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Hong Kong Has ‘Very Minimal’ Exposure to Evergrande Crisis: SCMP

Hong Kong Has ‘Very Minimal’ Exposure to Evergrande Crisis: SCMP

Hong Kong’s banking sector has “very minimal” exposure to the debt crisis at China Evergrande Group, which “won’t cause us any systemic risks,” the South China Morning Post reported, cited Financial Secretary Paul Chan as saying.

The banking sector’s total exposure to the indebted Evergrande is about HK$14 billion ($1.8 billion) debt , or 0.05% of combinedl assets, Chan cited a recent audit as showing, the Post said. Authorized financial institutions in the city held assets of HK$26.5 trillion through June 21, Chan was cited as saying.

The Hong Kong Monetary Authority asked lenders to report their exposure to debt-laden Evergrande on concern systemic risks to the region’s financial system may develop, people familiar told Bloomberg last week. That was at least the second time in recent months that the authority has expressed an interest in how much local lenders  are exposed to Evergrande, as financial markets are brace for a potential collapse of the developer, which is buckling under more than $300 billion in liabilities. 

©2021 Bloomberg L.P.