIX (www.urbtix.hk). For telephone credit card bookings, please call 2111 5999. For programme enquiries and concessionary schemes, please call 2268 7321 or visit www.lcsd.gov.hk/CE/CulturalService/Programme/en/music/programs_471.html.
 
     A pre-concert talk entitled "Pianism from Beethoven to Rachmaninov" (to be conducted in Cantonese) will be held at 6.45pm at the Foyer Reception Area, 4/F, Auditoria Building, Hong Kong Cultural Centre. The speaker will be Ernest Wan. Admission is free with limited seats available on a first-come, first-served basis.