New banknotes for Chinese New year Lai See

From today until the 16th of this month, the three note-issuing banks, including HSBC, Bank of China, Standard Chartered, will provide new banknotes and "good-as-new banknotes" for citizens to exchange for Chinese New Year red packets, or Lai See.

The three note-issuing banks opened an hour earlier on Tuesday to facilitate citizens exchanging for the banknotes.

At the Standard Chartered branch on Kwun Tong Road, long queues began forming as early as 7:00 AM.

Staff assisted with registration and distributed red envelopes to citizens.

Citizens could choose between a HK$3,000 new banknote set and a HK$1,000 "good-as-new banknote" set, which included HK$20 and HK$50 banknotes.