EXCHANGE CONTROL ORDINANCE

Mr R. Jumabhoy asked the Financial Secretary how many applications have been made to the Controller of Foreign Exchange for permission to do any of the acts referred to in section 9 (1) of the Exchange Control Ordinance (Cap. 216) since the commencement of the Ordinance up to a latest convenient date; in how many cases has permission been granted; and whether he will state what is the policy and what are the principles adopted in the granting or refusal of such permission.

Mr Hart: Sir, I regret that it has not been considered practicable, having regard to the other commitments of the limited staff of the Controller's office, to search through the 11,000 files which have been opened during the past four years to obtain the information requested. The number of applications of the kind to which the hon. Member refers has amounted to many hundreds. It can safely be said that almost all the applications covered transactions which did not involve foreign currency loss under any section of the Ordinance and in such cases the applications were approved.

The basis on which an application is judged is whether or not, in all the circumstances involved, the transaction will entail a direct loss of foreign currency or an indirect loss by omitting to bring to the scheduled territories foreign currency earned overseas. Where on complete disclosure of all the details of a transaction the Controller is satisfied that there would be no direct or indirect loss of foreign exchange, the application is granted.