Hong Kong banks raise interest rates

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2005-12-15 15:34

Hong Kong banks Wednesday declared to increase their prime lending rate by 25-basis points, following a similar overnight move in the United States.

It has pushed local lending rates to a four-year high.

From Thursday, HSBC, Hang Seng Bank and Bank of China will raise their lending rates to 7.75-percent, while the Bank of East Asia and Standard Chartered will charge 8-percent.

The US Federal Reserve said on Tuesday that it decided to raisethe short-term interest rate by another one quarter percentage point to 4.25 percent, the highest level since April 2001.