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To: elmatador who wrote (32115)	4/22/2003 9:18:39 PM
From: TobagoJack	Read Replies (3) \| Respond to of 74559

Elmat, <<HK dollar>> My expected attack Message 18827388 is starting ... biz.scmp.com Wednesday, April 23, 2003 HK$ forwards surge on Sars fears JON OGDEN Hong Kong dollar forwards surged to a five-month high yesterday as investors factored in two new economic worries relating to the atypical pneumonia outbreak. The premium on one-year forwards jumped to as high as 320 pips over the spot exchange rate between Hong Kong dollars and US dollars, up from 220 pips on Thursday. A pip is equal to one-hundredth of one cent. Profit-taking cut the premium on the contracts back to 300 pips in late afternoon trading, DBS Bank head of sales for Greater China treasury and markets Andrew Fung Hau-chung said. "Over the weekend the [widening] outbreak of Sars in China has given speculators a trigger point," he said. Possible bailout measures for the struggling economy were seen as undermining commitments to tackle Hong Kong's ballooning budget deficit, expected to show HK$75 billion for the year ending March 31. Analysts, equity fund managers and interbank traders said although hedge funds were seen taking positions in the forwards market, yesterday's surge should not be seen as the start of an attack on the Hong Kong dollar peg. "The forwards are a measure of the risk premium on Hong Kong. It is very low in absolute terms but in relative terms it is picking up," JP Morgan regional currency strategist James Malcolm said. The growing economic fall-out from Sars was "dragging on everybody's nerves", said Credit Lyonnais' Frederic Laine. But the rising premium on Hong Kong dollar forwards could be quickly unwound if there were signs that the disease was being brought under control, he said. Non-deliverable forward yuan contracts were also active yesterday. The discount of the one-year forward rate to the spot rate tumbled from 400 pips to just 100 pips as investors figured the grim news on China's growing Sars problem meant there was little chance the trading band for the yuan would widen in the next 12 months. The discount on one-year non-deliverable yuan forwards hit a record 1,450 pips over the spot rate in January as investors bet that pressure from countries such as the United States and Japan would cause a widening of the currency's trading band.

To: elmatador who wrote (32115)	4/22/2003 9:30:29 PM
From: TobagoJack	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 74559

Elmat, 1 point to you as the money spigot opens for ... hongkong.scmp.com Wednesday, April 23, 2003 Tung grants $200m for medical staff BENJAMIN WONG Hong Kong's frontline workers in the battle against Sars are about to be rewarded with the establishment of a $200 million fund to support medical staff. The fund, announced yesterday by Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa, will be used for training of health-care workers and to provide financial assistance to those infected by Sars. Private contributions will also be welcomed. "The purpose of the fund is really to help, to allow those people who have been so valiant in helping to fight this disease the opportunity to conduct further training or further studies," Mr Tung said after meeting health-care workers at the Hospital Authority headquarters yesterday. It will also likely be used to offer some form of assistance to those affected by the disease. Mr Tung said the government would make a formal request for the funds from the Legislative Council soon, with the details to be announced later. The announcement came after a further 10 medical workers were confirmed among 32 new cases of Sars reported yesterday. Five people, aged between 66 and 88, died yesterday, while 25 were discharged. A total of 109 patients are still in intensive care. This is the second time the government has sought funds from the legislature to battle the virus, following the $200 million it asked for last month to cover medication and equipment. Not everyone was impressed. Legislator Michael Mak Kwok-fung, who represents the health services sector, said more pressing concerns should be addressed. "We have to take care of those in the front line of this war," he said. "They are facing hardship. They can't go home and it has affected their daily lives. We have to keep up their morale by giving them an allowance and protect them by buying them insurance." But Iris Chan Sui-ching, chairwoman of the Alliance of Patients' Mutual Help Organisations and a member of the Hospital Authority, said the move would boost staff morale. "It will be encouraging to medical workers," she said. "The Hospital Authority has a tight budget and there is not much money available for workers to improve themselves. The fund will definitely prove useful in the future." Lawmaker Lo Wing-lok, representing the medical constituency, shared this view. "It's such a positive thing because it acknowledges the efforts and the needs of the medical workers. It'll be a good reward for them," Dr Lo said.