east asia: ...Hong Kong, Bank of China (Hong Kong) Limited - 2015 Prints Full Set 中國銀行(香港)有限公司

中華人民共和國香港特別行政區
(Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China)

中國銀行(香港)有限公司

(Bank of China (Hong Kong) Limited)

Currency - Dollar (HKD)

It appears that these are the only general issues in Hong Kong for the year 2015 before the new 2018 series was introduced by all the three major commercial banks. Both the Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation and the Standard Chartered Bank did not issue any banknotes printed with the year date of 2015, but instead released them in 2016. However the Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited did issue a commemorative $150 banknote in 2015.

I do not believe there are any changes to the designs for these issues since it was first introduced in 2010 except with new dates and signatures.

With these 2015 full sets, I can now say that I have the complete collection of the Bank of China (Hong Kong) Limited 2010 series. Apart from the 2010 first releases, full sets were also released in 2012, 2013, 2014 and this 2015. In all there are 25 pieces of banknotes for this series, totaling HK$8,350 in face value. Unlike many central banks or commercial banks with banknotes issuing authority around the world, when general banknotes are required in Hong Kong, you will usually release them in full. However, there were odd occasions when not all denominations were issued in the same series.

The signature on this set is not the same as those issued between 2010 and 2014. I believe the signature belongs to Mr Yue Yi (岳毅先生). He was appointed as the Chief Executive of the bank in January 2015. However, he left the bank on 01.01.2018. Apart from being the Chief Executive, he was also the Vice Chairman and the Executive Director. He was succeeded by Mr Gao Yingxin (高應新先生), who has also left the bank in May 2020.

On the front, all notes featured the Bank of China Tower which is a skyscraper located at 1 Garden Road Hong Kong Island. The Bank of China Tower was designed by the renowned Chinese architect, the late Pei Ieoh Ming (貝聿銘 b.1917-2019). The tower is 367m tall and is the fourth tallest building in Hong Kong. Construction for this building was started in 1985 and completed in 1990. The building consists of 72-storey tall and only 23 floors are occupied by the bank. The rest is leased out. The company that built this building was the Japanese company called Kumagai Gumi and was briefly the tallest skyscraper in Hong Kong when completed in 1992. Because of the unique distinct design of this building, it is also sometime nicknamed 一把刀 (meaning One Knife or Yaat Baa Dou in Cantonese) to the locals in Hong Kong. In addition to the bank building, it also features the bauhinia flower.

On the back, it features popular places or famous landmarks in Hong Kong;-

$20 - Repulse Bay 淺水灣. This is a public beach located in the southern part of Hong Kong island. Properties surrounding Repulse bay are one of the most expensive you can find in Hong Kong. The beach is crescent-shaped and covered with golden sand. Shark nets are also deployed around the beach to protect swimmers in case of any potential danger from the sea;

$50 - Tung Ping Chau 東平洲. This is an island that forms part of the New Territories. The island looks like the shape of a kidney bean and is famous for its unique rock formation that can be found through-out the island. This island is a popular destination for tourists, especially for local hikers. Back in the old days, there were more than 2000 people living on this island. Today only a handful still call this island home. The reason is that there are no running waters, electricity or landline telephone on the island. Because the island is hardly occupied by humans, there are practically no developments undertaken by the government. Accessing this island is by ferry from Ma Liu Shin ferry pier and the journey one way is about 1.5 hours. The ferry services only operate on weekdays and public holidays. I believe there are no cars on the island;

$100 - Lion Rock 獅子山. You will have to look carefully to figure out the imaging of the lion. The Lion Rock is called this because it is shaped like a lion resting his belly on top of the mountain. The Lion Rock is situated between Kowloon and the New Territories and you can see the image of the lion facing to the left on the note. The summit of the Lion Rock is about 495 meters tall.

$500 - High Island Reservoir 萬宜水庫 in Sui Kung peninsula. The reservoir was built to alleviate water shortage in Hong Kong. Planning for this reservoir started in 1967 when China shut down fresh water supply to Hong Kong following the riots between the people of Hong Kong and the government. The construction for the reservoir was completed in 1987 at a cost of HK$400 millions;

$1000 - Aerial view of Victoria Harbour 維多利亞港. If you have been to Hong Kong, I am sure you will agree that the Victoria Harbour is one of the most spectacular landforms harbours in the world. Needless to say the Victoria harbour is a major tourist attraction and visited by millions of tourists from around the world every year. The harbour also provides a spectacular viewing from the Victoria Peak 太平山, especially at night. The boundary of the harbour has changed over the years due to land reclamation for redevelopments. It is also said that this land reclamation has also reduced the width of the sea lane between Kowloon and Hong Kong island.

Signature - Mr Yue Yi (岳毅先生) tenure 2015 to 01.01.2018.

Dimensions

$20 - 144mm x 72mm;

$50 - 149mm x 74mm;

$100 - 153mm x 77mm;

$500 - 158.5mm x 79.5mm; and

$1000 - 164mm x 82mm.

Twenty Dollars