HK official dismisses reports of hot money inflows

HONG KONG Dec 6 (Reuters) - Hong Kong dismissed speculation that about HK$10 trillion ($1.3 trillion) in hot money has flooded into the city to bet on mainland China assets, the treasury chief said.

"There was media speculation that Hong Kong had attracted about HK$10 trillion worth of hedge fund money, waiting for opportunities to rush into the mainland. I disagree with such reports," Chan Ka-keung, Hong Kong's Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury, wrote in his blog on Sunday.

Chan's remarks came after China Central Television (CCTV) reported that about HK$10 trillion managed by global hedge funds had flowed into Hong Kong seeking short-term profit from capital markets.

The fund companies included George Soros' Soros Fund Management, and Viking Global Investors, GLG Partners, Maverick Capital and D.E. Shaw, media reports said.

Chan has actively dismissed such reports over the past two weeks as there are signs Beijing is slowing the pace of developing the city as an offshore center for yuan transactions.

Globally, assets managed by hedge funds totalled about $2 billion, Chan said, and Hong Kong could not have attracted more than 60 percent of such assets.

Hong Kong-based hedge funds were managing about HK$500 billion in assets, he said.

He also pointed to the relatively small pool of yuan-denominated offshore savings in the city.

"Yuan deposits in Hong Kong totalled 217.1 billion yuan as of the end of October, compared with the mainland's 70 trillion yuan ... it should have no material impact," he added. (Reporting by Daisy Ku; Editing by Chris Lewis)