At the end of the day it's probably fair to say that, although we may experience some difficulty in describing exactly what a derivative is, we can usually recognise one when we encounter it. The interests of the central bank in derivatives will tend to be rather broader than those of any commercial bank, trader or broker, because of its multiple policy responsibilities. The issues can be conveniently grouped under four headings: infrastructure, supervision, information, and operations. Infrastructure HKMA is probably fairly typical of most central banks in developed financial centres in having a general concern for the stability and development of the financial infrastructure, but without necessarily being involved directly in the provision of that infrastructure, of which derivatives nowadays form an indispensable part. Derivatives have brought substantial benefits to the commercial community, in facilitating hedging and hence business planning more generally, and have enabled the financial institutions to offer a progressively wider range of services and greater efficiency in the intermediation process, as well as to exploit market imperfections and other trading opportunities for their own gain. The range of available derivative products in Hong Kong is extensive. Exchange tradable derivatives include futures and options on the Hang Seng Index as well as on individual Hong Kong stocks and, since the launch a few weeks ago, on a selection of leading stocks of certain overseas exchanges. Exchange traded interest rate products include one-month and three-month HIBOR futures; and futures contracts on three-year Exchange Fund Notes are expected to commence trading later this month.
Caleb M Fundanga: Overview of Zambia’s banking sector Remarks by Dr Caleb M Fundanga, Governor of the Bank of Zambia, on the occasion of the 10th Anniversary of Bank of China (Zambia) Limited, Lusaka, 13 April 2007. *  *  *  • His Excellency – the Chinese Ambassador to Zambia; • Vice-President of the Bank of China – Head Office; • Chairman of the Board of the Bank of China (Zambia) Limited; • Managing Director of the Bank of China (Zambia) Limited; • Distinguished invited guests; and • Ladies and gentlemen Let me first express my sincere gratitude for having been invited to speak on the occasion of the 10th anniversary of the Bank of China (Zambia) Limited. Ladies and Gentlemen, during the last ten years, the performance of Bank of China has been satisfactory with total assets steadily increasing to K391.4 billion in December 2006from K6.4 billion in December 1997 and total deposits increasing to K294.2 billion in December 2006 from K2 billion in December 1997. On this basis, Bank of China had grown to become the eighth largest bank in Zambia albeit operating with only one branch. Bank of China (Zambia) is a 100% subsidiary of Bank of China which went through a successful initial public offer (IPO) and has resulted in Bank of China being a top tier globally listed bank. Over the same period in Zambia, the overall financial performance and condition of the banking sector has been satisfactory.