HKMC to Expand Mortgage Size to Total 2.56 Bln US DollarsThe Hong Kong Mortgage Corporation Limited Monday announced that it will consider increasing its mortgage program size to the ceiling of 20 billion HK dollars (2.56 billion US dollars) in a bid to strengthen the funding capacity.The company is also actively preparing for the launch of a multicurrency Medium Term Note Program and a multicurrency bond style Mortgage-Backed Securitization Program to broaden its investor base, said Peter Pang, the company's chief executive officer. With a total outstanding amount of 18.7 billion HK dollars (2.39 billion U.S. dollars) issued under the Note Issuance Programs and the Debt Issuance Program, the company was the most active issuer of Hong Kong dollar fixed rate securities in 2000 and the first quarter of 2001. The Hong Kong Monetary Authority also announced Monday that from September 1 this year it will cease to be the Arranger for the Note Issuance Programs of The Hong Kong Mortgage Corporation Limited, the Airport Authority, Kowloon Canton Railway Corporation and the MTR Corporation Limited. Following the authority's announcement, the Debt Issuance Program is expected to play a bigger role as the Hong Kong dollar funding vehicle for the mortgage corporation, Pang said. |
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