HSBC Trustee (Hong Kong) has blamed clients for its failure to place Mandatory Provident Fund contributions immediately into interest-bearing accounts, saying some had failed to pay the right amounts.
'As a trustee, we have the duty to make sure the payment amount is correct before we can proceed to invest for them,' said Philip Duckworth, director and head of corporate trust services.
'I believe all MPF providers have faced the same problem.'
Due to lack of familiarity, many employers had remitted incorrect amounts during the MPF launch in December, he said.
Mr Duckworth said the situation had improved. However, 10 per cent of employers were still making incorrect payments.
As a result, HSBC could not process their cheques and invest for them immediately after payments were made, he said.
The MPF is Hong Kong's first compulsory retirement scheme, covering two million employees. It requires employer and employee each to pay 5 per cent of the monthly salary into an MPF plan, which is then placed in investment funds.