HKETO, Brussels supports Musicus Soloists Hong Kong's France debut in Paris
With the support of the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in Brussels (HKETO, Brussels), Hong Kong's chamber ensemble, Musicus Soloists Hong Kong (MSHK), led by Artistic Director Trey Lee, made their France debut in Paris on November 16 and 17 (Paris time).
The highlight of the concert on November 16 was the world premiere of Umbra, a newly commissioned double concerto for cello, ondes martenot, and string orchestra, created specifically for MSHK. The concert on November 17 featured some of Hong Kong's finest classical talent, including top pianist Aristo Sham, violinist Helen Yu, and violist Lee Yat. Alongside renowned European maestros, the two concerts showcased the harmonious blending of talent across continents.
HKETO, Brussels organised a post-concert networking reception on November 16. In her welcoming remarks, Deputy Representative of HKETO, Brussels Miss Grace Li said, "Tonight's concert represents the best of Hong Kong. With our long-standing tradition of embracing diversity, Hong Kong provides an ideal platform for international cultural exchanges". She also encouraged the audience to visit Hong Kong and further explore Hong Kong's vibrant arts scene and its unique East-meets-West culture in person.
Trey Lee, who is also a world-renowned cellist, is celebrated for his significant contributions to classical music. Driven by a vision to promote cross-cultural collaboration through music, Mr Lee founded the Musicus Society, which serves as a global platform for artists to collaborate and inspire future generations of musicians. MSHK, one of the four key programmes of the Musicus Society, brings together many of Hong Kong's finest young musicians, with the vision of becoming a leading chamber ensemble representing Hong Kong on the world stage.
HKETO, Brussels supports Musicus Soloists Hong Kong's France debut in Paris Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases
Composite Interest Rate: End of October 2024
The following is issued on behalf of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority:
The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) announced today (November 19) the composite interest rate at the end of October 2024 (Note 1).
The composite interest rate, which is a measure of the average cost of funds of banks, decreased by 5 basis points to 2.30 per cent at the end of October 2024, from 2.35 per cent at the end of September 2024 (see Chart 1 in the Annex). The decrease in composite interest rate mainly reflected the decrease in the weighted funding cost for deposits during the month (see Chart 2 in the Annex) (Note 2).
The historical data of the composite interest rate from the end of the fourth quarter of 2003 to the end of October 2024 are available in the Monthly Statistical Bulletin on the HKMA website (www.hkma.gov.hk).
Note 1:The composite interest rate is a weighted average interest rate of all Hong Kong dollar interest-rate-sensitive liabilities, which include deposits from customers, amounts due to banks, negotiable certificates of deposit and other debt instruments, and all other liabilities that do not involve any formal payment of interest but the values of which are sensitive to interest rate movements (such as Hong Kong dollar non-interest bearing demand deposits) on the books of banks. Data from retail banks, which account for about 90 per cent of the total customers' deposits in the banking sector, are used in the calculation. It should be noted that the composite interest rate represents only average interest expenses. There are various other costs involved in the making of a loan, such as operating costs (e.g. staff and rental expenses), credit cost and hedging cost, which are not covered by the composite interest rate.
Note 2: Since June 2019, the composite interest rate and weighted deposit rate have been calculated based on the new local "Interest rate risk in the banking book" (IRRBB) framework. As such, these figures are not strictly comparable with those of previous months.
