THE Government is to launch a one-month review of the monetary and banking implications of hotly sought-after public offers following the hefty oversubscription for shares in Denway Investment.
The market consensus is that the $402 million offer has been at least 600 times oversubscribed, pulling in a minimum $241.56 billion.
The Office of the Exchange Fund, which yesterday left Wednesday's $650 million injection in the interbank market, will formalise a working group in tandem with the Office of the Commissioner of Banking to pinpoint the potential pitfalls of big loans for shares.
On the securities side, the Securities and Futures Commission will be meeting the Monetary Affairs Branch - and possibly the listing division of the stock exchange - to conduct its own review of the problems and solutions.
Joseph Yam Chi-kwong, chief executive designate of the central bank-style Hongkong Monetary Authority, which steps into the breach in April, said the number of big issues coming on stream triggered the move to formalise on-going examinations.
He said: ''We are talking about $240 billion moving around within a very short period. That is four, almost five times the amount of bank notes in circulation. It must be 150 to 160 per cent of Hongkong dollar M1 on the money supply.